The basic idea behind this volume is to probe the nature of grammaticalization. Its contributions focus on the following questions: (i) In how far can grammaticalization be considered a universal diachronic process or mechanism of change and in how far is it conditioned by synchronic factors? (ii) What is the role of the speaker in grammaticalization? (iii) Does grammaticalization itself provide a cause for change or is it an epiphenomenon, i.e. a conglomeration of causal factors/mechanisms which elsewhere occur independently? (iv) If it is epiphenominal, how do we explain that similar pathways so often occur in known cases of grammaticalization? (v) Is grammaticalization unidirectional? (vi) What is the nature of the parameters guiding grammaticalization? The overall aim of the book is to enrich our understanding of what grammaticalization does or does not entail via detailed case studies in combination with theoretical and methodological discussions.

Table of contents

Preface vii Introduction: In search of grammaticalization Olga Fischer, Muriel Norde and Harry Perridon 1–16 On directionality in language change with particular reference to grammaticalization Martin Haspelmath 17–44 Rescuing traditional (historical) linguistics from grammaticalization theory Brian D. Joseph 45–71 The English s-genitive: A case of degrammaticalization? Anette Rosenbach 73–96 An investigation into the marginal modals dare and need in British present-day English: A corpus-based approach Martine Taeymans 97–114 Redefining unidirectionality: Is there life after modality? Debra Ziegeler 115–135 From pronominalizer to pragmatic marker: Implications for unidirectionality from a crosslinguistic perspective Foong Ha Yap, Stephen Matthews and Kaoru Horie 137–168 Conditionals and subjectification: Implications for a theory of semantic change Jacqueline Visconti 169–192 Unidirectionality in the grammaticalization of modality in Greek Anastasios Tsangalidis 193–209 How cognitive is grammaticalization? The history of the Catalan perfet perifràstic Ulrich Detges 211–227 Perfect and resultative constructions in spoken and non-standard English Jim Miller 229–246 Grammaticalization and standardization Lea Laitinen 247–262 External factors behind cross-linguistic similarities Ilona Herlin and Lari Kotilainen 263–279 What constitutes a case of grammaticalization? Evidence from the development of copulas from demonstratives in Passamaquoddy Eve Ng 281–298 Multi-categorial items as underspecified lexical entries: The case of Kambera wàngu Marian Klamer 299–323 The acquisition of polysemous forms: The case of bei2 (“give”) in Cantonese Kwok-shing Wong 325–343 Phonetic absence as syntactic prominence: Grammaticalization in isolating tonal languages Umberto Ansaldo and Lisa Lim 345–362 Grammaticalization of word order: Evidence from Lithuanian Sergey Say 363–384