The famous dictum, “grammars code best what speakers do most” coined by Du Bois, is a central postulate of all discourse-based approaches to grammaticalization (also known as grammaticization, grammatization). It points to the assumption that frequent repetition in discourse plays a crucial role in the development of grammatical forms, and that basicness is an inherent characteristics of most source concepts.
There is only a limited number of lexical items likely to be sources for grammaticalization. Since verbs form the core element of every sentence, expressing different conditions such as states, changes and activities, they provide a rich source for grammatical targets.
So how do verbs serve as a source of grammatical change? This academic paper gives answers to this question, discussing the grammaticalization of verbs, and how verbs typically evolve into prepositions, aspectual as well as quotative markers, and complementizers. Evidence is taken not only from English, but also from, i.a., Chinese, German, Spanish, French and African languages.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Grammaticalization and its Meaning
2.1. The Evolution of Grammaticalization
2.2. The Rise of Grammaticalization Research
2.3. Recent Trends in Grammaticalization
3. Where Does Grammar Come From?
3.1. Mechanisms of Change: Reanalysis and Analogy
3.1.1. Reanalysis
3.1.2. Induction, Deduction and Abduction
3.1.3. Reanalysis and Grammaticalization
3.1.4. Analogy
4. Characteristics of Grammaticalization
4.1. Grammaticalization From a Diachronic and a Synchronic Perspective
4.2. Grammaticalization Chains
4.2.1. Overlapping (“Layering”)
4.2.2. Ambiguity
4.2.3. Asymmetry
4.2.4. Unidirectionality
4.2.5. Generalization
4.2.6. Frequency
4.2.7. Decategorialization
4.2.8. Specialization
4.2.9. Increase in Bondedness
4.3. Degrammaticalization
5. Motivations for Grammaticalization
5.1. Creativity versus Routinization
5.2. Inference
5.2.1 From Less to More Subjective
5.3. Metaphor and Metonymy
5.3.1. Metaphorical Extensions
5.3.2. Metonymic Strategies
6. From Source to Target – Basicness as a Relevance Factor
7. Auxiliary Verbs
7.1. Auxiliation Chains
7.1.1. Verb-to-TAM Chains
7.2. Stages of Auxiliation
7.3. Sit, Stand and Lie as Aspectual Markers
7.3.1. The Evolution of the Sit/Stand/Lie Aspectual Structure: Functional Need?
7.3.2. The Shift from Locative to Temporal Meaning
7.4. The Future: It Comes, It Goes, It Has to Be
7.4.1. Pathways of Future
7.4.2. From Desire to Prediction
7.4.3. From Motion-in-Space to Progress-in-Time
7.4.5. Obligation Futures
7.5. The Case of Used to
8. From Verb to Preposition
8.1. Prerequisites and Conditioning Factors
8.1.1. European Languages
8.1.2. Serial Verb Languages
8.2. Semantic, Morphological and Phonological Changes Involved
8.2.1. Between Verb and Preposition
8.2.2. Coalescence and Phonological Erosion
8.3. Source and Target Domains of Deverbal Prepositions
9. The Evolution of Complementizers
9.2. Evidence from Other Languages
9.3. Reanalysis at Work
9.4. Universals versus Substrate
10. A New Quotative Marker: English Be Like
10.1. A Teenage Phenomenon?
10.2. A Notoriously Polyfunctional Item
10.3. Origin and Evolution of Like
10.4. Subjectification
11. Conclusion
12. Summary (Zusammenfassung)
1. Einleitung
2. Die Entstehung Grammatischer Formen und Konstruktionen
3. Kognitive Prozesse: Metapher und Metonymie
4. Grammatikalisierungskanäle
5. Grammatikalisierungsprozesse und Unidirektionalität
6. Verben als lexikalische Quellen für Grammatikalisierungsprozesse
13. Bibliography
Objectives and Core Themes
This work examines the evolution of grammatical structures from lexical sources, specifically focusing on how verbs function as foundational elements for grammatical change. It explores the mechanisms, motivations, and characteristics of grammaticalization, analyzing how language users continuously adapt and shift linguistic forms through discourse processes.
- The theoretical background of grammaticalization and its research history.
- Mechanisms of linguistic change, including reanalysis, analogy, metaphor, and metonymy.
- The specific role of verbs as primary sources for auxiliaries, prepositions, and complementizers.
- The cross-linguistic consistency of grammaticalization pathways as reflections of human cognition.
- Recent developments in language, exemplified by the emerging quotative "be like" in English.
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
How and why do grammatical structures evolve? This question has been extensively discussed by linguists concerned with the study of grammaticalization, a discipline which may be defined as that part of language theory which focuses on “the interdependence of langue and parole”, dealing with the organization of categories and of coding (Traugott and Heine 1991b:1) or as Haspelmath (1999:1044) puts it, “grammaticalization shifts a linguistic expression further towards the functional pole of the lexical-functional continuum”.
The phenomenon under investigation is a universal one for there is a striking cross-linguistic consistency of the lexical sources of particular targets, i.e. grammatical forms. These regularities of grammaticalization pathways are interpreted as reflections of universal aspects of human cognition and perception. Precisely how grammatical forms evolve out of lexical structures is the main issue of this paper, and it will be argued that grammatical structures are shaped by discourse in an ongoing process. Following this view, grammar is therefore merely the label used for “certain categories of observed repetitions in discourse”. (Hopper 2002:156) Following this, frequent repetition in discourse plays a crucial role in the development of grammatical forms. The famous dictum, “grammars code best what speakers do most” is a central postulate of all discourse-based approaches to grammaticalization, and points to the assumption that grammars reflect coding mechanisms for those speech functions which speakers most often perform. (DuBois 1985:362-63) Analogically, entities of high frequency are candidates which are most likely to enter grammaticalization paths.
Furthermore, it will be argued that basicness is an inherent characteristics of most source concepts. It has been observed that for any given grammatical domain, there is only a limited number of lexical items that are likely to be sources for grammaticalization. Most of these constitute very basic human concepts and activities, depending on the socio-cultural situation in which the language is spoken. Since verbs form the core element of every sentence, expressing different conditions such as states, changes, activities, achievements etc., they provide a suitable source for grammatical targets. In Heine and Kuteva’s (2002) World Lexicon of Grammaticalization, a book summarizing the most salient generalizations on the change of grammatical constructions, 53 out of 173 source concepts are verbs.
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: This chapter defines grammaticalization as a process of linguistic evolution from lexical items to functional categories, emphasizing discourse-based approaches and the role of high-frequency items.
2. Grammaticalization and its Meaning: This chapter surveys the history of grammaticalization research, covering key scholars like Antoine Meillet and the evolution of the field from structuralist roots.
3. Where Does Grammar Come From?: This chapter investigates the origins of grammatical coding, contrasting nativist views with anti-nativist perspectives that view grammar as an emergent by-product of communication.
4. Characteristics of Grammaticalization: This chapter details the typical processes of grammaticalization, such as chains, layering, decategorialization, and the rare occurrence of degrammaticalization.
5. Motivations for Grammaticalization: This chapter analyzes the factors driving change, including the tension between speaker creativity and routinization, and the role of pragmatic inferencing.
6. From Source to Target – Basicness as a Relevance Factor: This chapter explains why basic, generalized verbs like "be," "have," "come," and "go" are the most frequent sources for grammatical targets.
7. Auxiliary Verbs: This chapter discusses the evolution of auxiliaries, specifically focusing on posture verbs (sit, stand, lie) and verbs of desire/motion as precursors to tense and aspect markers.
8. From Verb to Preposition: This chapter explores how verbal structures evolve into prepositions through semantic bleaching and reanalysis in both European and serial verb languages.
9. The Evolution of Complementizers: This chapter addresses the transition of verbs of saying (e.g., "say") into complementizers, illustrating this development through examples from Ewe and other language families.
10. A New Quotative Marker: English Be Like: This chapter illustrates a modern case of linguistic change, exploring the rise of the quotative "be like" in English as a result of pragmatically conditioned subjectification.
11. Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the main arguments, reaffirming that grammaticalization is a process of continual negotiation between meaning and form, driven by pragmatic needs and communicative strategies.
12. Summary (Zusammenfassung): This chapter provides a condensed German overview of the core concepts, mechanisms, and findings presented in the preceding English-language study.
Keywords
Grammaticalization, linguistic change, reanalysis, analogy, auxiliaries, decategorialization, metaphor, metonymy, subjectification, posture verbs, complementizers, discourse, pragmatic inference, semantic bleaching, quotatives.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
The work primarily investigates the process of grammaticalization, specifically how lexical items—most notably verbs—evolve into grammatical markers such as auxiliaries, prepositions, and complementizers.
What are the central themes of the research?
The central themes include the diachronic and synchronic nature of language change, the role of human cognition and discourse in shaping grammar, and the mechanisms of reanalysis, metaphor, and metonymy.
What is the core research goal?
The goal is to understand the mechanisms of how and why grammatical structures evolve, specifically demonstrating that grammatical forms are shaped by discourse and speaker communicative needs over time.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The paper utilizes functional linguistic analysis, focusing on cross-linguistic data and the "cline of grammaticality" to trace evolutionary pathways from lexical content items to grammatical functions.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main sections cover the historical development of grammaticalization theory, mechanisms like reanalysis and analogy, specific pathways from verbs to auxiliaries or prepositions, and modern case studies like the quotative "be like".
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include Grammaticalization, linguistic change, decategorialization, reanalysis, metaphor, metonymy, subjectification, and serial verb constructions.
What is the significance of the "sit, stand, and lie" verbs in this study?
The study highlights these as postural verbs that frequently develop into aspectual markers for progressive aspect due to their basic, durative nature in human experience and high frequency in discourse.
Why is the quotative "be like" analyzed?
It is analyzed as a prominent contemporary example of rapid linguistic change and subjectification, demonstrating how adults simplify language and adopt new discourse markers to negotiate communicative goals.
How does the author explain the difference between metaphor and metonymy in this context?
Metaphor is described as solving problems of representation across conceptual boundaries (e.g., time as space), while metonymy occurs on the syntagmatic axis, linking meanings through contiguity and pragmatic inferencing.
What does "degrammaticalization" refer to?
Degrammaticalization refers to the rare phenomenon where a grammatical element moves toward a more lexical status, often considered an exception to the general unidirectionality of grammaticalization.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Melanie Bobik (Autor:in), 2004, The Grammaticalization of Verbs. Verbs as Sources of Grammatical Change, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/456274
