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Tagged with grammaticalisation language-change
7 questions
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Prefix to infix grammaticalisation
I am interested to know if there is any prefix that has become an infix in any language. The base word could be any content word (verb, noun, adjective).
I would prefer if its clear that the direction ...
1
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1
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How do new function words develop in a language?
It's very understandable how new content words emerge in a language, since we can see it happening constantly in the modern day. On the other hand, I have trouble imagining the process by which a word ...
- 153
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2
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What does Eastern Aramaic have to say about "(definite) articles are acquired, not lost"?
The current answers on Definite/indefinite articles vs. inflections agree that (definite) articles are acquired by languages, not lost.
I'm wondering what Eastern Aramaic has to say about this. ...
- 4,840
3
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2
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Is the English "because (noun)" an instance of grammaticalization?
This structure is often used recently (I think since mid-2012) in a sarcastic or humorous way, or to indicate that the reasoning is not sound.
a) “Ok, I really want to hang with her because ...
- 313
1
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2
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What is the difference between grammaticalization and grammaticization?
I have encountered two terms recently: grammaticalization and grammaticisation. While in most papers I have read so far both terms seem to be used interchangeably, the following paper appears to ...
- 992
10
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1
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Grammaticalization of third person singular -s in English
Is there any evidence that the third person singular -s can be traced back to a lexical item before it became an inflection? I am trying to see if the theory of grammaticalization applies to its ...
- 101
15
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2
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Are any of the isolating languages of East Asia showing signs of gaining inflections?
It's generally accepted that languages go through a cycle of changes to their morphological type.
English is losing its inflectional endings and becoming more isolating/analytic.
But what about the ...
- 14.8k