LINGUIST List 17.2903

Thu Oct 05 2006

Books: Historical Linguistics: Wanner

Editor for this issue: Maria Moreno-Rollins <marialinguistlist.org>

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Directory         1.    Julia Ulrich, The Power of Analogy: Wanner

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Message 1: The Power of Analogy: Wanner
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 historicallinguistics, especially in (morpho-)syntax, as constitutive of anytheoretical account of language.

In the first part, he provides a critique of some foundational concepts ofan object-oriented linguistic perspective, questioning the distinctionbetween synchrony and diachrony, dichotomous parametrization,grammaticality judgments, and formal generalization. Instead, the immanentperspective of the linguistic individual, licensed by broad cognitivefunctions, highlights such relegated dimensions as similarity, (surface)redundancy, frequency of form, and social and environmental conditions onlanguage use.

In the second part, Dieter Wanner relies on a systematic construct ofanalogy as the dynamic force enabling language, tying together acquisition,language use, and linguistic change. Such analogy is pervasive, driven bylocal models, and inevitably spreading through the social web of linguisticpractice. The unpredictability, incompletion, and typical slowness ofchange thereby become the norm, while categorical closure remains a markedpossibility. The framework of "Soft Syntax" spells out an operative modelfor syntax relying on precedence, cohesion, dependence, agreement,constructional identity, and concatenation. These six dimensions and theirinterplay undergo a detailed exploration of their diachronic operation andimplications, applying them to typical examples taken from the history ofthe Romance languages.

The openness of the framework enables diachronic linguistics to approachold problems in a new light and to ask new questions about the mechanicsand 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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