Originally published as the Continuum Companion to Historical Linguistics, this book brings together a number of leading scholars who provide a combination of different approaches to current and new issues in historical linguistics, while supplying an exhaustive and up-to-date coverage of sub-fields traditionally regarded as central to historical linguistics research. The editors aim to build a solid background for further discussion and to indicate directions for new research on relevant open questions.
The book includes coverage of key terms, a list of resources, and sections on:
• history of research
• methodology- phonology
• morphology
• grammatical categories
• syntax
• grammaticalization
• semantics
• etymology
• language contact
• sociolinguistics
• causes of language change
It is a complete resource for researchers working on historical linguistics.
Author(s): Silvia Luraghi (Editor), Vit Bubenik (Editor)
Series: Bloomsbury Companions
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Year: 2013
Language: English
Pages: 453
Cover
HalfTitle
Series
Title
Copyright
Contents
List of Illustrations
Figures
Tables
List of Contributors
Editors’ Introduction
Historical Linguistics: History, Sources and Resources
1. History of Research
2. Sources
3. Writing Systems
4. Corpora
Notes
Part I METHODOLOGY
Sound Change and the Comparative Method: The Science of Historical Reconstruction
1. Introduction
2. System in Language
3. Regularity of Sound Change in the Languages of the World
4. Sapir and Michelson
5. Bloomfi eld’s 1925 Reconstruction
6. Bloomfi eld’s ‘Sketch’ of 1946
7. PA Studies after Bloomfi eld
8. Comparative Reconstruction by Computer
9. The Reconstruction Engine of Mazaudon and Lowe
10. Reconstruction and Typology
11. Conclusion
Notes
Internal Reconstruction
1. Introduction to the Method
2. The Method of Internal Reconstruction Exemplifi ed
3. Confi rming the Results of Internal Reconstruction
4. Limitations of Internal Reconstruction
5. Concluding Remarks
Typology and Universals
1. Introduction
2. Typology as an Evaluative Tool in Comparative Linguistics
3. Typology and Sound Change/Typology of Sound Changes
4. Typology and Analogical/Morphological Change
5. Typology and Syntactic Change
6. Typology and Language Contact
7. Concluding Remarks
Notes
Internal Language Classification
1. Introduction
2. Character-Based Classifi cations
3. Distance-Based Classifi cations
4. Subgrouping for Comparative Purposes
5. Outlook
Notes
Part II PHONOLOGICAL CHANGE
Segmental PhonologicalChange
1. Introduction
2. Assimilation and Ease of Articulation
3. Syllable-Based Change and Preference Laws
4. Coda Neutralization and Universal Constraints on Change
5. Metathesis, Dissimilation and Perception
6. Chain Shifting and Sound Change in Progress
7. The ‘Life Cycle of Sound Change’
8. Conclusion
Notes
Suprasegmental and Prosodic Historical Phonology
1. Introduction
2. Tonogenesis and Related Phenomena
3. Prosodic Finality and Accent Retraction
4. Accent Protraction
5. Avoidance of Prominence Clash (the OCP)
6. Phrasal Prosody and Linguistic Change
Notes
Part III MORPHOLOGICAL AND GRAMMATICAL CHANGE
From Morphologization to Demorphologization
1. Introduction
2. Morphologization
3. Changes in Infl ectional Morphology
4. Demorphologization
5. Conclusion. Diachrony and History
Notes
Analogical Change
1. Analogy as a Linguistic Concept
2. Types of Analogy
3. Laws of Analogy?
4. Analogy as an Emergent Force
Notes
Change in Grammatical Categories
1. The Nominal Categories in Afro-Asiatic Languages
2. Verbal Categories in Semitic Languages
Note
Part IV SYNTACTIC CHANGE
Word Order
1. Introduction
2. Change by Reduction: ‘Free’ to Fixed Word Order
3. Reanalysis: Head—Complement Order
4. Verb Second: Extension and Reduction
5. Grammaticalization of Discourse: Topicalization
The Rise (and Possible Downfall) of Configurationality
1. Introduction
2. Approaches to Non-Confi gurationality
3. Indo-European Non-Confi gurationality
4. From Latin to Romance
5. Two Types of Non-Confi gurationality
6. Why Did Confi gurationality Arise?
Notes
Subordination
1. Nonfi nite Subordination
2. Finite Subordination
Notes
Alignment
1. Alignment: Defi nitions
2. Alignment Change
3. General Principles of Alignment Change
Notes
Part V SEMANTICO-PRAGMATIC CHANGE
Grammaticalization
1. Introduction
2. Grammaticalization as Reduction
3. Grammaticalization as Expansion
Notes
Semantic Change
1. Introduction
2. Types of Semantic Change
3. Semantic Change be yond the Word
4. Causes of Semantic Change
5. Towards a Deeper Understanding of Semantic Change
Notes
Etymology
1. Introduction
2. Etymology in Past and Present
3. What is Etymology?
Notes
Part VI EXPLANATIONS OF LANGUAGE CHANGE
Language Contact
1. Introduction
2. Areal Linguistics
3. Pidgins and Creoles
4. The Effects of Contact
5. Theoretical Issues: Contact and the Nature of Linguistic Change
6. Conclusion
Notes
Regional and Social Dialectology
1. Two Branches of Dialectology
2. Historical Inferences from Regional Variation
3. Historical Inferences from Social Variation
4. Dynamics of Language Change
Causes of LanguageChange
1. Introduction
2. Inter-Generational Transmission
3. Variation and Prestige
4. Teleology in Language Change
5. External Causes
6. Do Internal Causes Exist?
Notes
A–Z Historical Linguistics
References
Index of Subjects
Index of Authors
Index of Languages
