LINGUIST List 17.2903
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Thu Oct 05 2006
Books: Historical Linguistics: Wanner
Editor for this issue: Maria Moreno-Rollins
<maria linguistlist.org>
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Directory
1. Julia
Ulrich,
The Power of Analogy: Wanner
Message 1: The Power of Analogy: Wanner
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Date: 29-Sep-2006
From: Julia Ulrich <julia.ulrichdegruyter.com>
Subject: The Power of Analogy: Wanner
Title: The Power of Analogy
Subtitle: An essay on historical linguistics
Series Title: Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs 170
Published: 2006
Publisher: Mouton de Gruyter
http://www.mouton-publishers.com
Book URL: http://www.degruyter.de/rs/bookSingle.cfm?isbn=3-11-018873-2&fg=SK&L=E
Author: Dieter Wanner, Ohio State University
Hardback: ISBN: 3110188732 Pages: 329 Price: Europe EURO 98.00
Hardback: ISBN: 3110188732 Pages: 329 Price: U.S. $ 132.30
Abstract:
In The Power of Anology, Dieter Wanner argues for reinstating historical
linguistics, especially in (morpho-)syntax, as constitutive of any
theoretical account of language.
In the first part, he provides a critique of some foundational concepts of
an object-oriented linguistic perspective, questioning the distinction
between synchrony and diachrony, dichotomous parametrization,
grammaticality judgments, and formal generalization. Instead, the immanent
perspective of the linguistic individual, licensed by broad cognitive
functions, highlights such relegated dimensions as similarity, (surface)
redundancy, frequency of form, and social and environmental conditions on
language use.
In the second part, Dieter Wanner relies on a systematic construct of
analogy as the dynamic force enabling language, tying together acquisition,
language use, and linguistic change. Such analogy is pervasive, driven by
local models, and inevitably spreading through the social web of linguistic
practice. The unpredictability, incompletion, and typical slowness of
change thereby become the norm, while categorical closure remains a marked
possibility. The framework of "Soft Syntax" spells out an operative model
for syntax relying on precedence, cohesion, dependence, agreement,
constructional identity, and concatenation. These six dimensions and their
interplay undergo a detailed exploration of their diachronic operation and
implications, applying them to typical examples taken from the history of
the Romance languages.
The openness of the framework enables diachronic linguistics to approach
old problems in a new light and to ask new questions about the mechanics
and nature of language change.
FROM THE CONTENTS
Part I
Diachrony: Positions and challenges
Domains in historical linguistics
Reintegrating diachrony: A critique of some theoretical constructs
Critical issues: Grammaticality, representation, redundancy, and regularity
Part II
Analogy, categorization, and learning
Soft syntax
Pathways for diachronic shifts
Conclusions
Linguistic Field(s):
General Linguistics
Historical Linguistics
Language Family(ies): Romance
Written In: English (eng )
See this book announcement on our website:
http://linguistlist.org/get-book.html?BookID=21597
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