Diachronic Syntax Models and Mechanisms [Paperback]

Linguistic theory has undergone deep changes since the early 1990's, given the widespread impact of Chomsky's Minimalist Programme, Kayne's Antisymmetry Theory, and Kayne's Theory of Overt Movement. This work has brought into sharper focus questions concerning the architecture of linguistic theory that have a direct impact on our understanding of the process of change. Here, Pintzuk, Tsoulas, and Warner have brought together chapters which demonstrate the pivotal position of historical syntax within the larger domain of research into the nature, use, and acquisition of language. They show how current work in historical syntax is responsive to theoretical advances in linguistic theory, language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and theories of language use, as well as to less adjacent fields such as statistical techniques and evolutionary biology.

Chapter 1: Syntactic Change: Theory and Method,Susan Pintzuk, George Tsoulas, and Anthony Warner
Part I: Frameworks for the Understanding of Change
Chapter 2: Competition and Correspondence in Syntactic Change: Null Arguments in Latin and Romance,Nigel Vincent
Chapter 3: Jespersen's Cycle Revisited: Formal Properties of Grammaticalization,Ans van Kemenade
Chapter 4: Evolutionary Perspectives on Diachronic Syntax,Ted Briscoe
Part II: The Comparative Basis of Diachronic SyntaxChapter 5: Adjuncts and the Syntax of Subjects in Old and Middle English,Eric Haeberli
Chapter 6: Verb-Object Order in Early Middle English,Anthony Kroch and Ann Taylor
Chapter 7: Null Subjects in Middle English Existentials,Alexander Williams
Part III: Mechanisms of Syntactic Change: 1. Features and Categories
Chapter 8: Polarity Items in Romance: Underspecification and Lexical Change,Ana Maria Martins
2. Movement
Chapter 10: The Value of Definite Determiners from Old Spanish l³µ