The Diachrony of Grammar

T. Givón | University of Oregon

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ISBN 9789027212207 | EUR 150.00 | USD 225.00

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The case-studies assembled in these two volumes span a lifetime of research into the diachrony of grammar. That is, into the rise and fall of syntactic constructions and their attendant grammatical morphology. While focused squarely on the data, the studies are nonetheless cast in an explicit theoretical perspective – adaptive, developmental, variationist. Taken as a whole, this work constitutes a frontal assault on Ferdinand de Saussure's corrosive legacy in linguistics. Over the years, reviewers slapped the author's wrist periodically for having dared to commit that most heinous of sins against de Saussure's hallowed legacy – panchronic grammar. In this work he pleads guilty, having never seen a piece of synchronic data that didn't reek, to high heaven, of the diachrony that gave it rise. Reek in two distinct ways: first with the frozen relics of the past that prompt us to reconstruct prior diachronic states; and second with the synchronic variation that hints at ongoing change. Conversely, the author confesses to having never seen a diachronic explanation that did not hinge on the synchronic principles – Carnap's general propositions – that govern language behavior. The synchrony and diachrony of grammar are twin faces of the same coin. To study one without the other is to gut both. By understanding how synchronic grammars come into being we also understand the cognitive, communicative, neurological and developmental universals that constrain diachronic change – and through it synchronic typology.

[Not in series, 192] 2015. 928 pp. (Hb in 2 vols.)

Publishing status: Available

https://doi.org/10.1075/z.192

Table of Contents

Preface | pp. vii–viii

Chapter 1. Historical syntax and synchronic morphology: An archaeologist’s field trip | pp. 1–26

Chapter 2. From discourse to syntax: Grammar as a processing strategy | pp. 27–48

Chapter 3. Where does crazy syntax come from? | pp. 49–74

Chapter 4. The SOV mystery and language evolution | pp. 75–98

Part II: Out of Africa

On the diachrony of the Bantu copula ni | pp. 99–116

Chapter 6. On the verbal origin of the Bantu verb suffixes | pp. 117–130

Chapter 7. Serial verbs and syntactic change: Niger-Congo | pp. 131–162

Chapter 8. Topic, pronoun and grammatical agreement | pp. 163–196

Chapter 9. The drift from VSO to SVO in Biblical Hebrew: The pragmatics of tense-aspect | pp. 197–244

Chapter 10. The evolution of subordinate clauses in Biblical Hebrew | pp. 245–280

Chapter 11. The diachrony of the so-called ‘ethical dative’ | pp. 281–306

Chapter 12. The evolution of indefinite markers | pp. 307–326

Part III: Voices

Chapter 13. The rise of the English GET-passive | pp. 327–354

Chapter 14. Diachronic hybrids: The Lunda Passive | pp. 355–374

Chapter 15. The evolution of de-transitive voice in Tolowa Athabaskan | pp. 375–408

Chapter 16. Tale of two passives: Internal reconstruction in Ute | pp. 409–426

Chapter 17. Toward a diachronic typology of passive voice | pp. 427–442

Bibliography | pp. B1–B32

Language Index | pp. I1–I2

Topic Index | pp. I3–I10

Chapter 18. The evolution of Ute case-marking: Preface | pp. 445–264

Chapter 19. The evolution of Ute post-positions | pp. 465–476

Chapter 20. The diachrony of pronominal agreement in Ute | pp. 477–506

Chapter 21. The diachrony of complex verbs in Ute | pp. 507–524

Chapter 22. The usual suspects: The grammaticalization of ‘do’, ‘be’, ‘have’ and ‘go’ in Ute | pp. 525–552

Part V: Complexity

Chapter 23. Serial verbs and the mental reality of ‘event’ | pp. 555–576

Chapter 24. The puzzle of Ngabere auxiliaries: Comparative cum internal reconstruction in Chibchan and Misumalpan | pp. 577–598

Chapter 25. The genesis of complex verb phrases: Multiple routes to clause-union | pp. 599–636

Chapter 26. The genesis of complex noun phrases | pp. 637–660

Chapter 27. Nominalization, de-subordination and re-finitization | pp. 661–692

Part VI: Prospective

Chapter 28. Diachrony, ontogeny, and evolution | pp. 695–730

Chapter 29. Internal reconstruction: As method, as theory | pp. 731–770

Chapter 30. The intellectual roots of functionalism in linguistics | pp. 771–786

Chapter 31. Beyond Structuralism: Exorcising Saussure’s ghost | pp. 787–800

Chapter 32. Mi vida loca en la linguística: A conversation with Zarina Estrada | pp. 801–818

Bibliography | pp. B1–B32

Language Index | pp. I1–I2

Topic Index | pp. I3–I14

“Givón has been one of the primary contributors to the rise of interest in diachronic syntax over the last 45 years. From his “archaeologist’s field trip” in 1971 through his 2009 book on the genesis of syntactic complexity, he has given us many classic articles on the evolution of morphology and syntax. This collection gathers over thirty of these works in one place, on the one hand tracking the evolution of his often seminal thinking, and on the other, updating the discussion in each paper to reflect the perspective he has gained after 40 years at the cutting edge of the field.”

Spike Gildea, University of Oregon

Cited by (34)

Cited by 34 other publications

Order by:

Heaton, Raina

2024. Competing constructions in Kaqchikel focus contexts. Linguistics

Hernáiz, Rodrigo

2024. The grammaticalization of manner expressions into complementizers: insights from Semitic languages. Linguistics 62:3 ► pp. 617 ff.

Hernáiz, Rodrigo

2024. Causal clauses as source of sentential complementation: cross-linguistic evidence and methodological issues. Linguistics Vanguard

Haug, Dag & Nilo Pedrazzini

2023. The semantic map of when and its typological parallels. Frontiers in Communication 8

Börjars, Kersti & Tine Breban

2022. Structural persistence as an explanatory factor in synchrony and diachrony*. Transactions of the Philological Society 120:2 ► pp. 299 ff.

Krasnoukhova, Olga

2022. Attributive modification in South American indigenous languages. Linguistics 60:3 ► pp. 745 ff.

Nir, Bracha

2020. Chapter 18. A usage-based typology of Modern Hebrew syntax. In Usage-Based Studies in Modern Hebrew [Studies in Language Companion Series, 210], ► pp. 659 ff.

Schnell, Stefan & Danielle Barth

2020. Expression of anaphoric subjects in Vera'a: Functional and structural factors in the choice between pronoun and zero. Language Variation and Change 32:3 ► pp. 267 ff.

Goldstein, D. M.

2019. Language Change And Linguistic Theory: The Case Of Archaic Indo‐European Conjunction. Transactions of the Philological Society 117:1 ► pp. 1 ff.

Jia, Yanli

2019. Clarence Green, Patterns and development in the English clause system: A corpus-based grammatical overview. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore, 2017. Pp. ix + 199.. Journal of Linguistics 55:1 ► pp. 224 ff.

Krasnoukhova, Olga & Johan van der Auwera

2019. Standard negation in Awa Pit: From synchrony to diachrony. Folia Linguistica 53:s40-s2 ► pp. 439 ff.

Kuteva, Tania, Bernd Heine, Bo Hong, Haiping Long, Heiko Narrog & Seongha Rhee

2019. World Lexicon of Grammaticalization,

Xu, Laijuan & Qingshun He

2019. Patterns and Development in the English Clause System: A Corpus-based Grammatical Overview. Australian Journal of Linguistics 39:2 ► pp. 282 ff.

Gildea, Spike

2018. Chapter 14. Reconstructing the copulas and nonverbal predicate constructions in Cariban. In Nonverbal Predication in Amazonian Languages [Typological Studies in Language, 122], ► pp. 365 ff.

Heine, Bernd

2018. Are there two different ways of approaching grammaticalization?. In New Trends in Grammaticalization and Language Change [Studies in Language Companion Series, 202], ► pp. 23 ff.

Green, Clarence

2017. Discourse Coherence and Clause Combination. In Patterns and Development in the English Clause System, ► pp. 149 ff.

Green, Clarence

2017. Approaches to English Clause Grammar. In Patterns and Development in the English Clause System, ► pp. 1 ff.

TRAUGOTT, ELIZABETH CLOSS

2017. ‘Insubordination’ in the light of the Uniformitarian Principle. English Language and Linguistics 21:2 ► pp. 289 ff.

Evans, Nicholas & Honoré Watanabe

2016. Chapter 1. The dynamics of insubordination. In Insubordination [Typological Studies in Language, 115], ► pp. 1 ff.

Givón, T.

2016. Beyond structuralism. Studies in Language 40:3 ► pp. 681 ff.

Givón, T.

2017. The Story of Zero,

Givón, T.

2018. On Understanding Grammar,

Givón, T.

2019. Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes,

Givón, T.

2020. Coherence,

Givón, T.

2021. The Life Cycle of Adpositions,

[no author supplied]

2020. Chapter 5. Language, coherence and other minds. In Coherence, ► pp. 82 ff.

[no author supplied]

2020. Chapter 3. Complexity, hierarchy and coherence in neuro-cognition. In Coherence, ► pp. 32 ff.

[no author supplied]

2020. Chapter 7. Coherence and clause chaining. In Coherence, ► pp. 142 ff.

[no author supplied]

2020. Chapter 6. Discourse coherence. In Coherence, ► pp. 104 ff.

[no author supplied]

2020. The NP-strategy for Expressing Reciprocity [Typological Studies in Language, 127],

[no author supplied]

2021. Chapter 6. The pre-verbal ‘Augment’ e- in Homeric Greek when preceded by prepositions. In The Life Cycle of Adpositions,

[no author supplied]

2021. Chapter 1. How do nominal case-markers become verbal affixes?. In The Life Cycle of Adpositions,

[no author supplied]

2021. Chapter 2. The diachronic baseline. In The Life Cycle of Adpositions,

[no author supplied]

2021. Chapter 5. The pre-verbal ‘Augment’ e- in Homeric Greek as an earlier cycle of pre-verbal prepositions. In The Life Cycle of Adpositions,

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 30 september 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Subjects

Linguistics

Historical linguistics

Syntax

Evolution of language

Main BIC Subject

CFF: Historical & comparative linguistics

Main BISAC Subject

LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General

ONIX Metadata

ONIX 2.1

ONIX 3.0

U.S. Library of Congress Control Number: 2014045834 | Marc record