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Exaptation and Language Change
Edited by Muriel Norde and Freek Van de Velde
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 336] 2016
► pp. 261–285

How functionless is junk, and how useful is exaptation?

Probing the - i/esc - morpheme

We address the issue of the notion of linguistic functionality in relation to exaptation. Our case is the evolution of the -i/esc- morpheme from Latin to Romance. The exaptive nature of the - i/esc - morpheme used to be considered the historical linguists’ chestnut: from Latin inchoative marker, the - i/esc - morpheme was said to have evolved into a stress-aligning device. The validity of this proposal is questioned in the light of Lass’s definitions of exaptation (Lass 1990 and 1997). Drawing on the historical evolution of the - i/esc - morpheme, we identify several issues with the core concepts of exaptation: (i) junk, (ii) innovation and (iii) functionality. We then argue that exaptation, in its strictest definition (Lass 1990), cannot be said to apply to - i/esc-.

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction and outline
  • 2.The -i/esc- morpheme as a prototypical case of exaptation?
    • 2.1The historical data
    • 2.2A case for exaptation?
  • 3.Problems with an account in terms of exaptation
    • 3.1The notion of ‘junk’
    • 3.2‘Conceptual novelty’ (Lass 1990: 80)
    • 3.3What function does the - i/esc - morpheme have?
  • 4.If not exaptation, what else?
  • 5. Back to exaptation and the - i/esc - morpheme: A dead end?
  • 6.Discussion: (re)|(de)|fining exaptation
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 24 February 2016
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.336.09ver
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