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Copyright of Russian Linguistics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article confronts a multifunctional grammaticalized form in Mandarin, the preverbal morpheme yǒu (有). Since its appearance in the Chinese mainland around the 1990s, there has been controversy about whether it is an aspect marker or not. In response to this question, we conducted a questionnaire survey to investigate how native Mandarin speakers generally understand sentences with preverbal yǒu. The results not only show that preverbal yǒu can serve as a perfective viewpoint marker that makes the terminal boundary of an event semantically visible, but also provide evidence of its other function as an existential marker. The concrete function of preverbal yǒu (perfective or existential) depends on pragmatic inference based on the temporal properties of a given situation. With this observation, the paper resolves the controversy of which of these two functions actually applies to preverbal yǒu, and integrates this marker into the broader context of pragmatics-based multifunctionality as it is widely found in Sinitic and mainland Southeast Asian languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the syntactic mechanisms behind the grammaticalization and lexicalization of saying verbs from the perspectives of linguistic typology and comparative syntax. It is proposed that, in addition to the evolution from lexical categories to functional categories along the clausal spine, there is also a mechanism that merges the verb shuo 'say' into a neighboring phrase/clause, which is in turn reanalyzed as either an adverbial or a complement depending on its morpho-syntactic makeups. To use an idiom, this means that "It is easier to touch the moon at a pavilion near the waterfront." The result is a plethora of usages such as quotative, clause-typing, evidential, subjunctive, concessive, topic- marking, and enumerative. They show up at various levels of syntactic structure, while heading the corresponding functional projections. At the final stage of its evolution, shuo may undergo extreme semantic bleaching and become a linker, which very often can be dropped freely. We substantiate this observation by drawing evidence from Classical Chinese, Formosan languages, and the grammaticalization of shi 'be' in Modern Mandarin, which can be seen as an excellent example of convergent evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the process of grammaticalization unfolds, it remains to be determined whether a word could co-occur with more words in contexts or would be restricted to fewer words. Based on the Lancaster Corpus of Mandarin Chinese (LCMC), this study examines the differences in colligation diversity between lexical and grammatical words in Chinese by using entropy, aiming to explore how the colligational behaviour of the left and right sides of Chinese words changes accordingly with increasing grammaticalization. The comparisons of colligation diversity between two sides and across word categories reveal that lexical words show quite similar levels of colligation diversity on the left, which makes them significantly different from grammatical words. More category-specific observations are disclosed by entropy-based approach. In the case of grammaticalization, an increase in entropy values denotes more types with a more uniform distribution, which is suggested to be the manifestation of semantic bleaching. Conversely, a decrease in entropy values may be an indicator of an increasing bondedness. The discussion on how grammaticalization affects the colligational behaviour of words should be based on the specific pathways of grammaticalization concerning word categories, as well as specific sides of words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents the common grammaticalization path of the LIKE/LOVE constructions into expressing habitual aspect in Mainland East and Southeast Asian languages. The stages and degrees of grammaticalization for the LIKE/LOVE constructions vary cross-linguistically and different stages of evolution co-exist in one and the same language. Based on the synchronic data from a sample of six national languages in that region, it is found that the grammaticalization process in Chinese, Thai, and Lao is advanced while the process in Vietnamese, Khmer, and Burmese is incipient. At the initial stage of their grammaticalization, there are three context-induced intermediate steps of development before the constructions in question are compatible with inanimate subject referents and the habitual meaning becomes the only possible interpretation. At the later stage, languages vary in their combinability with stative verbs and in their possibility of occurring in future temporal context. The common human experience that if one likes/loves doing something, one tends to do it frequently renders it highly unlikely that this grammaticalization pattern is an areal feature confined to Mainland East and Southeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lexicalization of perception verbs has been of widespread interest as a route into understanding the relationship between language and cognition. A recent study finds global biases in colexification patterns, suggesting recurrent conceptual associations between sensory meanings across languages. In this paper, drawing on a balanced sample of 100 languages, we examine cross-modal semantic associations in word formation. Confirming earlier proposals, we find derived verbs are lower on a proposed Sense Modality Hierarchy (sight > hearing > touch > taste, smell) than the source perception verbs on which they are based. We propose these findings can be explained by verb frequency asymmetries and the general tendency for sources of derivations to be more frequent than their targets. Moreover, it appears certain pairings (e.g., hear–smell) are recurrently associated via word formation, but others are typologically rare. Intriguingly, the typological patterning partially diverges from the patterning reported for colexification in the same domain. We suggest that while colexification is driven by conceptual resemblance between sensory meanings, cross-modal word formations tend to arise from grammaticalization processes of lexical specification, where additional material (e.g., a sensory noun) is collocated to a polysemous verb in order to disambiguate it in context. Together, these processes can account for the typological similarities and divergences between the two phenomena. More generally, this study highlights the need to consider conceptual, communicative and diachronic factors together in the mapping between words and meanings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first stage in grammaticalization is often an enrichment of pragmatic meaning. If a new form is more 'extravagant' or 'expressive', it may have a competitive advantage. The grammaticalizing form described here is a primitive 'do'-support construction used to make questions, in an Italian dialect spoken in an isolated sub-Alpine valley. Living speakers describe why and when they would use 'do'-support over the simpler, main-verb alternative. Logical meanings, which include an answer presupposition and perfective viewpoint on the event, suggest that the 'do'-support form is a syntactically embedded, and pragmatically indirect question (Swinburne, 2021). The expressive meanings described here are: 1) those demonstrating prior thought (conventional presuppositions due to the syntactic structure); 2) subjective meanings expressing emotion and engaging the interlocutor (conventional implicatures of 'do'); and 3) meanings exploiting indirectness for reasons of politeness (conversational implicatures). With 'do'-support, the speaker is being polite and making an educated guess of the likely answer, while leaving open the possibility of being wrong. In the small, tight-knit, isolated communities of Val Camonica, politeness to neighbours is essential for long-term community cohesion. The politeness meaning has likely driven the grammaticalization. • A pragmatically enriched primitive 'do'-support exists in an Italian dialect. • Semantic-pragmatic traits indicate an embedded and indirect question. • Subjective meanings are conventional implicatures of 'do'. • As an indirect question 'do'-support is more polite. • Expressive, 'extravagant' meanings have led to grammaticalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development of the existential sign var 'there' in Turkish Sign Language from a synchronic point of view. The sign has been previously described as being restricted to clause-final predicate position and typically used for two main linguistic functions: (i) existential and (ii) possessive. However, abundant corpus evidence indicates that var can also be used for other linguistic functions in post-verbal position, which have not been reported in the literature before. Following Construction Grammar, this study presents a theoretical framework to investigate how the construction [verb + var] arose and what its semantic motivation is, paying particular attention to the notion of possession. It is argued that this construction has three different functions: (i) habitual, (ii) evidential, and (iii) assumptive. According to this account, var originated as an existential marker and subsequently developed into a marker of possession, before evolving to encompass its other linguistic functions in three stages. Using Labov's Apparent Time Hypothesis (Labov, William. 1963. The social motivation of a sound change. Word 19(3). 273–309), closer examination also revealed that a progressive difference exists between age groups. Younger TİD signers use the construction [verb + var] more frequently, and as the age of the TİD signer decreases, the usage of this construction in the assumptive function increases considerably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Response signals (RS) have emerged as a powerful interaction tool, but they have yet to be fully understood. The current study analyzes 16 h of daily conversations using discourse-pragmatic frameworks to discuss certain aspects of the most prevalent primary and secondary Persian RSs. An RS is identified as a brief interactive response to a prior speaker's statement, typically expressing (dis)confirmation, (un)acceptance, or backchannel (including assessment and continuer feedback). The research also differentiates and compares the functional and distributional differences and similarities between confirmation and backchannel signals. Following that, it takes a semasiological approach and discusses how the emergence, overlap, and markedness of certain functions for an item can be determined by the persistence of its original propositional meaning as well as the item's grammaticalization and cooptation. The paper thus reviews the markedness of the backchannel function for na 'no' compared to this function's development for ɂāre 'yes'. Last but not least, cross-linguistic phonological tendencies, such as the integration of the phoneme /ɂ/ or /h/ in positive RSs and click sounds in negative ones, are supported by Persian RSs and their variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this study is on the function and grammaticalization of nominalizations in Thai and the nominalization categories and nominalizing strategies in Thai are described. The Thai language exhibits a composite of derivational and clausal nominalizations marked with three nominalizers: kaan1 derives nouns or nominalized clauses from lexical verbs and relative or complement clauses; khwaam1 derives nouns from lexical verbs and adjectives; and kaan1thii3 is used for clauses. The current study posits diachronic developments for nominalizers and addresses related issues. It is concluded that nominalizers kaan1 and khwaam1 were originally lexical nouns meaning 'work' and 'matter'. The essential features of the use of nominalizations have remained constant, but certain developments have occurred, which include lexical nominalization to clausal nominalization and the emergence of a new nominalizer, kaan1thii3. It is found that nominalizers kaan1, khwaam1 and kaan1thii3 are basically in complementary distribution, and language internal evolution and external contact are the primary motivations for nominalization in Thai. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary Korean and Thai both have a number of forms that denote the future-time reference. The grammatical statuses of these forms are widely variable in terms of their morphosyntax, and thus, there exists some debate about whether some of them can be regarded as future tense markers. By virtue of the dynamic, panchronic nature of grammaticalization theory, there is an advantage in viewing the change, both holistically and microscopically, from the historical source lexeme, if available, to the grammatical forms and functions in the contemporary states of the languages. An investigation into the grammaticalization patterns of the broadly defined future-time references in the two languages reveals a number of interesting features. Future-time references in the two languages developed from very different lexical sources, e.g., TEMPORAL POSTERIORITY and MODE in Korean as compared with KNOWLEDGE and TEMPORAL PROXIMITY, as well as contextually inferred IMMINENT REALIZATION in Thai. The two languages also exhibit idiosyncrasies reflecting typological features, e.g., argument omissibility and agglutination in Korean and strong pragmatic orientation, verb serialization, and preference for polylexemic units in lexicalization and grammaticalization in Thai. Despite the differences in conceptual sources and developmental paths, Korean and Thai show commonalities in the modal functions of the future-time reference markers, which lends support to the thesis that these modal notions are strongly connected to the notion of futurity across languages. Also notable is that in Thai, reinforcement is often observed, supposedly for boosting perceptual salience and conceptual strengthening in grammaticalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While previous studies have investigated the productivity of the better construction (in the forms had better, ’d better and better) in British and US English (USE), to present knowledge, no large‐scale comparisons on the use of this construction in other English dialects have been carried out. The present paper aims to address the existing research gap by exploring the synchronic use and grammaticalization rate of better in 20 world Englishes. The analysis of corpus data reveals that better is more grammaticalized in USE than in British English, and even more in Singapore English (SgE) data, where the construction seems to be more grammaticalized than in any other dialect. The hypothesis of a functional need in SgE for deontic better is tested. It is shown why SgE ‘needs’ alternative deontic constructions in a modal system where (semi‐)modals of necessity have been shown to express higher rates of ‘dynamic’ modality than in other dialects. The substrate reinforcement from a parallel construction in Mandarin is presented as a potential driving factor justifying the selection of better as a deontic marker in this particular variety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the grammaticalization patterns of evidentiality from a cross-linguistic perspective with a focus on Lhasa Tibetan. It documents the history of the evidential morphemes 'dug, -song, -bzhag, and =ze from Old Literary Tibetan to modern spoken Lhasa Tibetan. Our analyses show that these morphemes started grammaticalizing before encoding evidentiality. We argue that, through pragmatic strengthening, evidentiality tends to infiltrate forms which have already grammaticalized to express other semantic domains. These patterns of grammaticalization are confirmed by diachronic and reconstructed data from genetically unrelated languages. Evidentiality thus tends to be a 'grammaticalization passenger' (i.e., a conventionalized meaning which used to be merely implied from the recurrent contexts of a grammaticalized form) rather than a 'grammaticalization target' (i.e., a functional domain which triggers grammaticalization). This may explain why evidentiality is less often grammaticalized than other notions, such as time or modality, in the world's languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the main notions that are addressed in this special issue, namely evidentiality, modality, and grammaticalization. It defines each notion and briefly synthesizes the literature. It also presents some of the controversies which surround the ideas that prevail in these research fields. Crosslinguistic examples illustrate the main evidential and modal categories, and clarify why the two domains are both distinct and related. The paper then sketches the main pathways of grammaticalization of modal and evidential markers as they have been documented in typological work. Finally, it introduces the contributions to this special issue, highlights the new insights, and discusses what remains to be investigated on the links between evidentiality, modality, and grammaticalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to answer three questions: (1) What is the difference between grammatical and lexical indications of information source? (2) What qualifies an element for grammaticalization as an evidential? (3) How can we identify grammatical evidentials and instances of evidential grammaticalization? The answers proposed are as follows: (1) The difference between grammatical and lexical indications of information source is a difference between indications conventionalized as discourse secondary and indications conventionalized as potentially discourse primary. (2) A candidate for grammaticalization as an evidential must (i) have propositional scope, (ii) belong in the conceptual domain of information source, (iii) be frequent enough to pass the threshold for conventionalization, and (iv) be discourse secondary, but not by convention. (3) Grammatical evidentials and instances of evidential grammaticalization can be identified based on focusablity, addressability and modifiability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the widespread view that the diachronic processes of grammaticalization and of subjectification go hand in hand, and that highly subjectivized meanings typically correlate with highly grammaticalized forms, should be revised. The point is made on the basis of the case of the diachrony of the Dutch modal verbs. Corpus data show that four of these verbs recently got involved in a process of collective re-autonomization, while the two other modals in the language do not. This correlates with differences in the semantic development of the verbs: the four re-autonomizing verbs do, but the two outliers do not show a regular process of (inter)subjectification. The paper unravels through which mechanisms the grammatical and the semantic developments may correlate, hence why highly subjectivized meanings do not necessarily like a grammatical status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses primarily on the claim in previous research that finiteness asymmetry occurs less often in imperative negation, due to its illocutionary dynamicity, than in standard negation, due to its stativity. Its secondary aim is to identify the languages suitable to test this hypothesis, with specialized imperatives as well as negative imperatives. The findings of this identification process in a balanced 200-language sample confirm the imperative and its negative counterpart as near-universal sentence types while simultaneously providing evidence for specialization asymmetry and thus for a certain mutual independence between the two. The results about finiteness asymmetry challenge the earlier claim: not only is finiteness asymmetry equally frequent in the two domains of negation; an explicit expression of illocutionary dynamicity can even give rise to it in imperative negation. In general, imperative negation's finiteness asymmetry is found to be relatively unrelated to standard negation's and not to be attributable to one single principle. The article shows that a variety of processes, such as grammaticalization and insubordination, are at work. They are argued to be motivated by the diachronic instability of negative imperatives, itself likely due to competing factors like politeness and negative reinforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses mood selection in evaluative noun clauses introduced by the neutral article lo. There exist mutually exclusive theories: while certain authors speculate that mood has an impact on an informative level, according to others the subordinate clause of these syntactic constructions always represents rhematic information, regardless of the mood of their verb. To discover which of these speculations is valid, we analysed 4222 cases in the Corpes XXI and determined the frequency with which indicative and subjunctive appear with different verbs and adjectives in the syntactic structures considered. Data demonstrate that either one mood or another is increasingly used in an exclusive way in conformity with the semantic and frequency of the adjective or verb that induces it. This observation not only is solely compatible with the exclusive rhematic value of the subordinate clause, but also with the other secondary theories on the structures here considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the syntactic behavior and the discoursal roles of hala? in Jordanian Arabic, which corresponds to the English 'now' and is frequently used as a discourse marker. Specifically, the syntactic distribution of this discourse marker in everyday conversations, its function in establishing coherence between discourse units, and its communicative and discoursal meanings are scrutinized. The data necessary for the study was obtained from almost a 15-hour corpus of naturally-occurring conversations recorded by the researchers through 30 interviews with 80 (40 males and 40 females) Jordanian students from Al-Balqa Applied University. The data analysis revealed that hala? can be used as an adverb conveying temporal meaning and as a discourse marker conveying coherence-related meanings. Semantically, it is a temporal adverb that has a semantic meaning parallel to that of its English adverbial counterpart 'now'. However, it was found that hala? can also serve six pragmatic functions: Changing a topic, introducing a contrast or comparison, marking disagreement, initiating reasons, explanations or clarifications, listing, and marking shifts in participation framework (Marking a change in the speaker's orientation and marking a change of footing). The study concludes with a suggested grammaticalization path for the development of this discourse marker from a lexical source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of the paper is to examine the functional and formal features of the construction here’s hoping. Our analysis is informed by the frameworks of construction grammar (Fried, 2010, 2013), grammaticalization (Fried, 2009; Himmelmann, 2004), subjectification (Company, 2006) and impersonalization (Siewierska, 2008). The construction seems to have developed a novel subjectified function, i.e. to express the speaker’s positive expectation while retaining a degree of tentativeness and distance. The data for the analysis was excerpted from the corpus English Web 2021 (enTenTen21). The internal and external features of the construction (e.g. the (non-)deictic function of here, fixedness, syntactic isolation, initial position) together with the overall expansion of the semantic and pragmatic context and the gradual host-class expansion suggest that the process of grammaticalization/subjectification is currently under way (cf. Fried, 2010; Company, 2006). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While speed is a secondary parameter in some associated motion systems, some languages have verbal affixes dedicated to the encoding of speed – celerative markers. Celeratives can encode both quick and slow speed and are in some languages even the main or the sole way of expressing this meaning. However, some morphemes not only encode speed, but also other types of action manner, in particular hurry or suddenness, following colexification patterns also observed in the lexicon crosslinguistically. This paper provides a first overview of this category in the world's languages, and more generally suggests that action manner constitutes a set of comparative concepts that can be be encoded morphologically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modality is of fundamental importance in studying the structure of all languages worldwide. Providing a comprehensive definition of this notion is difficult. In general, modality expresses the speaker's point of view towards the statement in the sentence. In terms of semantics, the modality is considered in two general categories: epistemic and root modalities. Epistemic modality expresses the speaker's assessment of the probability or predictability of the action. This type of modality involves the possibility or necessity of the proposition based on the judgment, evidence, or knowledge of the speaker. Root modality is used to express concepts such as coercion, permission, and ability and is divided into two subsets: deontic and dynamic. In deontic modality, external circumstances and power often oblige the third person or addressee to act or do an activity. In dynamic modality, the inner force or the existing conditions provide the necessity or possibility for the action to be performed. This kind of modality expresses the ability and capability of the actor.

There are no completely grammatical studies in Chinese scholarly tradition prior to 1898. Mainly commentary orientation of linguistic works and the general tendency towards the lexicographic form of presentation of philological researches determined function words’ dictionaries to be the leading way of describing linguistic phenomena in the field of grammar. Turning to treatises of this kind contributes to the study of linguistic traditions’ generation and grammatical researches’ formation in China. Special attention is paid to the description of grammatical meanings’ development from lexical one’s and to method of exegesis based on such description, used in《助字辨略》 «Zhu Zi Bian Lüe» (1711) by 刘淇 LiuQi. The structure of the dictionary entries of this work was analyzed, as well as the interpretations in which LiuQi refers to the significant meanings of the described units. Examples of dictionary entries are given, or excerpts from them, provided with translations into Russian. The analysis of the material showed that dictionary entries can vary significantly in length, their internal structure is also not the same, however, in general, it includes an explanation of the meaning of the described unit (from authoritative sources such as 《尔雅》 «Erya», 《广韵》 «Guangyun» and/or a comment made by the author of «Zhu Zi Bian Lüe») and illustrative material from classical works (such as 《论语》 «Lun yu», 《大学》 «Da xue», 《中庸》 «Zhong yong», 《孟子》 «Mencius», 《诗经》 «Shi jing», 《汉书》 «Han shu», etc.). In a number of dictionary entries, LiuQi demonstrates the mechanism of grammatical meanings’ development from the significant one, emphasizing that the grammatical meaning is determined by the significant meaning and is closely connected with it.

The aim of the paper is to examine the functional and formal features of the construction here’s hoping. Our analysis is informed by the frameworks of construction grammar (Fried, 2010, 2013), grammaticalization (Fried, 2009; Himmelmann, 2004), subjectification (Company, 2006) and impersonalization (Siewierska, 2008). The construction seems to have developed a novel subjectified function, i.e. to express the speaker’s positive expectation while retaining a degree of tentativeness and distance. The data for the analysis was excerpted from the corpus English Web 2021 (enTenTen21). The internal and external features of the construction (e.g. the (non-)deictic function of here, fixedness, syntactic isolation, initial position) together with the overall expansion of the semantic and pragmatic context and the gradual host-class expansion suggest that the process of grammaticalization/subjectification is currently under way (cf. Fried, 2010; Company, 2006).

The present study, as a data-based and diachronic one, has been done in order to investigate different types of pragmatic meanings belonging to the discourse marker “ya’ni” on thetical grammar level, and development of these meanings over time (centuries 4 to 14 A.H.). This study is based on Traugott and Dasher’s view (2002) on “subjectification spectrum” (non- subjective > subjective > intersubjective meanings). To collect research data, two literary books from each century were chosen. Then, all the occurrences of “ya’ni” in those books were manually identified. Finally, they were analyzed based on the paper’s analytical framework. The research data show that the discourse marker “ya’ni” acquires new pragmatic meanings such as textual, subjective and intersubjective ones on thetical grammar level, and moves away from its propositional meaning. It indicates that after pragmaticalization and transferring to thetical grammar, this discourse marker acquires new meanings through grammaticalization. The more it moves away from its propositional meaning, the more it is grammaticalized. There is also an order in forming these meanings so that textual meanings are formed at first; then subjective and intersubjective meanings appear in this discourse marker respectively. Introduction Discourse markers are linguistic units that have always been studied from various perspectives in different languages. Levinson (1983) studied discourse markers based on discoursal-pragmatic observations for the first time. He believes it is not possible to investigate these linguistic units within the framework of truth-conditional semantics. Osman (1995) suggests that we can make inferences about the speaker’s attitude through discourse markers. These linguistic elements can have different semantic roles based on the context in which they occur. Aijmer and Vandenbergen (2011) assert that analyzing discourse markers based on polysemy is in accord with grammaticalization theory. Accordingly, multifunctionality of discourse markers is the result of grammaticalization. The present study aims to investigate one of the Persian discourse markers (ya’ni) and its semantic development on the level of thetical grammar through the course of eleven centuries (4th to 14th) based on Heine’s pragmaticalization framework (2013) and Traugott & Dasher’s (2002) view on the “subjectification spectrum” (non-subjective > subjective > intersubjective meanings). Some studies on discourse markers have been done in Persian such as the ones conducted by Zoghdar Moghaddam (2002), Moghaddam Kiya (2004), Amouzadeh and Noora (2014), Noora (2015), Naghzguy Kohan and Meshkinfam (2019), and Abbasi et al. (2021). While most of these studies are synchronic including the one conducted by Amouzadeh and Noora (2014) on “ya’ni”, the present research examines “ya’ni” diachronically. Methodology and Theoretical Framework The present study is data-based, in which the development of the discourse marker “ya’ni” over eleven centuries (4th to 14th) was studied. To this end, two literary books, representative of each century, were chosen, and all occurrences of “ya’ni” were manually identified and analyzed based on the paper’s analytical framework (Heine’s approach, 2013, and Traugott & Dasher, 2002). Heine believes that the process leading to the rise of discourse markers is pragmaticalization, at the heart of which is a process called cooptation. He considers pragmaticalization and grammaticalization as distinct processes and asserts that, through cooptation, a linguistic unit is transferred from sentence grammar to thetical grammar, acquires new semantic functions based on the complicated network of the situation of discourse, and can be grammaticalized on thetical grammar level. Traugott & Dasher (2002) believe that discourse markers acquire different meanings through grammaticalization. More specifically, they propose three types of meaning that discourse markers can have in relation to the components of the situation of discourse. Those meanings are textual, subjective, and intersubjective. They suggest a “subjectification spectrum” (non-subjective > subjective > intersubjective meanings) representing the order in which these meanings appear. Results and Discussion The results of data analysis indicate that “ya’ni” (with the propositional content “meaning that”) acquires textual, subjective, and intersubjective meanings in relation to the different components of the discourse situation, which include text organization, attitudes of the speaker, and speaker-hearer interaction, respectively. The results also demonstrate that “ya’ni” gains these pragmatic meanings in the same order as proposed by Traugott & Dasher (2002). During the first three centuries (4th, 5th, 6th), “ya’ni” was only used in textual meaning. In the 7th century, the first occurrence of this discourse marker in subjective-intersubjective function is observed, which, of course, presupposes the presence of subjective meaning in this century. Finally, the first independent intersubjective meaning was encountered in the 8th century. Regarding the different types of textual meaning, the data indicates that there exists a relationship between the extent to which each type of textual meaning is similar to the propositional meaning of “ya’ni” and the time of its occurrence. The more it is similar to the propositional meaning, the earlier it is formed. Conclusion Based on the data analysis, it is concluded that, as Heine (2013) observes, “ya’ni” moves from sentence grammar to thetical grammar through cooptation, as the cornerstone of any pragmaticalization process. It is on thetical grammar level that “ya’ni” undergoes increasing grammaticalization, moving away from its original propositional meaning. If we consider grammaticalization as a continuum, the discourse marker “ya’ni” is in the initial parts of this continuum during the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries. As time passes and this discourse marker acquires new pragmatic meanings, it moves forward in the grammaticalization process; therefore, it undergoes grammaticalization increasingly. This confirms Heine’s (2013) approach toward pragmaticalization. It also affirms Traugott & Dasher’s “subjectification spectrum” (2002) because textual meanings are the first meanings that are formed in “ya’ni”, then subjective and intersubjective meanings appear respectively.

The article provides an overview of the meanings of the Estonian core verb laskma (‘to let’), explains the development and usage of its grammatical constructions, and describes the most common semantic types of the laskma-causative (LET-causative). Data for this study were collected from corpora of written Estonian texts from the 16th century to the present. The first instance of the laskma-causative is impossible to ascertain due to the grammatical constructions of laskma already appearing in written texts in the 16th and 17th centuries (explained as forced grammaticalization). However, the process of grammaticalization can be elucidated through the relationships among the meanings of laskma and bridging constructions. The lexical meanings of laskma were categorized into four groups: ‘to move a substance somewhere or in some direction’, ‘to not hinder’, ‘to act at full speed’, and ‘to discharge something from a firearm’. The verb laskma appears in a permissive causative construction (causer + laskma + causee + Vda-inf), expressing the meaning of ‘to allow’. Laskma + Vda-inf also signifies ‘to ask someone to do something’. The usage of laskma + Vda-inf ‘to allow’ is the most frequent among all laskma usages in each century, currently accounting for 45% of all instances of laskma. Additionally, laskma appears in a phasal construction that denotes an initial phase (causer + laskma + causee + Vma-inf). The evolution of the da– and ma-infinitive constructions is demonstrated through the bridging constructions (“to allow to move into some place or state” and “to allow” (with the objective case)). The cases of the construction laskma + Vda-inf (‘to allow’ or ‘to ask someone to do something’) that explicitly express causer and causee were analyzed in terms of semantic roles. Among 24 different types, the three most frequent types are AGENT-PATIENT-PROCESS (28%), AGENT-PATIENT-ACTION (21%) and AGENT-PATIENT-STATE (12%).

This paper delves into the intriguing phenomenon of mesoclisis in Old Occitan. Mesoclisis, the insertion of an object clitic pronoun within the verbal form rather than before or after it, is explored particularly within the context of future and conditional tenses. While mesoclisis is evidenced in both the future and conditional tenses in Old Catalan and Old Spanish, in Occitan, it is exclusively observed in the future tense. Notably, all clitics may feature in this construction, with a higher prevalence observed in the first person singular, especially with class I verbs. Furthermore, there appears to be a lexicalized association with verbs of speech, likely due to discourse-related factors. This investigation not only sheds light on the differential grammaticalization between the future and conditional tenses but also unveils an intermediate stage in their grammatical evolution, bridging the gap between Catalan and French linguistic contexts.

In Russian, the subordinator kak ‘how’ is both a manner question word and an eventive complementizer. The Russian linguistic tradition explains the colexification of the two functions in terms of a semantic shift from manner as characteristic of a situation to event description as a whole. Alternatively, a grammaticalization scenario from manner complements to event/propositional complements has been suggested: manner complements originally have a propositional frame, which is foregrounded concurrently with the loss of the manner meaning, giving rise to both eventive and propositional interpretations. This article is aimed at testing both hypotheses. We study several large Old Russian manuscripts, starting from the first available documents of the 11th century, and show that at the earliest documented period Old Russian kako/kakъ could be used in all types of complement clauses. It could introduce eventive, propositional, manner and irrealis purposive-like complements. Accordingly, the evolution of the subordinator kak in complementation involves a narrowing of its functional domain. We classify Old Russian texts based on the period and trace the gradual loss of particular functions during the centuries. Thus, we show that the Russian data supports the second grammaticalization scenario.

The Turkish nominalizer -(y)Iş demonstrates a broad spectrum of functions ranging from a deverbal word-formation device that forms lexicalized nouns with concrete and abstract meanings to an inflectional marker used in nominal clauses, especially in clausal complementation. In some uses, the item conveys manner semantics. While the item itself has been variously investigated and forms an established part of any Turkish grammar description, there is still a lack of consensus on its functional and semantic properties. This article investigates the morphosyntactic functions and the semantic features of the nominalizer -(y)Iş in light of the claims in the linguistic literature on the one hand, which include manner, countable events, factive imperfective, single instance of an event, direct reference to the inner process of an action, etc., and of examples from primary sources on the other, and evaluates the findings from the perspective of grammaticalization. It will be argued that the range of functions of this item and the fact that it seems to resist any straightforward analysis result from its transition from a derivational marker to an inflectional marker with tasks including complementizer functions, a process in which manner semantics will be argued to play a role.

Complementation strategies in both ancient and modern Semitic languages include the use of a series of cognate complementizers typically sharing a k-element: e.g., Tigrinya käm, Modern Hebrew ki, Akkadian kī(ma) or Ge’ez kama. The sources and the developments that led to the complementizer use of these multifunctional k-subordinators are not sufficiently clear, and diverse interpretations have been proposed. The present article analyses the oldest written record of k-complement markers in Semitic, focusing on Old Akkadian, Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian. The analysis of the type and distribution of complement constructions suggest a different explanation for their development based on the grammaticalization of similative manner expressions, a process attested in Afro-Asiatic and other languages. The article also highlights the presence and potential role of nominal complementation among the earliest recorded forms of complementation in Akkadian. The data presented here provide insights into the origin of k-complementizers in Semitic languages with less ancient written evidence, from Ancient Hebrew to Ethiosemitic.

This article presents a corpus-based overview of strategies of direct quotation that employ two similative demonstratives, tak ‘so’ and taki ‘such/like this’, in colloquial spoken Polish. It will be shown that the ways in which Polish tak and taki encode, respectively, manner and quality in exophoric, endophoric, and cataphoric uses are also reflected in their quotative uses. Further, special emphasis is placed on two verbless quotative strategies: (Conj) NP tak and (Conj) NP taki, to offer two grammaticalization-related accounts: one for tak and another for taki. As will be argued, (Conj) NP tak is a reduced clause (originally NP VERB tak), while (Conj) NP taki is a stacking of two independent quotative strategies: (Conj) NP on the one hand, and taki on the other. The study thus contributes to our understanding of how manner/quality expressions are recruited in clause-combining tasks involving the integration of direct quotes into speakers’ utterances.

Relational nouns have been studied extensively, typically under the rubric of inalienable possession. Such nouns are typically bound to presupposed referents by an anaphoric morpheme indicating person and number. In Oceanic languages, one large class of relational nouns is linked contingently to nonhuman entities that are routinely specified in the utterance. However, another large class is linked noncontingently to presupposed human referents that typically need not be specified in the given utterance. In this paper, I propose that, in East Mekeo, the latter class of nouns corresponds with (and reveals to the investigator) the main parameters of the Mekeo self and its social world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is based on a sample of 30 Sinitic languages spoken in the Hunan Province. Its first objective is to explore the types of dative markers, comparing the form of the dative with allative, passive, benefactive, and differential object markers in these languages. Five patterns are identified: (I) DAT = ALL (II) DAT = GIVE = OM ≠ PASS; (III) DAT = GIVE = OM = PASS; (VI) DAT = GIVE = PASS ≠ OM; (V) DAT = BEN. Then, we reveal three main possible grammaticalization pathways that motivate the five synchronic patterns: (a) Allative > Dative; (b) (TAKE >) GIVE > Dative; (c) Benefactive > Dative. It concerns two distinct developments for the second pathway. Based on the areal distribution of the various types of dative markers, we can observe how the dative markers are developed in Hunan Sinitic languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The so-called perífrasis perfectivas in Galician present the action as concluded or realized. This particular aspectual feature constitutes the common ground for an otherwise heterogeneous set of constructions, ranging from rematar de 'finish'+ infinitive (e.g., rematóu de beber '(s/he) finished drinking') to ter 'have' + participle (e.g., teñen ido '(they) have gone (Rep.)'). This work provides a critical assessment of their syntactic and semantic properties in cases where the participle may not show agreement. This is the case for periphrases built on three auxiliaries: ter, levar, and dar, of which ter + participle stands out as the most grammaticalized one. The case of ter is further investigated in relation to European Portuguese (EP) and Brazilian Portuguese (BP), where ter + participle is considered a fully-fledged perfect tense. Additionally, the use of these periphrases in areas where Spanish is also present is evaluated from a contact perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Talmy's (1991; 2000a; 2000b) influential work on motion events provides a strong two-way typology that can examine and account for the typology of a language, but this framework is basically synchronic. It may not be equally valid to explain language change. In this paper, we apply the event integration theory and its latest development, The Macro-event Hypothesis (Li, 2020, 2023), to account for the development of the causative verb 使-shǐ- make (SHI for short) in Chinese. This study reveals that, firstly, the multi-functional behavior of SHI represents a typical case of grammaticalization, with a full verb acquiring the role of conjunction and expressing abstract meanings. Secondly, the semantic division of the causative and non-causative uses of SHI in Contemporary Chinese is the most clear-cut. Thirdly, causative SHI shows a greater level of semantic bleaching, and the construction profiles a single causal activity and has a higher degree of event integration when compared to its lexical verbal use. The constructional grammaticalization of SHI confirms that event integration is key to its development. This study verifies The Macro-event Hypothesis of a continuum of grammaticalization in language and uncovers the process of semantic gradation that takes place in Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides an overview of the meanings of the Estonian core verb laskma ('to let'), explains the development and usage of its grammatical constructions, and describes the most common semantic types of the laskmacausative (LET-causative). Data for this study were collected from corpora of written Estonian texts from the 16th century to the present. The first instance of the laskmacausative is impossible to ascertain due to the grammatical constructions of laskma already appearing in written texts in the 16th and 17th centuries (explained as forced grammaticalization). However, the process of grammaticalization can be elucidated through the relationships among the meanings of laskma and bridging constructions. The lexical meanings of laskma were categorized into four groups: 'to move a substance somewhere or in some direction', 'to not hinder', 'to act at full speed', and 'to discharge something from a firearm'. The verb laskma appears in a permissive causative construction (causer + laskma + causee + Vdainf), expressing the meaning of 'to allow'. Laskma + Vdainf also signifies 'to ask someone to do something'. The usage of laskma + Vdainf 'to allow' is the most frequent among all [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The book "La raison lexicographique. Découverte des langues et origine de l'anthropologie" by Alexandre Suralés, winner of the Georges Dumézil Prize from the French Academy in 2024, explores the revolution caused by the grammaticalization and lexicalization of language in modernity. The author highlights the importance of bilingual dictionaries and their transformation into monolingual ones as a way to organize knowledge and thought, which he calls "lexicographic reason". The book also analyzes the impact of Amerindian linguistic diversity on the development of anthropology, using around twenty dictionaries of Amerindian languages to explore concepts such as person, body, soul, and word. The author proposes an anthropology that does not compare meanings between different cultures, but rather forms of constituting meanings. [Extracted from the article]

This study deals with the grammaticalization of ġādi – i.e., the active participle form of a movement verb meaning 'to go/leave/depart in the morning' – in Moroccan Arabic, of which the relevant literature has evidenced its uses as a future marker, describing this case as an instance of the common path 'go (to)' > future. In the light of fresh data, we first review the already documented uses of ġādi as a future marker, and, secondly, present an original preliminary study of its emerging modal values. Finally, by analyzing the correlation between the future values and the modal values of ġādi, we focus on some issues related to its grammaticalization, including the importance of taking into account certain semantic features of the source lexeme so far underestimated, and of considering the co(n)text within which the whole grammaticalization takes place. Ultimately, we argue that a secondary grammaticalization towards epistemic modality is in progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southern Min is generally known for not using classifiers [CL] for expressing definiteness/indefiniteness as it is associated with the bare classifier construction [CL N]. This paper offers evidence from Xiamen Southern Min (XSM) that the use of a specific classifier vs. the general classifier é contributes to referentiality in an alternative way by supporting object identification as it is due to the semantic specificity present in specific classifiers and absent in the general classifier. In a dialogic cognitive experiment adapted from the "Hidden color-chips" task (Enfield and Bohnemeyer 2001), 18 participants had to manipulate their addressees' attention toward various objects situated in their immediate physical space through language as well as deictic gestures. The objects were associated with different specific classifiers or with the general classifier, and they were arranged according to the factors of (a) distance from speaker, (b) visibility for speaker, and (c) uniqueness (adjacency of similar items). The results show, among other things, that there is a higher tendency to use the specific CL in the [demonstrative CL N] construction if adjacent similar objects [−unique] are too far away from the speaker for clear identification by a demonstrative or a pointing gesture. This is seen as a last-resort strategy for creating contrast. Further corroboration comes from the use of specific classifiers in later mentions after the general CL failed to achieve clear identification. These findings can be situated in the broader context of other languages with classifiers in contrastive function (Thai, Vietnamese, and Ponapean) and they show the relevance of using dialogic texts for modeling classifier selection in contrast to narrative texts. Finally, dialogic contexts may serve as bridging contexts for grammaticalization from numeral classifiers to definiteness markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article combines ideas and concepts deriving from grammaticalization studies, cognitive linguistics and construction grammar. Specifically, it takes three important ideas developed within grammaticalization research, namely untypical context, bridging or critical context and isolating or switch context (Evans & Wilkins 2000, 2006; Heine 2002), and remodels them with the concepts construct and construction. This enables the definition of three salient construct types present in historical corpora that are placed in the continuum between individual variation and language change: extensional constructs, ambiguous constructs and adaptive constructs. Each construct type characterizes a specific phase in language change. The data presented as illustration of the construct types stem from historical and contemporary corpora of written French, Italian and Spanish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many languages, the present perfect has grammaticalized, gradually displacing the preterit. Within Spanish, this has been documented with the grammaticalization of the present perfect in Peninsular Spanish. To examine this possibility in two Latin American varieties, this study examined present perfect/preterit variation of 36 speakers from Lima and Mexico City from the PRESEEA corpus. While Lima Spanish presented overall more present perfect than Mexico City Spanish, a similar internal constraint hierarchy is predictive of present perfect use in both speech communities. However, Lima Spanish demonstrated a change in progress toward an expansion of the preterit among younger speakers with the indeterminate temporal reference as locus of change. The findings suggest that present perfect grammaticalization may not always be the most common cross-linguistic pathway but rather is subject to source constraints, which may lead to another pathway in which the preterit expands at the expense of the present perfect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across languages, demonstratives grammaticalize into various grammatical and discourse-pragmatic markers. Using corpora of natural conversation and scripted drama conversation, and employing the theoretical frameworks of grammaticalization and (inter)subjectification, this study demonstrates that the Korean demonstrative construct i-ke ya '(it) is this' has developed into an affective stance marker, a development not yet discussed elsewhere in the literature. As a stance marker, the form can encode (a) an emphasizing stance and (b) a boasting stance. The study shows that the development of i-ke ya is an instance of subjectification and of intersubjectification, as the functions of i-ke ya changed from exophoric (pointing to a physical object), to discourse deictic (pointing to a referent in a discourse), and then to expressive (encoding the speaker's stance). The analysis of its shifting functions indicates that i-ke ya obtained its affective meanings due to its frequent use in negative and disaffiliated contexts. Frequency information and a prosodic analysis further testify to the emergence of the new affective meanings of i-ke ya. The study contributes to recent research that investigates various emotive functions of demonstratives beyond accounts based on physical proximity. • Korean proximal demonstrative expresses higher focus than other demonstratives. • Korean proximal i-ke ya became affective stance marker, via (inter)subjectification. • Korean proximal demonstrative construct 'this is' denotes an emphasizing stance. • Korean proximal demonstrative construct denotes a boasting and reassuring stance. • Korean demonstrative underwent grammaticalization and (inter)subjectification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the mandatory use of indefinite-determiner-like elements in Serbian, a language with no categories of definite and indefinite article, the paper proposes the hypothesis that the language universal grammaticalization of the cardinal number one into an indefinite article is triggered by specific types of contexts, rather than simply by the speakers’ intention to disambiguate between the definite or indefinite reading of the ‘bare’ noun phrase. Given the results of a pragmatic felicitousness test of 35 Serbian native speakers’ intuition, we demonstrate that the exhaustiveness of the nominal description directly influences the obligatoriness of the use of the ‘determiner’—the less informative the description is, the more compulsory the use of the indefinite determiner becomes. We argue that this actually represents the spiritus movens in the grammaticalization of indefinite articles in the languages with this category, via the subsequent process of gradual context-induced reinterpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Serbian dialects that allow the variation between infinitival and so-called ‘da+present’ complements (DPC) (e.g. those of Vojvodina), the verb hteti (Eng. to want) allows for three different kinds of complements, corresponding to its three different uses. In its lexical use, it takes an NP complement; the volitional modal version combines with DPC; and the future auxiliary takes the infinitival complement. Assuming different syntactic structures for all three types of complements, we hypothesize that they exhibit different prosodic features. The hypothesis was tested experimentally by analysing the preboundary lengthening and the behaviour of F0 as signals of different prosodic constituency reflected in the Prosodic Hierarchy (PH). It was predicted that higher units of PH will show higher degree of preboundary lengthening, as well as that the presence of phrase accents and boundary tones will mark the right edge of PhPs and IPs respectively. We recorded 10 students at the University of Novi Sad as they pronounced 10 sentences per each of the three uses of this verb. The data partially confirms our hypothesis, as the modal verb hteti (Eng. to want) followed by DPC lengthens more than the auxiliary and lexical verb hteti (Eng. to want), which are followed by an infinitival and NP complement respectively. In contrast, the F0 contour remains unaffected by these differences, and phrase accents are not identified in any of the uses of the verb hteti (Eng. to want). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Beserman, a new converb grammaticalizes from the possessive locative form of the locative noun in (o)ń-ńig. We show that the constructions with the converb have a clausal structure, while the constructions with the locative noun are mostly noun phrases, even if they include an indication of the agent and patient of the situation encoded by the locative noun. Semantically, the two types of constructions are also different. In the converb constructions the situations encoded by the main and the embedded clause must overlap, while with locative nouns this is not necessarily the case. The temporal reference of locative nouns is habitual/iterative, while converbs often have episodic (non-habitual) interpretation. The original locative noun denotes a reference to a fixed location where the situation usually takes place. In the constructions with the converb this meaning is bleached and generalized as an action which takes place in any possible location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a constructional approach to morphosyntax, this study describes a triclausal construction (a type of anankastic conditional construction) and related constructions in the history of Chinese. It demonstrates that the triclausal construction constitutes a context of morphosyntactic vagueness where category boundaries between modals and conditional protasis connectives are underdetermined; consequently, bidirectional rather than unidirectional developments occur. Morphosyntactic vagueness is defined by properties shared between two morphosyntactic categories: distributional and functional similarities. Therefore, changes enabled by morphosyntactic vagueness are argued to be regular processes of change mediated by grammatical equivalence. If grammaticalization is defined as the development of morphosyntactic categories, but not in terms of non-equivalence such as unidirectionality or increased grammaticality, grammaticalization may be systematically bidirectional when enabled by morphosyntactic vagueness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]