While the comparative method is concerned with regularities in
phonological change, grammaticalization theory deals with
regularities of grammatical change. In an A-Z format, this book
summarizes the most salient generalizations that have been made on
the unidirectional change of grammatical forms and constructions.
The product of ten years of research, World Lexicon of
Grammaticalization provides the reader with the tools to show how
different grammatical meanings can be related to one another in a
principled way, how to deal with issues such as polysemy and
heterosemy, or why certain linguistic forms have simultaneous
lexical and grammatical functions. It covers several hundred
grammaticalization processes, in each case offering definitions of
lexical concepts, suitable examples from a variety of languages,
and references to the relevant research literature. Indices
organized by source and target concepts allow for flexible use, and
the findings delineated in the book a re relevant to students of
language across theoretical boundaries.
'The major strength of the book lies in the extent to which the grammaticalization processes noted are supported by data from a wide variety of languages and the degree to which languages of the world show striking similarity in the evolution of their grammatical forms. To this end this text makes a profound contribution. It succeeds in showing which lexical items are related to which grammatical forms ... As a reference work, this book will prove to be a useful resource for researchers interested in cross-linguistic patterns of grammaticalization.' Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies
Inhaltsangabe
From the contents:
Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Index of grammatical concepts figuring in the work Source-target lexicon Appendix 1. Source-Target list Appendix 2. Target-source list Appendix 3: List of languages References
