The Power of Analogy: An Essay on Historical Linguistics [Reprint 2011 ed.] 9783110919813, 9783110188738

Table of contents :
Acknowledgments
List of figures
List of tables
Abbreviations
Introduction
0.1. The scenario
0.2. The prestige of historical linguistics
0.3. The limitations of historical linguistics
0.4. Goals of the essay
0.5. Plan of the study
Part I
Chapter 1. Diachrony: Positions and challenges
1.1. Proposals
1.2. Problematic aspects of historical linguistics
1.3. Language change
Chapter 2. Domains in historical linguistics
2.1. Dimensions of diachrony
2.2. Philology broadly
2.3. Various formal proposals
Chapter 3. Reintegrating diachrony: A critique of some theoretical constructs
3.1. Four polar notions
3.2. The immanent view
3.3. Innate and constructivist aspects
3.4. Communication and causation
3.5. The shape of language
3.6. Environmental dependence of language learning
3.7. Parameter setting as induction
3.8. The modeling of frequency
3.9. Conclusion: Language as the object of diachronic study
Chapter 4. Critical issues: Grammaticality, representation, redundancy, and regularity
4.1. Types of grammaticality judgments
4.2. Grammaticality judgments as linguistic knowledge
4.3. Representation
4.4. Redundancy
4.5. Allocating computational resources
4.6. Regularity
Part II
Chapter 5. Analogy, categorization, and learning
5.1. Immanence and the linguistic individual
5.2. Learning
5.3. Analogy as an operative model
5.4. Analogy in diachrony
5.5. Change in social context
5.6. In brief
Chapter 6. Soft Syntax
6.1. An overview of linguistic components
6.2. Major articulations and interfacing
6.3. The dimensions of Soft Syntax
6.4. Implementation of Soft Syntax dimensions
6.5. General considerations on parsimonious syntax representation
Chapter 7. Pathways for diachronic shifts
7.1. Change in primary components outside of syntax
7.2. Syntactic dimensions and change
7.3. More on change
7.4. Conclusion
Chapter 8. Conclusions
8.1. Reaching a higher level
8.2. The essential ingredients
8.3. Computational resources
8.4. Modeling historical change
8.5. Time and society
8.6. Soft Syntax
8.7. Concentrating on broader forms: Languages
8.8. Envoi
Notes
References
Index of names
Subject index

Citation preview

The Power of Analogy

W G DE

Trends in Linguistics Studies and Monographs 170

Editors

Walter Bisang Hans Henrich Hock Werner Winter (main editor for this volume)

Mouton de Gruyter Berlin · New York

The Power of Analogy An Essay on Historical Linguistics

by

Dieter Wanner

Mouton de Gruyter Berlin · New York

Mouton de Gruyter (formerly Mouton, The Hague) is a Division of Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin.

© Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI to ensure permanence and durability.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication

Data

Wanner, Dieter, 1943The power of analogy : an essay on historical linguistics / by Dieter Wanner. p. cm. - (Trends in linguistics. Studies and monographs ; 170) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-3-11-018873-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 3-11-018873-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Historical linguistics. 2. Analogy (Linguistics) I. Title. II. Series. P140.W36 2006 417'.7—dc22 2006006591

ISBN-13: 978-3-11-018873-8 ISBN-10: 3-11-018873-2 ISSN 1861-4302 Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Bibliothek Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at .

© Copyright 2006 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Cover design: Christopher Schneider, Berlin. Printed in Germany.

Acknowledgments

The conclusion of this essay provides me the opportunity to thank all those who were in one way or another instrumental in bringing this project to completion. My gratitude extends to institutions and individuals, to authors, some known to me only by their name and writings, to the many students who experienced the less than fully developed phases of my thinking on the subject as it was taking shape in class, to colleagues here and in Europe, as well as dear friends who experienced the difficult transition from an intuitive idea to a finished and entirely reworked manuscript. The list is too long and would risk unjustly omitting a name here or there. I can only say here that my sense of debt and thankfulness to all of you is sincerely felt. I still wish to single out my wife Brigitte for her patience, understanding, and support during the many phases of this project. The fundamental ideas for this essay are the fruit of an exceptional opportunity provided to me by the generosity of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Bad Godesberg, Germany) in the form of a Research Award (Forschungspreis) in 1994—1995. The year-long stay at the host institution, the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau and its Seminar für Romanische Sprachwissenschaft, embedded in the stimulating activities of the then Sonderforschungsbereich 321 Mündlichkeit und Schriftlichkeit, provided me with the ideal frame for developing a train of thought combining various linguistic traditions. Wolfgang Raible, who directed the Seminar and the Sonderforschungsbereich, as a true friend gave me carte blanche for something creative, and I am glad to be able to present here the completed result, even as it may be late in coming. The second crucial influence came from long discussions with my Ohio State colleague Peter Culicover debating the options for historical linguistics in a pared-down linguistic framework. My long hesitations, in spite of the impulses that I continued receiving from him as well as from the talk series at the Center for Cognitive Science, eventually bore a fruit, allowing me to acknowledge Peter's generous sharing of ideas. In the end, the essay acquired its present shape in response to the realization that its previous versions lacked a constructive orientation. Repeated support by The Ohio State University in the form of time away from administrative and teaching duties (two Special Research Assignments and,

vi

Acknowledgments

crucially, a year-long Faculty Professional Leave in 2004—2005) has led to this study that is finally ready for presentation to the field. The essay in its present form and with its positions might surprise not only many readers, but probably also those to whom I owe much of the inspiration and intellectual excitement that I experienced while trying to sort out a web of contradictions with the hope of reinstating historical linguistics as a fulfilling field of inquiry. This is an essay: an experiment in how far a set of eclectic ideas may lead in principle. While the writings of Maturana and Varela (1972), Skousen (1989), Ristad (1993), and Culicover and Nowak (2003) certainly do not require mutual complementation, they provided for me a fertile mixture of ingredients from which I tried to conjure up a new entity. The pathway to the point where I can now write these acknowledgments has been long and unpredictable, but full of intellectual enjoyment. I was able to discover, recognize, and sometimes even suddenly understand - or so it seemed to me - how the challenges of diachronic investigation within a theory-oriented practice of linguistics could be turned into an asset. The essay traces a novel path and wishes to give the reader a general perspective on this alternative; the hard empirical support in the form of detailed analytical studies applying this approach to significant questions is yet to follow. I wish to dedicate this book to the institutions, public and private, national and international, that enable scholars and artists to develop ideas free of other concerns. My deep appreciation goes to The Ohio State University and, foremost, to the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation for its effective support of global contact and understanding among scholars of all disciplines.

Contents

Acknowledgments List of figures List of tables Abbreviations

0.1. 0.2. 0.3. 0.4. 0.5.

Introduction The scenario The prestige of historical linguistics The limitations of historical linguistics Goals of the essay Plan of the study

ν xiii xiii xiv

1 1 4 6 8 10

Parti

1.1. 1.2. 1.2.1. 1.2.1.1. 1.2.1.2. 1.2.1.3. 1.2.2. 1.2.3. 1.2.4. 1.2.5. 1.3. 1.3.1. 1.3.2.

Chapter 1. Diachrony: Positions and challenges Proposals Problematic aspects of historical linguistics Uniformity vs. variation Incomplete solutions Frequency Functionalization and standardization Atomistic vs. morphologistic approaches Latin word stress Cultural and medial contributions Grammaticality judgments Language change The nature of change Patterns of change

15 15 18 18 18 18 19 20 20 22 22 23 23 25

2.1. 2.2. 2.2.1. 2.2.2.

Chapter 2. Domains in historical linguistics Dimensions of diachrony Philology broadly The role of philology Philology in action: textual considerations

27 27 28 28 31

viii

Contents

2.2.2.1. 2.2.2.2. 2.2.2.3. 2.3. 2.3.1. 2.3.1.1. 2.3.1.2. 2.3.2. 2.3.3. 2.3.4. 2.3.4.1. 2.3.4.2. 2.3.5. 2.3.5.1. 2.3.5.2. 2.3.5.3. 2.3.5.4. 2.3.7.

3.1. 3.2. 3.3. 3.4. 3.5. 3.6. 3.7. 3.7.1. 3.7.2. 3.8. 3.8.1. 3.8.2. 3.8.3. 3.8.4. 3.9.

4.1.

Textual genres Oral vs. written Written discourse Various formal proposals Neogrammarian and structural approaches Regularity of sound change The uses of analogy Double analysis Harris and Campbell (1995) Typology General considerations Choosing a typological base Grammaticalization Grammaticalization as a linguistic principle Two meanings of grammaticalization Grammaticalization as a reduced parametrization model The extent of a grammaticalization cline Overview

31 32 33 37 38 38 44 45 47 50 50 51 53 53 54 55 55 59

Chapter 3. Reintegrating diachrony: A critique of some theoretical constructs

62

Four polar notions The immanent view Innate and constructivist aspects Communication and causation The shape of language Environmental dependence of language learning Parameter setting as induction The level of parametric determination Beyond parameters The modeling of frequency The role of frequency Unstable differentiations Incorporating frequency Frequency calibration Conclusion: Language as the object of diachronic study

62 63 65 67 67 69 71 71 76 77 77 78 80 81 84

Chapter 4. Critical issues: Grammatically, representation, redundancy, and regularity

85

Types of grammaticality judgments

85

Contents

4.1.1. 4.1.2 4.1.3. 4.2. 4.2.1. 4.2.2. 4.3. 4.4. 4.4.1. 4.4.2. 4.4.3. 4.5. 4.5.1. 4.5.2. 4.6.

Two levels of grammaticality judgments dealing with grammaticality results Grammaticality in a social space Grammaticality judgments as linguistic knowledge Acquisition of grammaticality judgments The status of grammaticality judgments Representation Redundancy Reducing predictable information Computational resources The values of redundancy Allocating computational resources Complete analysis Redundancy in linguistic representation Regularity

ix

85 88 91 95 95 97 99 100 100 100 101 103 103 104 105

Part II

5.1. 5.2. 5.2.1. 5.2.2. 5.2.3. 5.2.4. 5.3. 5.3.1. 5.3.2. 5.3.2.1. 5.3.2.2. 5.3.3. 5.3.3.1. 5.3.3.2. 5.3.3.3. 5.3.3.4. 5.3.3.5. 5.3.3.6. 5.4. 5.4.1. 5.4.2.

Chapter 5. Analogy, categorization, and learning

111

Immanence and the linguistic individual Learning Learning functions Imprinting Dosage of input Coordinates for language learning Analogy as an operative model Grounding the speculation Categorization The fundamental challenge Modeling categorization with Aqui and Clagen Analogy A single dynamic force CAMiLLe Two faces of analogy Pervasive analogy The effects of analogy Analogical Modeling Analogy in diachrony Analogy as a process: Assimilation and spread Two pathways for change

111 111 111 113 114 115 115 115 116 116 117 118 118 119 120 121 122 123 127 127 128

χ

Contents

5.4.3. 5.4.4. 5.4.4.1. 5.4.4.2. 5.4.5. 5.4.6. 5.4.7. 5.5. 5.5.1. 5.5.3. 5.5.3.1. 5.5.3.2. 5.5.3.3. 5.5.4. 5.5.4.1. 5.5.4.2. 5.6.

Random direction of analogy Oscillating analogy Clitic pronoun and infinitive in Italian Clitic pronoun and infinitive in Spanish Privileged states of analogy Constructive assimilation Essential dimensions of change Change in social context Social dimensions of change A computational implementation of the social model Imprinting and connectionism Receptivity, prestige, and frequency Predictions by the model and linguistic reality Secondary social forces Standardization Social shifts In brief

129 130 130 132 133 136 137 138 138 140 141 142 144 147 147 148 150

Chapter 6. Soft Syntax

152

6.1. 6.2. 6.3. 6.3.1. 6.3.2. 6.3.3.

An overview of linguistic components Major articulations and interfacing The dimensions of Soft Syntax Around syntax Dimensions of form Syntactic components

152 153 155 155 157 158

6.3.3.1. 6.3.3.2.

[PRECEDENCE] [COHESION]

160 163

6.3.3.3.

[DEPENDENCE]

168

6.3.3.3.1. 6.3.3.3.2. 6.3.3.3.3.

Establishing hierarchy Predicate subcategorization Connecting syntax with morphology

168 170 173

6.3.3.4.

[AGREEMENT]

174

6.3.3.4.1.

174

6.3.3.4.3.

General characterization Endocentric vs. exocentric [AGREEMENT] Nature and function of [AGREEMENT]

6.3.3.5.

[CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]

180

6.3.3.6.

[CONCATENATION]

183

6.3.3.6.1. 6.3.3.6.2. 6.3.3.6.3.

subordination] [CONCATENATION: superordination] Operation of [CONCATENATION]

184 187 187

6.3.3.4.2.

[CONCATENATION:

176 177

Contents

6.3.3.7. 6.4. 6.4.1. 6.4.2. 6.5. 6.5.1. 6.5.2.

7.1. 7.1.1. 7.1.2. 7.1.3. 7.2. 7.2.1. 7.2.1.1. 7.2.1.2. 7.2.1.3. 7.2.1.4. 7.2.1.5. 7.2.1.6. 7.2.1.7. 7.2.2. 7.2.2.1. 7.2.2.2. 7.2.2.3. 7.2.2.4. 7.2.2.5. 7.2.2.6. 7.2.2.7. 7.2.3. 7.2.3.1. 7.2.3.2. 7.2.4.1. 7.2.4.2. 7.2.4.3.

xi

Overview Implementation of Soft Syntax dimensions Fine-tuning the dimensions through implementation conditions Adapting the syntactic dimensions to their implementation General considerations on parsimonious syntax representation Foundations for syntax Conclusion

189 190

Chapter 7. Pathways for diachronic shifts

199

Change in primary components outside of syntax Phonetics and phonology Morphology Lexicon Syntactic dimensions and change

199 200 202 204 205 205 205 206 207 208 209 210

[PRECEDENCE]

Diachronic potential Changes of [PRECEDENCE] in diachrony Implementing transition Decomposition Amalgamation Function The diachrony of [PRECEDENCE] again [COHESION]

General properties Constituent creation through [COHESION] A privileged dimension Bonding vs. edgehood Mechanisms of transition Compound tenses Correlations [DEPENDENCE]

Diachronic potential Formal [DEPENDENCE] or the governance of clitics Interpreting the string Gradualness and [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] Types of development under [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]

190 193 195 195 196

211

212 212 213 214 216 217 219 223 223 223 225 228 228 229

xii

Contents

7.2.4.4.

Autonomous function of [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]

230

7.2.4.5.

232

7.2.5.

Multiple solutions for [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] [AGREEMENT]

233

7.2.5.1.

[AGREEMENT] in diachrony

233

7.2.5.2. 7.2.5.2.1. 7.2.5.2.2. 7.2.5.3. 7.2.5.4.

Decay vs. build-up of [AGREEMENT] Loss of agreement systems Shoring up a decaying agreement system Build-up of [AGREEMENT] in syntax Indirect object clitic reduplication in Spanish

235 235 236 239 241

7.2.5.5.

[AGREEMENT] in overview

245

[CONCATENATION]

More on change Core concerns for the formal-social model Margins of the formal-social model Long-range targets of change Conclusion

246 246 247 249 251 252 254 257 259 262 262 263 264 265

Chapter 8. Conclusions Reaching a higher level The essential ingredients Computational resources Modeling historical change Time and society Soft Syntax Concentrating on broader forms: Languages Envoi

267 267 267 269 269 270 271 274 275

7.2.6. 7.2.6.1. 7.2.6.2. 7.2.6.3. 7.2.6.4. 7.2.6.5. 7.2.6.6. 7.2.6.7. 7.2.6.8. 7.3. 7.3.1. 7.3.2. 7.3.3. 7.4.

8.1. 8.2. 8.3. 8.4. 8.5. 8.6. 8.7. 8.8.

Changes in linearity of the string Upshifting Tensions with [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] Downshifting Relations with morphology and 'analyticity' Creation of a romance future Morphology and syntax [CONCATENATION: subordination] as a unified function

Notes References Index of names Subject index

276 298 322 325

List of figures Figure Figure Figure Figure

1. 2. 3. 4.

Grammaticalization cline for deixis to clisis S-curve of development Interconnection of components Levels of cohesion

53 95 154 166

List of tables Table 1. Table 2. Table 3.

Dimensions of grammaticality Proclisis with infinitive in Castilian and Aragonese The non-syntactic domains of language

91 133 159

Table Table Table Table Table Table

[PRECEDENCE] [COHESION] [DEPENDENCE] [AGREEMENT] [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] [CONCATENATION]

163 167 174 180 183 188

Overview of Soft Syntax Six syntactic dimensions

189 196

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Table 10. Table 11.

Abbreviations § 1,2, 3

BrPg.

paragraph first, second, third person first position second position adjective accusativus cum infinitivo ablative accusative active adjunct adverb(ial) agreement (GB) agent alii, others argument article auxiliary before current era benefactive Brazilian Portuguese

C

COMP,

PI P2 A A.C.I. ABL ACC ACT ADJ ADV AGR AGT

al. ARG ART AUX

BCE BEN

Cat. CE Ch. CL COMP COND CP DAT DEM DET

(PS)

complementizer Catalan current era chapter clitic complementizer conditional complementizer phrase dative demonstrative determiner

DO DP

e.g. ECM Eng. EPg. etc. ex. F

f(r,v) Fr. FUT

G GEN

Gm. gram GRAM

i.e. id. IMPER IMPF IND INF 10

It. 1. Lt.

direct object determiner phrase exempli gratia, for instance exceptional case marking English European Portuguese et caetera, and so on example feminine folio (recto, verso: front, back) French future Grammar genitive German grammaticality (covert) grammaticality (overt) id est, that is idem, the same (meaning) imperative imperfect indicative infinitive indirect object Italian line (in source identification) Latin

Abbreviations

L,d,2) lit. Μ Mod. ms. Ν NEG Nit. NOM NP NUM OBJ OBL Ρ Ρ· par. PASS Pg· PIE PL PM PP PPL PPPL PPR PRES PRED PREP PRET PRON

language (first, second) literally masculine modern manuscript neuter, noun negative Northern Italian nominative noun phrase number object oblique probability, POWER, plural (with person) page paragraph passive Portuguese Proto-Indo-European plural (free-standing) parameter prepositional phrase past participle past passive participle present participle present predicate preposition preterit pronoun

PS QU REFL Rm. RRm. S

S, SG

Span., Sp. SPEC SUBJ SUBORD t T(HM) T(X) TM TOP UG

V V VLt. VP vs.

w WH

person (as in IPS 'first person') INTERROGATIVE reflexive Romanian Rhaeto-Romance sentence; subject (typological formulae) singular (with person, freestanding) Spanish specifier subject, subjunctive subordinate time, trace theme Theory of X Tobler-Mussafia (law of) topic Universal Grammar value verb, vowel Vulgar Latin verb phrase versus, opposed to Wackernagel (law of) interrogative/ relative

xv

Introduction

0.1. The scenario The formal endeavors in linguistics have proven to be a lasting success with the community of scholars. An accumulation of significant analytic results validates this approach with impressive insights into the formrelated properties of language. Due to choice and constitution, formal linguistic theories are contained within their axiomatic limitations of principled computability and strict synchronicity. Their approach is atomistic, investigating interacting principles that should ideally be formalized without residue, as is essential for scientific endeavors. The ensuing difficulty in dealing with language development in an insightful way, both in individual acquisition and diachronic change, may be the price to pay for the theoretical power gained with this stance. The long-standing enterprise of historical linguistics can also claim great success in describing language change embedded in a historical and social reality aided by a philological approach. Such studies are chiefly appreciated for their phenotype, concentrating on their morphologistic (i.e. shaperelated) rather than atomistic properties. The literature of the last 150 years provides an extraordinary wealth of significant observations on a broad sample of languages and periods. These invaluable records of linguistic phenomena and trends may also take the form of insightful syntheses and interpretations. But the sheer amount and disparity of data and phenomena does not easily lend itself to the deeper understanding aimed for in current thought on formalized linguistics. Yet even this highly complex formal program in synchrony, due to its idealized stance, is plagued by imperfections of analysis, frequently leaving behind an unexplained residue. Resolving these problems must increase the complexity of the analysis, perhaps inordinately and without secure gain in insight. The more concrete practice of historical linguistics tends to display data in a necessarily less structured accumulation of observations, sacrificing explanatory relevance. The formal and the historical seem to oppose each other, following the enduring division predicated in the Saussurean dichotomy between synchrony and diachrony. This essay starts by arguing that the antinomy between synchrony and diachrony, between the formal and the historical, should be relegated to the

2

Introduction

periphery. The opposition is not more than a methodological polarization of linguistic analysis emanating from a concrete shared center of language as knowledge and practice. The immanent perspective on language embraced here receives its inspiration from the autopoietic conception developed in Maturana and Varela (1972) and Maturana (1978). Its point of reference is the linguistic individual (the erstwhile speaker/hearer) as the cognitive agent and observing recipient of linguistically relevant information present in the environment. Between the atomistic formal and the morphologistic historical domains, the cognitive constitution of the linguistic individual mediates the discrepancy by incorporating contingent information from the concrete record of language in use. Focusing on this constellation promises to provide a deeper understanding of language and its history, reaching a hermeneutic quality (Gadamer 1972: Introduction). With this input, the learner builds an increasingly complex and accurate representation, possibly approaching a formal solution, in a complex process of acquisition relying on analogy, assimilation, and inductive categorization. The linguistic subject's mind enjoys full access to the two defining spheres of language: form and contingency, prominently including content as a reflection of and on the surrounding world in accessible form during each life stage. Language acquired and used in this way is the base of a life-long practice feeding itself back into the comprehensive data pool through social interaction and naturalistic first-language learning by the new generations of linguistic individuals, constituting a synchronically integrated diachrony. The concrete proposal for combining diachronic with synchronic linguistic thought and practice here depends on the twin adoption of (i) a seriously restricted theoretical base in the form of Concrete Minimalism (Culicover 1999; Culicover and Nowak 2003) assuring barely adequate learning power, and (ii) a weak but inexorable dynamic force of analogical assimilation as formulated in Analogical Modeling (Skousen 1989, 2002). The demonstration of the computational indeterminacy in full formal analyses (Ristad 1993) reinforces the need for adjusting the focus of a realistic linguistic framework. These empirical positions provide the basis for redirecting the theoretical efforts in a cognitive direction and, among other concerns, focus on the shape of linguistic material and the impact of the historical components of language. This reorientation will help explain the significant aspects of linguistic phenomena that escape standard regularity and conventional formal determination. At the same time, the trend toward closure, deterministic in a formalized perspective, derives here from the pervasive nature of analogy guaranteeing the requisite categorization in language acquisition, flexible extension of properties in language use, and

The scenario

3

assimilatory changes in diachrony. Compared to rule-dependent generalizations licensing formal closure, analogy implies a weak drift toward completion taking the form of accumulating, but isolated assimilations, unpredictable in direction except for probabilistic trends, and thus reaching closure without any regularity. This essay will sketch Soft Syntax as a framework for the representation of a pertinent syntax in this reformed program. Soft Syntax unites formderived and contingent dimensions, combining atomistic and morphologistic concerns, and provides the conceptual transition from an internal perspective of the linguistic individual's learning task to the external viewpoint of the linguistic observer. Soft Syntax (which would also require other "soft" versions for phonology, morphology, and a corresponding naive semantics; see Dahlgren 1988) follows the spirit of Concrete Minimalism. It is built from basic cognitive capacities and processes known to have an impact on other psychological domains (order, association, inclusion, etc.). The dimensions are specific to language only in their concrete linguistic formulation. They form part of a parsimonious specification of innate language predispositions, sufficient to enable language learning and practice. These properties must be especially attuned to linguistic input and to its processing with the lowest possible resistance in order to guarantee the universal achievement of first-language learning in all its language-specific diversity. The radical reduction of language-specific foundations and the inclusion of more general cognitive forces responsible for language address two vexing questions. First, the implicit power of formal generalizations does not show up in a correspondingly streamlined linguistic output. Second, the projected complexity of language acquisition is troubling if compared with its apparent ease and phenomenal rate of effective success. A unique focus on formal properties, as widely practiced in linguistic thinking, cannot hope to explain this constellation short of projecting much of language onto a comprehensive, but opaque plane of universal, hard-wired invariability. It blocks from view the two constitutive contingencies which underlie this cognitive puzzle: (i) the continual historical development of languages from one fluctuating state to another, and (ii) the open-ended linguistic interaction between individuals having acquired their cognitive and linguistic processing expertise from their contingent socio-historical environment. This double indeterminacy underlying the formal aspects indicates that this domain cannot represent the sole dimension for understanding language. Formal completion constitutes the eventual aim that progressive grammati-

4

Introduction

cal abstraction by the linguistic individual may be moving toward, but will not normally reach. In the immanent view relevant for the linguistic individual, the two separate domains of the Saussurean conception flow together into one super-domain of language practice in its social and cultural embedding, thus comprising the historical dimensions in a natural way. Based on such interaction of chronological domains, diachronic linguistics can be reconstituted as a true contribution to the investigation of language. Approaching the phenomenon of human linguistic capabilities in this way is expected to deepen the understanding of linguistic phenomena. The corresponding architecture proposed here presents a way of conceiving of language as a cognitive faculty practiced in individual and collective time and with varying form yet communicational functionality.

0.2. The prestige of historical linguistics After a long period of almost uncontested predominance in the nineteenth century, the historical approach to the study of language has gradually diminished in relevance for the linguistic discipline during this century. For Hermann Paul (1920: 20-22) the inclusion of some descriptive synchronic considerations could possibly add useful detail to the historical approach that he considered the only scientific perspective on language. Today's practicing linguist who considered making use of the historical dimension in a synchronic study to help explain a phenomenon would not find it easy to maintain such a position. The Saussurean dichotomy between synchrony and diachrony seems to have estranged the two perspectives in a definitive way. Not that the practice of historical linguistics or the theoretical concern with diachrony are absent in the current linguistic literature, quite to the contrary (see Joseph and Janda 2003 for a broad survey). Language-specific philologies continue unabated in paths sanctioned by illustrious predecessors and first-rate results. Foremost in this vein appears the investigation of the languages of Classical Antiquity: Sanskrit, Ancient Greek, and Latin. In the less formally and more hermeneutically constituted European traditions, a respectable amount of energy is spent on diachronic aspects of a variety of (mostly European) languages. Of late, a strong interest has again surfaced within formal linguistics focusing on certain topics of language development based on the historical projection of the predictions stemming from first-language acquisition (e.g. Lightfoot 1991; Frazier 1990), the parameter program (Haegeman 1994), or the promising predictabilities con-

The prestige

of historical

linguistics

5

tained in the grammaticalization project (Hopper and Traugott 1993; Heine 1994). Yet historical linguistics is not a moving force or primary focus of present-day language studies. If historical language developments no longer receive sanction from current linguistic theory, a diminishing significance for historical linguistics only reflects a correct assessment of the new situation. It would require a paradigm change (Kuhn 1970), depending on contingent sociological factors in the research community, to again raise them to higher esteem. Even though the prevalent mode of theoretical linguistics may be exclusively synchronic, the marginal position of historical concerns is only a contingent consequence of the current form of constituting linguistic theory. The crucial question rather aims at the quality of explanation afforded by an approach that sidelines the diachronic phenomena characterizing language. The deficit in informational richness compared to available data situations is remarkable, since the proposed analyses in general lag far behind the traditionally established scenarios in accuracy and comprehensiveness. The extensively debated question of the (non-)null subject expression (e.g. Jaeggli and Safir 1989a) remains very unsatisfactory as far as the understanding of its historical development is concerned. This in spite of the extensive studies and rich chronological documentation covering the historical period of evolution of the non-null subject syndrome in various Romance languages: French (Franzen 1939; Adams 1987; Hirschbiihler 1989), Northern Italian varieties (Spiess 1956; Vanelli, Renzi and Benincä 1985; Benincä 1994; Poletto 2000), Florentine (Renzi 1994), Francoproven9al (Keller 1958; Roberts 1994), and also spoken Brazilian Portuguese (Kato and Negräo 2000). Similarly, the special efforts spent on the broad phenomenon of clitic elements (see e.g. Nevis et al. 1994) have not yielded a consensus on a systematic incorporation of clitic pronouns in the structure of a Romance utterance, much less on the origin, zenith, and eventual disappearance of the Medieval Romance loose distributional pattern of the so-called Tobler-Mussafia generalization (Tobler 1875; Meyer-Lübke 1897; Ramsden 1963; Rivero 1986; Wanner 1987; Benincä 1994; Fischer 2002; Salvi 2004). These are two highly visible developments of Romance (morpho) syntax begging for a better understanding of their dynamics and theoretical foundation. They cannot effectively be approached by the prevalent theoretical stances of Minimalism or (evolved) Principles and Parameters, Categorial Grammar (such as HPSG), or other purely formal approaches. They all clash with the categorical rigidity and overgeneralization of a static formalization that cannot be adapted to the dynamic progression of naturally occurring clitic evolution documented in the available data.

6

Introduction

Such examples suggest that a successful integration of historical concerns in linguistic theory still is a desideratum. The space for imaginable alternative conceptualizations is wide open. The attempt to reformulate fundamental questions of diachronic linguistics is free to proceed wherever the arguments may carry, even straying into conflict with some venerable parti pris as long as this flight of imagination is put to the test regarding its effectiveness and internal coherence. Thinking against the tide, as it may occur in this essay, is motivated by a wish to distill a richer essence from the familiar ingredients determining theoretical linguistics and historical language development. To open a path towards a more fulfilling practice of historical research requires liberation from a uninterested tutelary theory, as well as from the burden of partially uninterpretable data accumulated by the philological tradition. The argumentation will deal with improving the fit between data and theoretical framework. In spite of the rather abstract tone of the following considerations, this essay takes the position that nothing less than the coordination of (self-)reflection and appropriate activity can yield a concrete grounding. For this purpose, illustrative examples are woven into the discourse. They come practically all from the history of the Romance languages, yielding a certain thematic unity. Since so much is factually known about the history of this language group, such examples provide a rather safe control situation in the construction of a realistic framework for diachrony. Reliance on a tightly observed set of data embedded in their historical contingency eliminates the dangers of attributing to linguistic change what is rather the result of external historical forces impinging on the practice of a given language.

0.3. The limitations of historical linguistics Diachronic research is defined and limited by the properties of its data. For sufficiently remote times, the materials are usually recorded in the heterogeneous medium of writing, losing in this projection much relevant information about the linguistic event. Such data are static and unapproachable as far as constructive grammaticality judgments are concerned. In addition, the conservation of documents is accidental and only encompasses a severely limited range of textual varieties,1 inevitably excluding genuinely spontaneous discourse, constitutive for current linguistic thinking. The "impoverished" nature of such data must relegate historical linguistics to second place wherever better, less fragmented materials are available. Even

The limitations

of historical

linguistics

7

if the descriptive historical result can pass muster in privileged cases, significant analyses will mainly be available for a handful of (Indo-)European, Semitic, Sino-Tibetan, and Altaic languages with sufficient historical depth and documentary density, a collection far removed from typological representativity. This doubly filtered accessibility of linguistic diachrony is compounded by the fact that non-contemporaneous phenomena are intrinsically irrelevant for the constitution of the native speaker's grammar. A psychologically centered understanding of the language faculty puts the ahistoric viewpoint on center stage for linguistic theory. The cognitively autonomous and socially embedded individual cannot be expected to have any knowledge not directly derivable from the actual context and co-text of untutored natural first-language acquisition. This essentially uncontroversial tenet yields a theory-specific denial of relevance for diachronic data, a position which goes against prima facie experience and a priori arguments. This essay tries to highlight the relevance of change deriving from the irreducible temporal dimension of language, the inherently diachronic qualities of so-called synchronic data, and the not-so-evident limitations on the formal characterization of language due to the massive variability of human languages, dialects, registers and earlier conditions. The so-called diasystem (Weinreich 1968; Coseriu 1973) - diatopic, diastratic, diaphasic and diaphoric 2 - accounts for languagespecific, more or less internal, diversification of linguistic form and expression, anchoring this variability in linguistic individuals 3 as users of their language faculty. The diasystem basically stands for what might be expected to underlie performance, a free-wheeling "performance module" parallel to the linguistically sanctioned "competence theory". However, the two portions are couched in incommensurable terms: systematic reconstruction for competence vs. ad hoc adjustments of competence to external conditions for performance. If they meet at their starting point in the common substratum of the linguistic individual, it is only by accident. The unsatisfactory situation of diachronic linguistics, partaking of both "competence" and "performance", cannot be remedied by implanting a performance theory on top of the seriously constructed competence level of formal linguistics. Nor is the diasystemic approach (in any of its imaginable instantiations) served by receiving a substructure of competence-oriented support pillars. The crux of the problem lies in the original distinction between the two Saussurean (1916) poles of langue vs. parole, or Chomsky's approximate reinterpretations as competence vs. performance (1965), or IIanguage vs. E-language (1988).

8

Introduction

An improvement of the diachronic quandary presupposes a more language-oriented theoretical apprehension of human linguistic capacity. The following considerations will not reduce the abstraction in linguistic conceptualization. Rather, the language faculty will be viewed as integrated into a broader cognitive context to provide a reconstruction of the diachronic contributions to the acquisition, cognitive integration, and social practice of human language.

0.4. Goals of the essay This monograph discusses some relevant problem areas for a consciously theoretic enterprise of historical linguistics. The critique of the current linguistic efforts will consist of a leveling of the Saussurean dichotomies imposed by the external observer and put in its place the linguistic individual's immanent point of view, focusing on their effective knowledge of language and their cognitive capacities as active participants in linguistic practice. This perspective highlights the areas of perception, subjective knowledge, abstraction, consciousness, and cognitive limitation. The multiplicity of individuals practicing each language constitutes the social space within which language takes place. The time dimension, the defining aspect of diachrony, acquires prominence as a consequence of the linguistic individuals' continuity and identity during their individual life spans. The extension of an individual life history, and the social co-presence of indefinitely many such a-synchronized life histories, each resulting from a set of somewhat different formative experiences, overcome the false a-temporal aspect of synchrony. This move propels the time dimension of language, 1.e. its diachrony, into a defining position for understanding language overall. A second line of argumentation will center on the more linguistic question of language acquisition and its relevance to language change. The two phenomena share an intimate core; yet this relation cannot be limited to the plausible effect of categorical grammar change through abduction and various types of generalization (Andersen 1973; Lightfoot 1979; Traugott and Hopper 1993; Harris and Campbell 1995, as well as pertinent handbook treatments). Linguistic continuity across generations is insured during firstlanguage acquisition by the social embedding of language practice. At the same time, infant acquisition is also a period subject to potential change due to the non-deterministic way in which language is learned and the inherent heterogeneity of language use across the speech community. Both

Goals of the essay

9

sources of change - heterogeneous continuity and approximate imitative acquisition - continue beyond the standard termination of first-language acquisition in adolescence. Adult language learning is qualitatively comparable, even though much slower and less dramatic than for the child, consisting of continuing incorporation of new material and adjustments in linguistic ability and practice (Wald 1986). If knowledge of grammar, and thus of language, is to a significant extent based on practice, language acquisition is a life-long process, giving the synchronic acquisition process an inherently diachronic dimension. There is no chronological closure of language learning. In a third line, the essay will re-evaluate the amount and kind of information acquired and represented in the linguistic learning process at various stages. An important insight of computational linguistics (e.g. Ristad 1993) recognizes some basic linguistic processes and submodules as computationally intractable, e.g. standard formulations of Binding Theory (e.g. Chomsky 1981). The finite computational resources, i.e. cognitive space and processing time, necessarily limit what a linguistic individual can perform in real time. Beside improving the analysis where necessary, the major reduction in computational load must come from the change to an immanent perspective, limiting the information to be processed below a level of full analysis. For a decision on appropriate binding, it will suffice according to Ristad (1993: 121) for the linguistic subject to deal with the "efficient witness", i.e. the one specific activated binding interpretation of a referential term plus a pronominal element, equivalent to a shared indexical value of i. The two terms are presumed to be coreferential through the context of the linguistic act in which they occur, projecting a contextually favored solution to processing prominence. The question then is more simply: can they be coreferential here and yield an interpretation? The possible answers are "yes" and "no", and the realistically entertained answer is "yes", enabling cognitive processing to accomplish the real-time task (see also 3.5. below). The appropriate completeness of representation as a substratum for linguistic understanding needs to be investigated. Full representation may only be a last resort for interpretation, applicable in those cases that cannot be decided on more expedient foundations. If in the hypothetical binding question the result is negative, another concretely identified hypothesis needs to be accessed, again somehow favored by the speech situation and the inherent logic of the discourse. This is still quite far from an exhaustive consideration of options for the scenario. Full representation remains in the domain of the observer and may thus not be of relevance for the linguistic individual as a cognitive entity.

10

Introduction

A non-dichotomous construal of language as coherent practice, a broad perspective on acquisition, and a severely limited range of representation will be essential for a theory of linguistics in which diachrony must be a codetermining dimension. Elevating diachronic linguistics is not a purpose in itself, but derives from the broader concerns for cognitive realism, specifiable in good part through the proposals of Concrete Minimalism and Analogical Modeling. They lead to an automatic reintegration of diachrony with their reliance on cognitive and social conditions.

0.5. Plan of the study These are some themes of relevance for a reformulated practice of historical linguistics. The following chapters will explore the various topics, with the aim of arriving at a coherent and multifaceted view of diachronic change. The first part of the study focuses on the difficulties confronting historical linguistics in and of itself as well as in its aspirations to contribute to the deeper understanding of language. Chapter 1 gives additional shape to the challenges confronting historical linguistics as a theoretically relevant field. After reviewing in Chapter 2 some of the past achievements and current trends and facets of historical linguistics and contemporary philology, Chapter 3 introduces the new immanent perspective and provides a critique of some key tenets in form-restricted linguistics, focusing on parameter setting and the relevance of frequency information. A final Chapter 4 of this first part critically assesses the status of grammaticality judgments, redundancy, and regularity regarding linguistic materials. The second part of the essay contains three chapters with constructive proposals on how a historical linguistics in general, and syntax in particular, can be derived in organic fashion from an immanent focus on theory construction. Chapter 5 presents and elaborates the concept of pervasive analogy as the force driving language acquisition, practice, and change in a unified fashion if combined with the complementary design of social embedding. The new proposal derives from the fundamental contributions made by Concrete Minimalism (Culicover 1999; Culicover and Nowak 2003) and Analogical Modeling (Skousen 1989, 2002). On this foundation, an appropriate framework for syntax, Soft Syntax, applying to synchrony as well as diachrony, will be developed in Chapter 6. The six determining dimensions of syntax (precedence, cohesion, dependence, agreement, constructional identity, and concatenation) receive a detailed presentation of their purpose and operation for syntactic organization as well as their relevance in a

Plan of the study

11

broader cognitive context. Given the need for effective integration of the specifically syntactic aspects in the natural space of language practice, Soft Syntax will also be situated with regard to the surrounding dimensions, sketching the contributions and properties of formal components as well as the impact of the material, social, and intellectual envelope in which language is being practiced. Chapter 7 can then bring together the different strains of investigation by discussing the consequences of implementing Soft Syntax for diachrony, locating the crucial points for syntactic change and illustrating how the proposed perspective on historical linguistics fares in its application. The conclusions will revisit the considerations of this essay and the directions for a historical research program of linguistic relevance.

PARTI

Chapter 1 Diachrony: Positions and challenges

1.1. Proposals Four observations pose in a simple way the question of how diachrony pertains to theory. (1) a. Languages are in continual flux: synchronic variation. b. Languages are continually changing: chronological differentiation. (2) Language change tends to be reasonably regular across large periods. (3) Language change is unpredictable in its actuation. (4) Overall, languages remain surprisingly similar in spite of all changes. These four points express contradictory trends which cannot be understood by elevating a postulate of formal regularity to unique relevance for a theory of human linguistic competence. Taken together with the considerations of the introduction, it is quite unlikely that a dedicated theory of language change will succeed in providing an appropriate answer for the tensions expressed in (1) to (4). Let us explore these observations in somewhat more detail. If languages are continually variable in practice and changing in time (1), a theoretical approach which does not provide for adequate incorporation of the variationist and diachronic diversifications is inadequate as an account of human linguistic faculty. A theory of linguistic change, conceived of as a correction of the more basic general theory, would imply the nonorganic status of synchronic and diachronic variation and its accidental coupling with language. The differentiation between separate parts of the linguistic faculty as to their likelihood to undergo change (high for phonetics/phonology vs. low for syntax) would constitute an unexplained interaction between the theory of language capacity and the theory of language change. The connection with the basic theoretical constructs must be much more direct to comprehend change as an integral portion of human linguistic ability. Linguistic change cannot only be the result of accidental forces because of the widely observed and uncontested regularities which underwrote the success of the neogrammarian program. The regularity of historical devel-

16

Chapter 1: Diachrony.

Positions and

challenges

opments (see (2)) does not differ from the regularities on which synchronic formal linguistics is focused, thus implying substantive and formal categories identical to the constructs of basic linguistic theory. In both dimensions, synchrony and diachrony, however, the analysis of a concrete problem very likely also turns out to contain a more or less important remainder of unresolved cases and opaque connections to other features of the language. Regularity and peripheral inadequacies show comparable patterns in the historical description of languages and in their synchronic analysis. The regularity of change does not extend to its actuation (Labov 1971, 1994-2001 (2): Ch. 1) and is unpredictable in a systematic sense; see (3) above. It does not matter that change frequently has a flavor of unavoidability from the vantage point of the observer noticing the "natural", "unmarked", or "default" tendencies post factum. The crucial recognition is the fact that each and every one of such expected and understandable changes could also not have happened. In language families with rich diatopic and/or diastratic texture, it is frequently possible to document a given change for one part of the set and its absence for another part. Velar softening (or "palatalization") before front vowels is highly "natural" in its nearly pan-Romance form of assimilating Lt. /k/ and /gl to a palatal place of articulation as [k'], [g'] (high and non-back dorsal tongue articulation). Yet its equally natural further development into stable assibilated coronals [ts], [dz] or assibilated predorsals [c], [g], did not reach the North Central Sardinian dialects of Nuoro and Logudoro, where the articulation to date is lightly palatalized [k'], [g1] as it was for some remote period of spoken Latin (Lausberg 1956-1966 (1): §311). What remains unknown is the specific reason for the onset of a change at a given time, in a given form, and with a specific result. This contingency of historical change is fully shared by synchronic analyses covering more than one narrow manifestation of a specific language, i.e. studies dealing with typological distribution and synchronic variation that represent diachronic change in apparent time. Why the local languages of the Veneto differ from other Northern Italian varieties (especially Piedmontese, Lombard and Emiliano-Romagnolo) in retaining a major portion of word final vowels (in parallel to Tuscan, but against Piedmontese, etc.) is unexplained in view of the fact that in major aspects of the consonant system, the Veneto follows not distant Tuscany, but the geographically contiguous Northern Italian group (e.g. voicing of the intervocalic Latin surds). The lack of change in itself (maintaining final unstressed vowels) is not difficult to put in relation with strong linguistic tendencies, but this does not answer the question of how the opposite election of reducing and deleting these final vowels should have taken hold in the neighbor-

Proposals

17

ing varieties. The same general conditions apparently produce widely different results. If linguistic change is basically regular in its eventual implementation, the point of its initiation is fundamentally unpredictable. The general theories of (synchronic) linguistics cannot determine the concrete solutions of a given grammar beyond their inclusion in the overall options available within universal grammar. Synchronic and diachronic phenomena fail the test of a deterministic theory in the same situations. If the degree of variation in language is severely limited by way of some version of a universal grammar (UG), the same principles of UG are responsible for the diachronic limitations of change. In a synchronic perspective, languages share extensive non-trivial properties, as long as the attention is focused on an appropriate level of abstraction. A corresponding meaningful perception in the historical domain highlights the constant change of language in its external form, even though it is systematically contained by the abstract dimensions of synchronic theory. Accordingly, languages change only on a very superficial level involving concrete phonetic, morphological and lexical phenomena, while their constitutive features remain to a high degree invariant. Anchoring this stability and continuity of linguistic format is in principle an interesting analytic challenge. Indeed, it is possible to recognize the relative invariance on a much more immediate level in diachrony. While any language is expected to change over time, it is also true that a given language remains basically identical to itself over the course of its evolution (observation (4)). The space of variation is severely limited for a given language in its undisturbed genetic (hypo-phylogenetic) development. 4 The synchronic formal theory is unable to explain the basic continuity of language form over time outside of some strong principle of continuity. Redundant variation in the surface form cannot be distinguished from differences affecting a parametric determination of the data. If acquisition of a parametric difference is not stabilized (the problem of triggering), the result could go back and forth at an unpredictable rate of oscillation, but without any historical depth. The observed language development (1) is the proverbial tip of the iceberg, exposed to inspection and thereby showing concrete change. The huge core of the iceberg incorporates its otherness as a massive continuity of language form on which the salient tip of visible changes securely rests. The theoretical account must be in a position to guarantee this empirical continuity. The four simple propositions (1) to (4) converge on the recognition of the essential identity between the underlying account of diachronic and synchronic dimensions of language. As a consequence, the historical insights must derive from the constitutive components of language faculty

18

Chapter 1: Diachrony.

Positions and

challenges

understood as a dynamic activity that takes place in real time. Synchrony and diachrony are two sides of the same coin; the theoretical account will thus focus on the coin as a whole, not its isolated surfaces.

1.2. Problematic aspects of historical linguistics The preceding discussion argues for incorporating diachronic concerns into a general account of language as a human capacity. What follows is a minimal list of specific considerations requiring organic integration in a linguistic framework: incomplete change, frequency of forms, the dominance of form over principle, and the reaction of native speakers to linguistic input. 5

1.2.1. 1.2.1.1.

Uniformity vs. variation Incomplete

solutions

The effort to couch historical data constellations and questions in a formal framework yields the well-known incomplete solutions accounting for the data less than fully. The quality of the analysis is not in question; such imperfect solutions might embody the best insight and consensus about the issue at hand, yet the analysis cannot be considered satisfactory from a formal point of view. It lacks completion, and thus in a stricter formal interpretation, validity. The placement of unstressed object pronouns in the medieval Romance languages is illustrative. 6 In principle, the mechanisms which make the pronoun appear alternatively to the left or right of the verb, or occasionally even separated from it as in Spanish and Portuguese, seem to be well understood, but the reality always contains surprises that undermine the solution for such linearizations elaborated in formal terms.

1.2.1.2.

Frequency

As a component of such pronominal syntax, the ultimate distribution of the two options in the texts, e.g. contiguity of unstressed object pronoun 7 and verb vs. their optional separation in Medieval Spanish, may be a pattern of 90% vs. 10%: one option clearly dominant, and the other one in the minority. The further delimitation of clitic separation to subordinate contexts

Problematical

aspects

of historical

linguistics

19

again yields a 90%/10% split of conformity. The overall remainder of less than 1% of separation occurring in root clauses now appears as one of the negligible remnants of imperfection. The verdict will be different in a dichotomy producing a roughly even frequency split. Here neither option can be seen as dominant, and together they form a free alternation. A medieval Spanish example is the preverbal vs. postverbal occurrence of the clitic in main clauses after a full initial constituent (Ramsden 1963: 7 7 - 8 8 ; Wanner 1992). Any finer determination of differential contexts to supersede the frequency distribution will require considerable additional analytic provisions. But how do these frequency statements find motivated representation in the formal analysis? What is a negligible quantity of deviation? How is the resistant portion of manifestations interpreted within a formally constrained grammar? Frequency of occurrence and its integration in linguistic analysis announces itself as a major topic of concern thematized in Bybee and Hopper (2001a), expanded on in their (2001b). The question will be taken up in 3.8 below.

1.2.1.3.

Functionalization

and

standardization

The frequency-related variability of outcomes, e.g. of clitic separation vs. contiguity, points to the further concerns of what variation and frequency may countenance: possible secondary functionalization of variants. Such variants then cease to be free variants, open for selection by the speaker/ hearer, and rather conditioned by expressive, semantic, or even structural dimensions. While medieval clitic separation ceased to be operative (except for remnants in European Portuguese and Galician), verbal postposition of the clitic acquired an identifiable function of signaling non-finite verb forms (all of Romance minus French), and/or command forms (all of Romance including French), and reserving clitic anteposition for finite verb forms. Such differentiation in context did not just originate spontaneously, but seems to be significantly co-conditioned by the development of a standard language, as suggested in the chronological coincidence of the two processes. Standardization is basically a process of regularization, mainly functionalizing pre-existing variation. How can this almost intentional, rather non-formal process be understood within a meaningful account of language in evolution? The legitimate incorporation of specific aspects of linguistic practice requires much ingenuity in an atomistic formal elaboration to capture such morphologistic 8 dimensions.

20

1.2.2.

Chapter 1: Diachrony.

Positions and

challenges

Atomistic vs. morphologistic approaches

A major challenge for the practice of historical linguistics as an explanatory discipline lies in the rule orientation of standard linguistic theories which contrasts sharply with the necessarily shape-determined dimensions of the diachronic data. The tension is much enhanced compared with the synchronic situation, since the selective synchronic data under investigation are a critical sample of the indefinitely large arsenal of synchronic production. In the historical endeavor, a much fuller set of concrete data requires accounting, ideally the entire range of extant manifestations. This kind of closed corpus may contain heterogeneous components that defy a productive rule approach. The two chronological domains tend to be incommensurate, or at a minimum not intuitively related, since the description by rules/principles (the synchronic default) is disconnected from the resulting shapes (a frequent diachronic mode). If synchrony and diachrony are of the same kind, there should be a possible cross-over in focusing on rule vs. shape between the two domains. Basic morphologistic pertinence is not only an improbable eventuality; rather it is a standard pattern of diachronic evolution from one linguistic phase to another, disrupting what appears to be a viable formal rule and creating formal complications. Here is a telling example.

1.2.3.

Latin word stress

The known Latin word stress placement, for Classical as well as later forms of the language observing some remnants of vowel-length differentiation, can be described with much success by a productive last phonological rule of main-stress assignment. Using some moraic algorithm, the analysis recognizes the last syllable of bi- and plurisyllabic words as extra-metrical, and it predicts word accentuation on the second-to-last mora, whereby an obstruent-plus-liquid cluster, i.e. "muta cum liquida", counts as an onset grouping. Hence the characteristic forms in (5) where the surface-accented syllable is printed in bold. (5) a. Monosyllables: "final" stress da 'IMPER 2S' dö 'IS PRES IND ACT'

dem 'IS PRES SUB J ACT' des '2S PRES SUB J ACT'

Problematical

aspects of historical

linguistics

21

b. Bisyllables: penultimate stress

dabo ' I S FUT ACT' 4

dabam Is IMPF IND ACT' c. Plurisyllables:

dabäs '2S IMPF IND ACT' (all of verb dö 'to give')

(i) penultimate stress if heavy (by long V and/or c o d a c o n s o n a n t )

amicus

talentum

' f r i e n d (Ν Μ SG NOM)'

'riches (Ν Ν SG NOM/ACC)'

(ii) antepenultimate stress if penultimate syllable is light (short V and open)

militSs

tenebrae, tenebräs

'soldier (Ν Μ PL NOM/ACC)'

'darkness (N F PL NOM, ACC)'

militibus

multiplex, multiplicis, multiplicibus

'soldier (Ν Μ PL ABL)'

'multiple (A SG NOM, GEN, DAT)'

While this is a formally perfect rule with a truly negligible remainder 9 , thus representing a highly valued formal analysis, its further fate is nearly incomprehensible in formal, atomistic terms. In the Classical Latin alternation of LATERfCULUS VS. LATfiRCULUS, both 'brick', or BALINEUM, BALNEUM, both 'bath', stress could only be assigned after syncope (in fact, as the last phonological rule), given the shifting stress in response to syncope. For this result, the stress placement rule depends on the moraic contrast between long and short vowels, in addition to bi- or ambisyllabic vs. pure onset consonants and consonant clusters. The eventual loss of vowel length distinctions in the so-called Vulgar Latin collapse of quantities deprived the rule of this contrast to distinguish between second-to-last and third-to-last stress, e.g. monomoraic 10 FÄ.CI.LIS 'easy' vs. bimoraic CI.ui:.LIS 'of a citizen'. The historical reaction to this change in detriment of the productive stress rule was not a leveling and/or arbitrary reassignment between penultimate and antepenultimate stress. Rather, the place of word stress, so ephemerally fixed by the rule, was maintained into the Romance languages, and the rule with all its impressive predictability disappeared from the grammar. The result is the modern Romance situation of a fragmentary Latin stress principle with massive holes (see Wanner 1979; Harris 1983 and especially 1989 listing the considerable efforts around this topic in its reference section). The better analysis must recognize the prevalence of surface form over analytic principle to account for Latin to Romance stress evolution. The surface forms stand in close relationship to each other, and the formally perfect rule recedes to fragmentary status or disappears altogether.

22

Chapter 1: Diachrony.

Positions and

challenges

The morphologistic dimension needs to be reconsidered as crucial for linguistic understanding; the discussion about which dimensions are pertinent for an explanatory investigation of language remains open.

1.2.4.

Cultural and medial contributions

Language change does not take place in a vacuum, nor does it find its expression in neutral linguistic materials. The medium of diachrony for the most part is the written language, unless we are dealing with recent phenomena of language change recorded through alternate technologies. The written linguistic documentation of a language necessarily used in most historical research reflects a highly complex constellation of cultural and societal conditions. The formal approach to language cannot possibly encompass the medial particularities. Indeed, this conceptualization is specifically constituted to neutralize the cultural intrusions as contingent, thus opposed to the contrast!ve and systematic aspects of the instrument's formal side. To the extent that these written historical materials are in any way relevant, the practice of diachronic linguistics needs to subject these derivative aspects of language and its enveloping conditions of history, society, and culture to philological scrutiny. The term envelope will henceforth be used in this sense. Frequently, not much is known about the social and specific cultural conditions of by-gone eras. Where some reliable information can be obtained, it may add considerable insight into the value and idiosyncrasies of the historical problem under scrutiny. The written data need to find their appropriate acceptance as relevant linguistic manifestations, and the broad conditions of the envelope should temper the narrowly linguistic perspective. Diachronic linguistics cannot but emulate the philological acumen of previous frameworks in order to aim at real advances in understanding. The extensive and sophisticated experience gained with written language in the long philological tradition, and its renovation in a current study of the written medium, prove an excellent basis for secure induction of the inevitable written medium into systematically linguistic investigations.

1.2.5.

Grammaticality judgments

A crucial feature of formal approaches, in particular for syntactic purposes, is the centrality of grammaticality judgments on linguistic manifestations

Language change

23

by native speakers/listeners. These evaluations of naturally occurring utterances take place in concrete linguistic activity. Under the conditions of linguistic testing, the context of these judgments and the utterances themselves are characterized by varying degrees of artificiality. Such test results may represent the only evidence underpinning the linguist's postulation of a grammatical analysis. The weight put on this rule of evidence is massive, and it may be useful to scrutinize this concept more closely, following the ideas of Schütze (1996), questioning the validity of the standard of evidence as a reliable instrument. The criticism will be directed at the lack of embedding of the evidential data in the envelope. The necessary relativization of the synchronic validity of grammaticality judgments goes hand in hand with making a meaningful study of diachronic syntax possible (see 4.1-2.). In addition, the newly available robustness of automatic data retrieval and the existence of large searchable corpora (even though not yet sufficiently marked up for syntactic purposes) is a concrete improvement in data access. Such massive searches can be viewed as a weak substitute for some kind of grammaticality judgment in the absence of a native speaker/ listener (Wanner 1991a). The use of philologically safe, extensive, and representative data will carry weight in the historical reconstruction of grammatical phenomena.

1.3. Language change 1.3.1.

The nature of change

The observation of language through time yields a primary impression of change within a recognizable continuity, a language evolving in diachrony. If language consists of forms transmitted in actual use, change is a problematic event. How does it take place in view of the static nature of these forms? If processes and rules underpin the form of language, how is the partial but significant - continuity of form in language through time imaginable? The problem is formulated in such a way as to yield an inevitable dichotomy between stability and development. The linguistic framework needs to provide the appropriate forces and restraints to explain the contradictory tendencies and their (perhaps unpredictable) interplay. Change in itself can be postulated as basic, while the actuation of a concrete instance of change provides the necessary restraint. The many answers to the question of when change will take place all suffer from the same defect of trying to predict the unpredictable (see the non-consummated palatalization in

24

Chapter 1: Diachrony. Positions and

challenges

North Central Sardinian varieties in 1.1. above). It will be argued that change, as it is usually thematized, is an epiphenomenon of the linguistic individual's practice, constituting itself only in the external glance of the observer and after the fact. The traditional blurring between "social variation" and ongoing "change" is indicative of the difficulty inherent in the proper recognition of the nature of diachronically differentiated data constellations, i.e. "linguistic change". Following the consensus of sources, it is clear that at least some change results from language acquisition: the well-commented transmission of data which somehow produce an abducted new grammar in the new speaker/ listener to parallel the observed output of the environment. The indirect transmission of language (in the sense of a linguistic grammar) naturally leads to some type of variation, from minor to major, depending on the degree of success of language learning. In contrast with the standard generative tradition, however, the part played by innate mechanisms is assumed to be mostly non-specific for language. Language is not learned in a unitary fashion within a given speech community; see the extensive literature on naturalistic first-language acquisition documenting considerable discrepancies in timing and sequence for a given grammatical property." The social embedding of the language learner determines the identity of the language to be acquired, and thus also its form. Language as a social activity rather than as an object or a faculty also implies however that learning is not limited to the infant's and young child's phase of acquisition. Learning may as well take place through the linguistic individuals' use of their language in the social setting. Change in language output goes far beyond an initial imperfect approximation to the observed model; it can derive as well from later practice in a developing environment. Language by itself requires the complex and composite social and environmental envelope to be functional. This same envelope will have an influence on the use and shape of the language being spoken in the community, complementing and transcending the formal dimensions. The description of this view of linguistic change already implies the insufficiency of a purely formal nature of the domain occupied by language. A comprehensive explanatory theory would need to cover the same ground, leading to a heterogeneous theoretical entity. A successful theoretical account of language and linguistic capacity, diachronic as well as synchronic, will necessarily be composite and responsive to the fact that language form is systematically co-determined by envelope conditions.

Language change

1.3.2.

25

Patterns of change

For analytic purposes, change can be classified according to its patterns of appearance. So-called regular change has been the cornerstone of goaloriented linguistic frameworks ever since the inception of modern IndoEuropean studies in the nineteenth century, epitomized by the neogrammarian efforts, and has continued into the various structuralist and generative paradigms. The complementation of the regularity hypothesis with the dimensions of analogy and borrowing (and/or dialect mixture) as necessary corrections (the accidental aspects) in the neogrammarian perspective has more recently been reaffirmed, at least for syntax, in Harris and Campbell (1995: 48-60): a clear indication of the limitations of any regularity hypothesis. While this construct captures crucial axes of linguistic organization, it cannot respond to the complete range of phenomena of change or of synchronic organization. The regularity hypothesis, reformulated as the postulation of overriding generalization, cannot sustain the weight put on it. The less-than-regular fringes remain important as is evident in dealing with incomplete generalizations, remainders, and exceptions marring most otherwise well motivated analyses. So-called natural solutions (e.g. the monophthongization of /aj/ and /aw/), drift (e.g. the trend toward non-null subject status in languages with easy expression of pronominal subjects), and progression along predetermined clines of grammaticalization (e.g. progressive degradation of deictics to reach non-deictic clitic status) are variants on the regularity hypothesis with a probabilistic hedge (Hopper and Traugott 1993; Heine 1994, among others). The broad range of analogical changes, and the outright unpredictable phenomena of mutations, borrowings, and other fully contingent alterations of linguistic practice did not experience much analytic attention within the influential linguistic schools. They deserve closer scrutiny and meaningful integration into an overall account of linguistic knowledge and practice. Analogical events are not interesting through their exceptionality, rather they are clear indications that the analysis which forces them into the corner of exceptionality is unsatisfactory exactly for producing this consequence. An alternative account which manages to incorporate "analogical" and mutational changes as natural consequences of the constitutive forces of linguistic knowledge and practice must thereby gain in explanatory force, everything else being equal. A purely formal approach will not be able to satisfy all expectations for explanation, a point which has also been forcefully argued in Croft (2000: 4—6). Some kind of social dimension needs to inform the maintained direction of change for drift as well as grammaticalization. The various

26

Chapter 1: Diachrony.

Positions and

challenges

types of non-null subject systems provide a good example of how this may look in a real situation (see e.g. Spiess 1956; Vanelli et al. 1985; Jaeggli and Safir 1989b; Wanner 1993a). A perspective relying on different dimensions of linguistic pertinence may provide a better answer, be it a systematic approach to analogy (e.g. Skousen 1995), reliance on network architecture (Elman et al. 1996; Marcus 2001), or chance-driven but meaninggoverned categorization (Culicover and Nowak 2003). Their force resides in the ability to integrate social aspects to explain language and its changes in accordance with crucial envelope conditions. A topical survey of some of the significant achievements of diachronic linguistics in the next chapter will indicate how the concerns voiced so far can best be addressed for ensuring that historical investigations can meaningfully be incorporated in the linguistic enterprise.

Chapter 2 Domains in historical linguistics

2.1. Dimensions of diachrony A description of the main task of historical linguistics may be given in three parts: (i) describe the specific phenomena under investigation in appropriate detail and accuracy at different chronological points: linguistic practice; (ii) embed this set of corresponding analyses in the textual, situational, linguistic, and cultural context of relevance, i.e. the envelope of the linguistic act: philological anchoring; and (iii) understand these diachronic configurations as manifestations of human linguistic capacity with the help of appropriate theoretical notions: theoretical interpretation. This program has not changed since the heydays of historical linguistics in the nineteenth century. The envelope, i.e. the range of conditions surrounding linguistic activity without being part of language proper, has always been accepted as an essential aspect of linguistic efforts. Describing the phenomena has been the neogrammarians' glory, while the explanatory endeavor, always present in a culturally adaptive form, has moved to center stage in the (post-)generative traditions. A diachronic description requires at a minimum two chronological reference points between which connections can be drawn. In the correspondence sense of historical linguistics, two external poles at any temporal distance are viewed as standing in direct relation. With a shortening of the observed subintervals, the discrete steps considered over the time span gradually approximate a smoothed curve. The longitudinal narrative traces the vicissitudes of a relevant item, while the parallel treatment of many such features in evolution may combine to yield a notion of grammar in development. The two perspectives need to interact if they are to produce a picture of diachrony with any plasticity. The entire scenario, however, cannot be brought out with the representational means and cognitive tools available at this point. Language development does not differ substantively from any other historical aspect of reality. Each component may be isolable, but the essence derives from the co-presence of these components and their interaction. Where the interacting components are not reducible to a true model, the accurate understanding of the impact may not be feasible other than by individual intuition from the indications of the historical descrip-

28

Chapter 2: Domains

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linguistics

tion in traditional descriptive terms. The construction of an appropriate integrative explanation requires accounting for the heterogeneous characteristics discussed previously. Chapter 1 concluded that historical linguistics does not require, or even tolerate, a dedicated theory of (linguistic) change, since such change is an epiphenomenon. Formal systems will not be able to exhaust the representational complexity of an effective historical account due to the contingent dimensions of the envelope. If linguistic activity is best envisaged from the perspective of the linguistic individual under the so-called immanent approach, the linguistic subject's feat of cognitive and actional integration must be matched by a corresponding richness of attention and parsimony of representation. In preparation for unfolding the immanent perspective relying on analogy and associational learning, propaedeutic philological dimensions and textual considerations will be addressed in the next section (2.2.), followed by a schematic reconstruction of major diachronic positions available in the literature (see 2.3.). There is no pretension of completeness, rather the desire to give substance to the concerns and aspirations developed in the preceding chapter.

2.2. Philology broadly 2.2.1.

The role of philology

To the extent that historical linguistics deals with materials different from spontaneous linguistic productions, preliminary philological preparation of the data is inevitable as regards textual conservation, preparation, edition, archiving, and contextualized explanation of linguistic productions. Old texts increasingly cause problems of accessibility and interpretation in proportion to their remoteness from present conditions of language, textual category, and cultural vectors surrounding their creation and consumption. For its proper handling, in fact, any text, even contemporary, requires a certain amount of philological care in the form of automatic adjustments to envelope conditions by the reader. Any linguistic individual disposes of an entire array of envelope settings: conversation with a partner, multilateral conversation, degrees of formality, different medial situations (telephone), listening to presentations (radio/TV/lecture), gathering information in writing and graphics in hypertext format, etc. Such contemporary texts, qua linguistic activity, belong to the active and individually variable range of speaker skills acquired in their individual experiential history. These auto-

Philology broadly

29

matic adjustments represent a philological preparation of the discourse taking place in real-time performance. The rather high textual fidelity in modern print materials and their strict contemporaneity reduce the need for culturally conditioned explanations of difficulties. Yet texts from areas of specialized experience, or from other cultures, periods, and languages (even if translated) cause complications, gradually and directly determined by our unfamiliarity with their subject matter, medium, and/or native conditions of production and reception. Philological preparation of medieval texts is not uncontroversial either. Two polar positions for medieval manuscript edition advocate either the critical reconstitution of an ideally "original" text in the tradition of the 19th c. philologists Karl Lachmann and Gaston Paris (1872: 23-27, 135136), or the faithful rendition of a given manuscript following the manner advocated by Joseph Bedier (1928; see also Castellani 1954). The latter approach attempts to value a manuscript as a valid sample of linguistic activity even though one consequently renounces reconstructing a lost original state of the composition at hand as is the aim of the former school.12 Honoring the text as transmitted in a given manuscript (following the Bedier tradition) carries much attractiveness for historical linguistics, since for both philology and linguistics the product emanating from language activity forms the experiential base for the external interpreter-linguist as much as for the native speaker writing, reading, or hearing such a text. Individual exposure and practice define the degree of perfection reached for language in action. On the other hand, a reconstructed "original" text ä la (neo-)Lachmann may provide access to earlier stages of a language, exactly as in traditional historical reconstruction, internal or comparative. The danger consists of the largely speculative quality of the retrojected results. The degree of linguistic uniformity to be imposed on the surface format of a given manuscript (its linguistic normalization) is an extension of this editorial debate. 13 That the discussion around the virtues of variability affects mainly the medieval languages and much less so the classical philological tradition - massively more traditionalist, because more securely constituted, in spite of the greater chronological distance - cannot surprise. The medieval languages, especially in the Romance domain, were for a long time a lowly offshoot of the Latin written tradition, lacking in their initial phases a legitimization separate from their superordinate Latin model. Variation, frequently a consequence of untutored creation of a new writing tradition, permitted writers to capture the spoken linguistic reality, and this variation, between inept chaos and decorative playfulness (variatio delectat\), became a characteristic condition for this type of (written) language.

30

Chapter 2: Domains

in historical

linguistics

If the task of philology is to provide indispensable information on the envelope conditions of a text, historical materials requiring variably complex philological priming are then on a par with spontaneous oral productions for which the envelope conditions have been made explicit to an external observer. For contemporaneous linguistic individuals, the situation is identical, since each one will dispose of an arsenal of more or less automatic envelope settings deriving from the individual's comprehensive experience during language acquisition. The need for careful utilization of historical texts as linguistic documentation receives an interesting illustration with the Poema de Mio Qid ('Song of My £id'), a medieval epic text from Spain (Castilian dialect) preserved in a single manuscript with a problematic copy date of 1207 or 1307 and uncertain date of composition. 14 Knowing for certain whether this manuscript dates to the early 13th or the early 14th century is crucial for the interpretation of its rather unique syntactic features. Since the approximate date of composition is highly conjectural, anywhere between 1140 and 1307, the status of the special features changes from potentially archaic if the ms. is from 1207, to merely archaizing if 1307 is correct. In this latter case the attested contemporary written production differs considerably from the language of the Poema, so that the manuscript may faithfully copy an earlier state of affairs from the 13th century, or simply imitate it. With this unique text the arguments for establishing its linguistic value cannot be direct, since we lack comparative standards for the earlier part of the potential composition date (12th and early 13th centuries). In addition, the value of the extant manuscript as a good representation of some presumed original is also open. Only additional considerations, requiring new comparative data still to be discovered, will ever furnish some circumstantial evidence pointing one way or the other. For the Poema de Mio £id no conjectural consensus has been reached. The text in and of itself displays all the artistic and linguistic merits of an individual linguistic production, and the excellent descriptive grammar by Menendez Pidal (1944 (1)) retains its full value for consultation, regardless of the text's age. However, using this text as a crucial witness for the early dating or general validity of a given phenomenon (e.g. for original Verb Second in Castilian, see Fontana 1993) is inadmissible on grounds of circularity. Texts, historical and contemporary, yield valid linguistic data only to the extent that we have knowledge about their embedding in the envelope (see also Anttila 1992: 32-33). While this is virtually assured for contemporary productions, a realistic practice of historical linguistics must attribute a central place to philology as an interpretation of the envelope conditions.

Philology broadly

2.2.2. 2.2.2.1.

31

Philology in action: Textual considerations Textual genres

The language user's pre-coded expectations for specific kinds of communicative acts belong to the envelope as a codetermining dimension. These predispositions are "trends", of a non-quantified "statistical likelihood", "normal, expected" phenomenon. At any one point they can be contravened, with the potential effect of stylistic alienation. On the more mechanical side, the open-ended set of expectations contributes to the precoding of the linguistic expression and to the facilitation of interpreting the incoming signals. Such knowledge requires learning, by ostentation of some accessible dimensions and/or by exposure to comprehensive situations of sufficiently typical stamp. The concept of textual genres, their constitution, origins, development, and distribution (e.g. Biber 1989; Biber and Finnegan 1989; Raible 1991, 1995) is concerned with essential aspects of literary history, and the use of the various media in communication. The point of direct contact with our attempt to come to a better understanding of the functioning of language is located in the preparatory philological knowledge and in the necessary utilization of texts in historical linguistics. Text does not equal text, and a single text may not be uniform in its generic choices. Discrimination of external conditions must reach inside the individual texts to protect the linguistic analysis in a realistic sense, e.g. respecting the frequent linguistic discrepancies in stylistic choices between narrative and dialogical parts in direct speech. For a concrete example, the two major chronicles of the 13th century in Spain, the Estoria de Espana ('History of Spain') and the General Estoria ('World History'), both compiled under Alfonso X (about 1270-84, and 1272-84 respectively) contain sections of diverse origin clearly announcing themselves by stylistic shifts. In the third part of the General Estoria, the entire Biblical book Song of Songs is inserted in a prosified Castilian form (Sänchez-Prieto Borja and Horcajada Diezma 1994). The language of this chronicle changes drastically in ductus and major word order patterns, e.g. using extensive final position of the verb in obvious imitation of the Latin (intermediate) original from which the translation has been culled. The difference from the standard narrative is macroscopic, but the two modes definitely belong to the same language, only involving different registers. In the earlier Estoria de Espana, the occasional literary insertions do not leave any room for doubt as to their different origin. As an example, the letter in the form of a grand lamentation by the

32

Chapter 2: Domains

in historical

linguistics

Carthaginian queen Dido (Primera Cronica General, Ch. 59; Menendez Pidal 1955 (1): 39-44) ultimately goes back to the Eneid (song IV) by Publius Virgilius Maro (before 19 BCE), as continually transmitted in various Latin chronicles in more or less prosified form. In this case, the immediate source has been identified as the Latin account by Paulus Orosius, itself indebted to Virgil (Menendez Pidal 1955 (1): lxxiii-cxxxii). The grand rhetorical style of this passage is remarkable and stands out from the plainer prose elsewhere. Such differentiations need to be taken into appropriate account in comparing linguistic productions for similarities across texts, time, and space, as has been part of best practices. It is not to be expected that such classifications (or functional specializations) should ever turn out to have a systematic formal expression going beyond the functionally motivated differentiations. Some of their determining parameters will be able to correlate with linguistic components, e.g. preferential choices for syntactic constructions, lexical choices, and specially marked lexical subgroupings, such as learned, literate, archaic, etc. But in a fuller textual interpretation paying appropriate attention to pragmatics, the generic profiling of texts will permit the analysis focused on form to become much more incisive and linguistically meaningful.

2.2.2.2. Oral VJ. written Another dimension, oral vs. written orientation of a text, has received considerable attention. The dichotomy does not only refer to the primary medial aspect of speaking vs. writing in linguistic practice; more importantly, it concerns a secondary level of conceptual orality or written expression regardless of the medium of transmission. A simple illustration stems from the written representation of intentionally spoken language in a dialogue scene of some narrative text, a most common practice in novelistic discourse. The single interventions by the interlocutors can be read as imitation of speech, perhaps stylized, well-formulated, but frequently rather naturally shaped; the discourse style exhibits clear orality in its conception. Telltale signs would be overt hesitations, fragmentary sentences (from a formal syntactic point of view), shorter, more poignant, and syntactically less convoluted sentences and clauses, extensive use of deixis, in part replacing description, attempts to come to terms with a question, round-about talking, losing one's turn or taking it at less-than-canonical points, etc. Any well-crafted written narrative including direct speech portions will offer good examples of this approach. Whatever the writer's communicative and

Ph ilo logy broadly

33

artistic intention and skill in such written treatment of viva voce portions, the discourse will present oral features to some degree. Vice versa, a style more typical of written expression may determine a medially oral discourse, providing for a free combination of [±oral] with [±written] specifications in multiple dimensions. Much is due to choice in this divergence, and the degree of oral vs. written expression can assume an open-ended number of intermediate positions. It is very questionable that a linear scale can do justice to the complexity of the phenomenon (as originally proposed in Koch and Oesterreicher 1985). The translation of degree of conceptual orality into linguistic dimensions may not even be meaningful. The perceived degree of orality depends on an arsenal of loosely defined procedures producing a secondary effect of orality. The communicative features making up any single text or text type is open-ended. While some socially imposed restrictions against trespassing boundaries of prescribed stylistic choices may be rather rigid, these are only external superimpositions unable to rule out the natural existence of blended specimens endowed with perfect functionality in a given context. The oral/written dimension acquires relevance for historical linguistics by guiding the analysis of the discourse(s) contained in a given text along a covert pragmatic dimension and thereby complementing the philological settings. In sum, textual genres require free formal constitution if they are to alleviate the interpretive and encoding tasks for the linguistic individuals. The requirements of historical linguistics give a special importance to the question of how orality differs from written discourse in view of the exclusively written medium of historical textual transmission outside of the most modern period of the 20th century.

2.2.2.3.

Written

discourse

Since oral expression is the default manifestation of language, it will be necessary to consider the characteristics of written discourse for its appreciation as a primary, if not sole source of historical linguistic data. A central thrust of written language is the registration of some content for temporally and possibly also personally shifted memory: preservation of the ephemeral act of speech by more stable means. The functional execution of this intent requires that the heavy envelopmental co-constitution of the linguistic activity be shifted to other means of expression. In this way, the preserved document will still be interpretable in different envelope conditions. The

34

Chapter 2: Domains

in historical

linguistics

loss of the original situatedness through the temporal, personal, cultural, and/or geographic transpositions is the basic vector differentiating written language from its spoken manifestation. In writing, the highly restricted use e.g. of deixis depends on the unavailability of this synthetic gesture; its effect is instead achieved with analytic description making the written text more independent of the envelope. Deixis is a property of conversation, of prominent situationality, and of the availability of a physical feature reinforcing the verbal act. One can think of the physical sign of pointing as the basic expression; the explicit linguistic means (demonstratives, delimiting relative clauses, etc.) are secondary translations of the physical gesture, unanchored pointing, and attention-grabbing expressions ( o v e r there!, an appellative intonation peak, or a verbalized look!). On the other hand, the written modality of described reference and deixis obtains a much higher degree of precision in identifying its intended object, but with more linguistic effort. The noticeable absence of fragmentary constructions, false starts, and the like, identifies written usage and oral presentations marked by careful planning of the linguistic expression. The prominent presence of such imperfections in orality is a consequence of expunging them after they have occurred in real-time performance. The on-line time pressures also induce the linguistic subject to serve up a considerable amount of stock expressions, cliches, formulae, and set phrases alleviating the task of spontaneous composition. On the other hand, the off-line composition of typically written texts affords the writer the luxury of improving the product in all desired dimensions, from word choice to variety of constructions, interdependence and subordination of component thoughts, providing a more logical flow and structure of the narrative or argumentative line. If such are the major aspects of oral vs. written orientation, the differences between oral and written modes do not affect any substantive portions of language, but rather reside in a differential level of stylistic control over alternate means of linguistic expression. Spoken language is primary, not so much for its spontaneity than for the ontogenetic constraint of language acquisition and the phylogenetic irrelevance of any information different from the practice of language itself. The genetically favored symbolic coupling between hearing and some "meaning", and between articulation and the same "meanings" (see below, 3.3-5. and 4.3.) is constituted through the individual's learning process in the envelope. While the linguistic symbol ultimately consolidated in the adult lexicon carries a significance which, as far as possible, abstracts away from any specific envelopmental conditions, learning this same symbol requires

Philology broadly

35

the surrounding information to assist in identification and concretization of the word or other kind of expression. The differences between spoken and written discourse cannot be identified with immutable properties; both modes of linguistic activity make use of the same tool permitting the expression of an open-ended array of meanings through symbolization. Language serves to express the materials that the speaker presumes cannot be deduced from the setting, and that therefore are worth the effort of conceptualizing and articulating in language. The addressee is capable of supplying the unstated aspects from the envelope based on the best guesses licensed in the specific situation and the clues provided in the text. These guesses derive from extensive experience in real-life linguistic situations and from one's individual knowledge of the world and "life experience". Such a restitution of missing envelope (or even formal linguistic) information may not always be successful: wrong guesses, oblique pointers in the extant linguistic materials or other, secondary signposts may mislead. In the extreme cases, the misunderstanding may be undetected and thus irremediable (see Taylor 1992). While the setup is rife with misunderstandings, it is much more normal that the linguistic subject's ingenuity comes up with a sufficiently good set of conditions to recover the intended meaning without fatal distortion. The critiquing of communicational strategies using manifest linguistic forms, a central domain of pragmatics, is of essence to historical linguistics. Textual genres, as an account of how texts carry the meaning they intend to convey by providing certain standardized expectations about specific textual conditions, depend at least in part on prevalent choices among alternative expressions available in a language. The association of texts into functional classes is analogical and the linguistic individual's exposure to such categorizations is unpredictable, since it depends on previous experience and a sufficient level of attention paid to such questions, i.e. a learned behavior. Effective training for writing must transmit to the practitioner models of writing and strategies for information packaging (Vallduvi 1991) that will help the reader unravel without difficulty and with reasonable accuracy what was intended by the writer. In Medieval European literate practice, the modeling effect of typical written texts is quite transparent. Physically existing texts were relatively scarce (exclusively in manuscript form, expensive and difficult to produce), and sanctioned contents were rather limited. Instead of originality, imitation of and comment upon accepted models was one chief manifestation of composition, following secure models in a Latin of many shades, but all ultimately held together by the imitation of the (imagined) standards of Late Antiquity. The narrowness of models enabled

36

Chapter 2: Domains

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the linguistic subject, and now also the linguist, to know much about the stylistic rules of linguistic import. Medieval thought also practiced a pigeon-holed, caste-like fixation of selected aspects of language for specific textual genres (the theory of styles ultimately derived from Aristotle's Poetics). Conscious crossing of lines, parodying, subverting, combining, and innovating based on the canonical models was less frequent and less highly esteemed than the more disciplined continuation of the auctorial path predestined in the canonical texts and models for the various genres. The combined effects of instruction, focused study of models, and typically raised consciousness about language in the process of writing guarantee a prominent influence of textual genres on written production as guidelines for good writing. In the actual practice of medieval writing, it happens rather frequently that the texts practice insufficient contextualization. The difficulty of early medieval texts written in a Romance vernacular rather than canonical Latin derives from the fact that the entire stylistic repertory of "good" writing deriving from centuries of experience could not have been applied to them yet, and the engrained Latin norms required massive transposition. The conscious break with tradition in the very act of writing in the medieval vernacular language was an act of defiance, at least in the "origins" of a language, a question amply debated in contemporaneous sources (see Migliorini 1960: Chs. 6-8; Vitale 1987: passim for Italian). One recurrent feature of such texts concerns the presence of procedures and features which are connected to oral discourse. Beyond using oral strategies, the texts do not always rely on the typically written devices of proper contextualization, e.g. leading to ambiguous pronominal reference in its context. For later periods, the exemplar-based normativity of linguistic behavior gradually yields to the less text-dependent forces of standardization. These bring a language to the point of expressing more varied contents, to serve as a written means of record for a broad range of linguistic communities, and to admit reasonably secure interpretations and highly normalized expression, independently of the specific kind of text. Such standardization represents a conscious application of procedures securing the intersubjective transmission of content matter. Standardization achieves its goals in a largely decontextualized language applicable to all situations, varied in minor ways through the mechanism of stylistic choice shared as a value by the discourse participants. Standardized language is equipped to express all requisite envelopmental information in writing, using conventionalized forms and lexical means, and being intersubjectively interpretable to a higher degree than more spontaneous discourse. The process of "purifica-

Various formal proposals

37

tion" occupies any major written language over a long period with progressively more secure results. The European languages of continued literary, professional, technical, commercial and administrative use - English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Russian, to name only a few are all the product of centuries of ongoing standardization, in particular since the Renaissance and the commercialization of book printing. This organization and functionalization of a formal richness usually spawns a new tradition of grammar writing contributing to the same process of sifting, making flexible, and slowing down change; for Castilian/Spanish it started in the 15th century with Nebrija's 1492 grammar (1989). Standardization is a process of bringing to consciousness the formal questions of language, and in the same way, the effective practice of writing also requires a raised consciousness of the communicative needs of the reader. The essential continuity between the poles of spontaneous spoken and planned written expression can be reaffirmed with conviction: it is all one language, with different registers making moderately differential use of a broad array of syntactic and lexical devices and communicative strategies. Nowhere is there an identifiable dividing line between one or the other domain; differences between spoken and written medium concern the relationship to the envelope, the degree of explicitness and correction, and the stylistic distribution of options, but not the structure of the expressive instrument. For historical linguistics, the contingent materials at our disposal are data worth analyzing and comparing with due philological care as pertinent manifestations of the language in question. The absence of the most spontaneous registers cannot be remedied, but this lacuna does not vitiate linguistic pursuit. Writing is an adaptive extension of acquired linguistic practice into a different medium; at the same time, it makes use of the knowledge and practice available to the linguistic subject without more than a break in some envelope conditions. The more formal concerns of linguistics can thus be pursued with confidence in the quality of the conclusions reached, since the data informing the theories are appropriate, of qualitatively high standards, and linguistically homogeneous.

2.3. Various formal proposals Concern with textual conditions and their philological validation underlies all constructive approaches to historical linguistics. The following consideration of salient features in more formal diachronic traditions will keep this postulate in mind when trying to assess the various contributions. In-

38

Chapter 2: Domains

in historical

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stead of embarking on a tour d'horizon of all points of view on record, the survey will only touch on selected positions of direct relevance in this context. The genealogy of this monograph includes the eclectic series of studies by Weinreich, Herzog and Labov (1968), Coseriu (1973), Lightfoot (1979), Hock (1986), Thomason and Kaufman (1988), Lightfoot (1991), Hopper and Traugott (1993), Keller (1994), Labov (1994-2001), McMahon (1994), Harris and Campbell (1995), Lass (1997), Lightfoot (1999), Joseph and Janda (2003). The thrust of these studies goes toward the formulation of principles affecting the formal evolution of languages under varied, but realistic conditions. This essay stands at a certain angle with regard to this enterprise, since it also argues for the insufficiency of any strongly formoriented program, advocating a broader perspective. The study of historical syntax has been integral to subsequent schools, from the Neogrammarians (e.g. Paul 1920) to the structuralist (e.g. W. Lehmann 1974; Hock 1986), multiple generative enterprises (e.g. King 1969; Traugott 1965; Lightfoot 1979, 1991), and neo-traditional approaches (e.g. Harris and Campbell 1995). The practice may not always have accorded syntax a privileged space (neogrammarians) or even much attention (structuralism), but its challenge always determined the linguists' broader outlook. 15 The following rapid survey of the (neo-)neogrammarian perspective will concentrate on the original program and its continuations, extending as far as the transformational framework and the parametrization approach of Government and Binding (section 2.3.1.). It will then consider the double analysis (2.3.2.), the extended typological schemata (2.3.3.), and grammaticalization as major recent trends of concrete impact (2.3.4.).

2.3.1. 2.3.1.1.

Neogrammarian and structural approaches Regularity of sound change

Postulating the regularity of sound change, by extension the regularity of linguistic change of form in general, represents a crucial advance of historical linguistics in the 19th century. The neogrammarian approach applies this powerful conceptualization of language (change) to long-distance correspondences. Where the hypothesis runs into difficulties is in the forced extension of this heuristic device to a theoretical axiom, which then requires corrective auxiliary hypotheses. Since the theoretical pronouncements of the mature neogrammarian tradition never coincided too well with the actual practice of analyzing all the data at hand, the clash of perspec-

Various formal proposals

39

tives did not become really acute until the formal regularity was elevated to a more rigid tenet in structuralism. In the 19th and early 20th century practice, regular change was "balanced" by the opposing forces of analogy and external admixtures, i.e. borrowings and the like, operating as corrective devices (see Paul 1920; Delbrück 1893-1900; Meyer-Lübke 1890-1900; Menendez Pidal 1941, 1950). With the more careful statement of the implicit assumptions of this approach, e.g. in Bloomfield (1933), the tensions in the program became apparent. In the general movement towards a more scientific (formalistic) and less humanistic (philological and historical) approach to language propagated in structuralism (Alarcos Llorach 1968; Hoenigswald 1965) and earlier transformationalism (Chomsky and Halle 1968; King 1969; also Lightfoot 1979), the tensions found a temporary solution in the emphasis on form and on those portions of language which could be subsumed under the regularity hypothesis. This compromise is unsatisfactory in nature, since the match between data and predictions is not very good: incomplete solutions reappear at every turn, leaving the remainder, even though relatively small in many cases, without an adequate account. Recasting the tendency toward regularity as a formal principle overlooked the fact that the observed regularity in the classical PIE correspondences - the base of the neogrammarian convictions - only apply to a part of the lexical materials in their presumable purview; the shared lexical stock tends to be a rather small portion compared to the overall lexicon. In addition to more marginal items and unclassifiable instances, very common words could also escape the dictate of the sound correspondence (see in particular Mariczak 1983). Stringent correspondences required on the order of one to two millennia between initial state and new forms (e.g. Grimm's and Verner's laws; see Hock 1986: 37-42), while shorter periods might exhibit considerably less categorical outcomes. Still in this extended horizon, the insubordination of very common items is troubling in the context of a regularity supposedly based on abstract identity rather than performance (the domain of frequency). The length of time necessary for a change to reach completion and thereby establishing the purported regularity presents a problem under the regularity hypothesis. The more cogent interpretation of regularity locates it in some process taking place in linguistic production/reception. It is grounded in the linguistic individual's cognitive capacities and can thereby vouch for the regularity of change as a consequence of the degree of predictability in the prevalent processing mode. Against this programmatic rationality, all attempts to reduce, filter out, or explain away the pervasive irregularities, especially at a closer chronological distance, and to ignore the impact of the massively

40

Chapter 2: Domains

in historical

linguistics

documented variability at any stage of language, have not resulted in convincing outcomes. Variation, multiple outcomes, as well as unsystematic distribution of forms, appear at any time constitutive to language output as much as the opposing hypothesis of regularity. A solution to the mounting tension necessarily relaxed the rigidity of the rule concept (the neogrammarian "laws"). The standard two-level scenario of phonetics/phonology, variable realization on the surface (allophonic), with systematic uniqueness of representation at an abstract level (phonemic), lets the concretely variable realizations [a] and [b] fall into a classification of either {[a], [b]} = /a/, or {[a], [b]} = lb/. The discrete-step change from /a/ to /b/ can thus be mediated through the ambiguous surface representations of [a] as well as [b]. Variable forms do exist, but their reconstruction in the linguistic individual's grammar is discrete as /a/ or /b/. The time lapse between onset of variation and completion of change is accounted for through the double level of representation. This categorization problem is exactly what the structuralist perspective tried to address with its major and minor principles of mainly phonemic evolution (Hoenigswald 1965; Joos et al. 1966; in Romance, Alarcos Llorach 1968; Martinet 1964; Weinrich 1958, among many). The scalar variation between [aj and [b] at the allophonic level produces a discrete switch at the phonemic level from /a/ to /b/ when the earlier situation can no longer be reconstructed. In this approach, structuralism is fully consonant with the remaining formal program. However, by not coming to terms with the differentiation between a still possible previous reconstruction /a/ vs. a newly empowered analysis /b/, the positive impact of structuralist concepts on historical linguistics has always been rather limited. Nevertheless, the phonological categories of neutralization, merger and split engendered significant analyses in Romance, e.g. the considerations around the economy of sound change (Martinet 1964), and the incisive, but controversial comparative study of consonant gradation by Weinrich (1958). A more recent, prominent answer to the question of the tension between factual gradualness and theorized abruptness is found in the transparency principle (Lightfoot 1979). When the grammar abduced by the linguistic individual in language acquisition would result in too much complication from the variable data to follow the pattern of the preexisting grammars (the solution /a/ for {[a], [b]} while most allophones are of type [b]), a new organization with lower complexity will be preferred on formal grounds, i.e. /b/ for {[a], [b]}. Assuming that the parameter for simplification can be calculated with reasonable accuracy, the riddle would have found a rather flexible and realistic solution. Yet the general assumption of maximal gen-

Various formal proposals

41

eralization for formal grammars, i.e. the linguistic individuals' knowledge of their language, presents the next serious difficulty for understanding why the tension of non-optimality should ever be allowed to build up in naturally acquired grammars before a transparency-induced change. First, the discrepant analyses yielding /a/ before, and /b/ after the change imply the operation of corrections at a level of /a/ with considerable (surface) deviation from this norm. If the forward corrections become too cumbersome, the analysis is shifted to /b/, perhaps with some backwards corrections too. The addition of corrective measures: rules, constraints, exceptions, etc., denies the relevance of the overarching hypothesis of maximal generalization guiding language acquisition. The Transparency Principle assumes that language learning will regularly arrive at fully generalized grammars accounting for the individuals' knowledge of their language. The postulated identity of grammar abduction in language acquisition across linguistic subjects depends on the formal and mechanistic infallibility of this process steered by the imperative of maximal generalization. Contrary to theoretical premises, the need for a transparency principle demonstrates that non-ideal solutions are within the normal reach of the language acquisition device. Continually optimal grammars would be unable to engender forms (outside of adult language change not foreseen in the framework) that could force the future language learners into the need for further optimizing their new grammars: change would become impossible. The failure to do justice to language change in this way indicates that the abstract linguistic level of competence does not have the power to control language form all by itself. If an interpretive component of performance is needed to convert the abstract into concrete linguistic forms, and if these concrete forms ultimately affect the reconstruction of the abstract grammar, they share in its control. The abstract grammar representation reveals itself to be a secondary phenomenon, an abstraction, subservient to the real-world data in its constitution, and only derivative in its systematicity. The formal program is set back to square one because, instead of relying on the sole abstract representations alone, the manifest shape of the linguistic phenomena dominates the evolution of language to a considerable extent. The interest of the parametric hypothesis, amalgamated to the government and binding program (thereby becoming the principles and parameters framework; e.g. Haegeman 1994) derives from the appeal promised by a significant reduction of descriptive dimensions for capturing interlanguage and diachronic variability. 16 If the parameters can effectively be identified and calibrated to encompass all relevant points of potential variation be-

42

Chapter 2: Domains

in historical

linguistics

tween languages, and if this set turns out to be massively reduced compared with the actual phenomena, the analytic gain turns into an explanatory achievement of importance. Such a set of universal parameters, akin to the phonological distinctive features, would not only organize synchronic variation, but at the same time also constrain the possible historical developments. These would by necessity be coextensive with the limitations on the parametric dimensions of language. The strongest parametric hypothesis will be at the most inclusive level of constitution, e.g. as in the original postulation of the null-subject parameter. One high-level abstract phenomenon (presence/absence of overt subject expression) was seen as combining with three satellite features (rich inflection, free subject-NP inversion, and absence of that-trace effects). Since any such junctim descriptions of this and other parameters fell short of the data situations (Jaeggli and Safir 1989b; Sobin 1987; Kenstowicz 1989), the proliferation of subservient parameters became increasingly necessary, each time reducing the explanatory power of the hypothesis somewhat while improving the data fit. In an extreme move, the microparameters proposed in Kayne (1996) threatened to make the parameters co-extensive with the analysis, i.e. to reduce them to a purely descriptive device. Leaving for the moment the apparent circularity of this program aside, the parametric postulate suffers from the same type of transitional aporia as the Transparency Principle. The transition between two parameter settings cannot be captured any better than the build-up and release phases in the Transparency Principle. The difficulty resides in the basic design of the overall theory implying once again that change is an accident of language, unplanned in the context of the clean grammar design embodied in a universal grammar. Why a perfect system with power to generalize along its formal axes should be subject to decay, even though only in transition, remains an unanswered question. How a parameter value can switch within a given speech community is comprehensible only if the effective parameter values are secondary, controlled from the front-end of actual data. The preoccupation with parameter settings in acquisition is evident in the literature on the parameter framework. The attempt by Lightfoot (1991) stands out as addressing the issue in historical perspective, while many other contributions focus on the primary language acquisition process (Hyams 1986, 1989; Austin et al. 1997; Rizzi 1997). The main argument in Lightfoot (1991) deals with the standard structural domain of required data to arrive at a valid parameter setting, e.g. of pro-drop. The contention is that a range of zero-plus is sufficient, meaning that child language acquisition

Various formal proposals

43

triggers will primarily be bound by a simple clause, the root clause. In addition, peeking ahead to the COMP region of an embedded clause is permissible given that much of the information contained in the functional region (COMP and INFL) is at least codetermined by root clause constraints (subcategorization for complementation, adverbial connections, tense and mood in complement and adverbial clauses, subjects in control situations and VP embedding, etc.). This structural restriction is argued to be sufficient for coming to terms with all questions in acquisition, including subordination that would reach into the next-lower level. This scenario has the virtue of permitting major stretches of unexceptionable regularity in subordinate clause materials representing a projection of some root-clause setting to coexist with more contorted variants in the root domain for one and the same phenomenon. But a major challenge remains for instances with unsystematic subordinate clause data (e.g. Old to Middle French zero subject expression in the subordinate clause; Hirschbühler 1989), not to mention the persistent difficulty of any non-optimal root clause manifestations and their apparent negation of a simple parameter value. An interesting attempt to solve this problem in a principled way (Clark and Roberts 1993) is based on a genetically calibrated learning algorithm. As is usual in the Principle and Parameter approach, the proposal assumes prespecified parameters in the learner. Identification of the triggering data for a given parameter is a function of identifying linguistic expressions that directly express a value for a given parameter. In ambiguous cases where further data cannot force a decision, the learning algorithm converges on results deriving from formal properties, i.e. the subset principle for picking an available proper subset from among two available sets, and an overriding simplicity metric ("elegance") favoring more direct accounts. Language change in acquisition then resides in the eventual effect of a priori and abstract choices leading to the novel determination of a parameter value that is not sufficiently supported by the linguistic observables. All of these approaches lead back to the same fundamental question of how a formal system can tolerate the variability observed in language, a slow shift in the balance of two (or more) alternative solutions over extended periods of time, and how nevertheless such variability can eventually find its consecration as an actual and (near-)categorical change. This disabling inconsistency is a direct inheritance from the neogrammarian conceptual framework down to current formal approaches to language. Its persistence suggests that the formal orientation requires a deeper scrutiny to find a constructive way of overcoming this insufficiency (see Chapters 3, 4).

44

Chapter

2.3.1.2.

2: Domains

in historical

linguistics

The uses of analogy

In anticipation of the central role played by a systematic concept of analogy in the further discussions (see Chapter 5 for its development), a separate look at standard uses of analogy in historical linguistics seems appropriate. Analogy has always been part of historical thinking and explanation, and it has also been used in synchronic contexts.17 The usual version employed in linguistics is the proportional model characterized by the equation ΙΑ : Β = C : XI, where A, B, C are constants, and the variable X is to receive a new analogical value based on B. This is analogy as an assimilatory process. To take a standard example from diachrony, the development of the verbal morphology of person agreement in Italian seems to respond to the following proportion (1). The solution is the new form parl-av-o for IS imperfect indicative Ί was speaking', supplanting the earlier etymological parlava without visible marking of Is, with the more typical ending -o. This development started in the 13th c. in the Umbrian region and in the 19th c. eventually reached all conjugation classes in the standard language (Rohlfs 1966-1969 (2): 286). (1) a. A : Β = C : X (=D) b. A = {parl)-a '3s PRES IND' : B = {parl)-o C = (parl)-av-a '3S IMPF IND' : D = (parl)-av-X

'lSPRESIND' 'IS IMPF IND'

A broader effect of analogy can also be leveling as in (2) or extension in (3). In (2), the palatal stem consonant of 3S is due to the regular diphthongization of the stem vowel under stress producing a high palatal glide in contact with the preceding /l/. The unstressed monophthongal /e/ of the infinitive does not affect the preceding /l/ in medieval Spanish (2b). The lexical item eventually levels the variation to a single stem in /A-/ throughout the paradigm regardless of stress and connected palatalization by /j/. The extension in (3) concerns the 2s ending /+s/ for all tenses (3b) with the etymological exception of the preterit. This last tense frequently receives the characteristic ending in non-standard registers by analogy (3a).19 (2) a. MedSp. [lev-ar] 'to carry (INF)' vs. [ljev-a], [Aev-a] '3S PRES IND' 16th c. [Äeß-är] = [Aeß-a] b. I'd > /je/ and /lj/ > /Α/ in * LEV AT > [ljeva] > [Aeva] ( 3 ) a.

Std. dijiste+0 (< Lt.

DlXISTI) 2S PERF IND »

%dijiste+s

PRET

»

Various formal

proposals

45

b. /+s/ '2S' (all conjugations and irregular verbs), e.g. in decir 'to say': diga+s PRES SUBJ PRES IND dice+s dijese+s IMPF SUBJ IMPF IND decia+s dijera+s IMPF SUBJ dijere+s FUT SUBJ FUT IND dird+s diria+s COND The standard complaint against proportional analogy as well as leveling and extension is their relative arbitrariness. The terms A and C in (1) representing the background for the model Β are freely substitutable. The same proportional justification for the expanded use of the IS ending -o could also be obtained with a number of alternative choices for terms A, C, on which the choice of Β then depends in part. Thus the 2S forms parl-i and parl-av-i for present and imperfect indicative yield the same justification for introducing the -o ending to Is imperfect indicative; and so on with other choices. The direction of leveling (2) and the actual application of extension (3) also defy closer determination. The question as to which one is the correct analogy and what are its direct causes cannot have a single determinate answer. Since evident redundancy and vagueness are considered inappropriate for a meaningful linguistic analysis within the formal perspective, recourse to analogy is usually circumvented through reformulations making use of rules subject to overriding more local constraints. The new approach to overcome this pseudo-dilemma will consist in embracing all possible such analogical equations as mutually reinforcing, be they based on proportion, leveling, or extension, as detailed in Chapter 5.

2.3.2.

Double analysis

Historical developments consist of the transition from an earlier analysis and constellation towards another newer one. The period of transition, of unpredictable duration, typically exhibits two options for the aspect involved in the change: a double analysis.20 The pair of analysis, and analysis2 emerges through some independent development from a previously uncontested and unique analysis(l). The newer analysis2 gains increasing acceptance (frequency, distribution, diffusion), while the older analysis, loses ground. In the end, the new analysis2 supplants analysis, in all relevant and applicable cases, constituting the new standard. During the transition period, the two analyses have a concurrent presence in a linguistic subject's internalized grammar. Both analyses are learned in language acquisi-

46

Chapter 2: Domains

in historical

linguistics

tion, with their respective properties. The hypothesis of the double analysis is a more elaborate version of the formal (neo-) neogrammarian conceptualization of syntactic change, rather than an independent departure. The progress in this approach consists of the admittance of competing variants for one and the same function (expression of a given construction) within the competence of a single linguistic individual. Variation in form is no longer relegated to the social mixture of different grammars, each one consistent and unique in itself. The more technical details of how the two competing analyses interact - frequency, distribution, register pertinence - may be put aside for our purposes (see Kroch 1989).21 Postulating a second analysis raises the question of where this alterity may have its origin. Since nothing in the overall picture of linguistic architecture and language acquisition has changed in this approach, the source of any innovation must still be the same one: imperfect abduction induced by ambiguous surface data. Once the data giving rise to the second analysis have reached sufficient strength in the acquisitional context to be captured in their own right, the survival and possible expansion of analysis2 can be understood in principle (see also the discussion of the social spread of change in 5.5.). The emergence of the triggering data, on the other hand, remains a challenge, short of relying on the overworked strategy of "dialect borrowing/mixture". 22 As long as the approach remains firmly formal, the appearance of variant forms is rather difficult to comprehend, be that as a consequence of their gradual emergence or as an eventual consolidation of their marginal existence. Formal grammars, acquired under the demands of formal optimization, necessarily eliminate redundancy, maximally extend generalization, overruling local deviations through reanalysis into more regularized patterns according to some logic of transparency. Such grammars should not be able to produce or condone similar formal shortcomings. The performance component, postulated to mediate between abstract knowledge and surface production, does not have sufficient independence for creating the necessary variants. If it did bring them forth with appropriate strength to derail the formal generalizations of the internalized grammars, the same impasse as above would spring up with the structural neogrammarian position and the parametrization model. Formal closure and generalization are then secondary, derived from the data which in their surface form retain a controlling role, and this represents a central contradiction of the aspirations of significant formalization. The double-analysis approach is useful in providing a clearer conceptualization of the linguistic individual's ambiguous reconstruction of perceived reality. The postulation of a double option is descriptive of how the

Various formal proposals

47

transitional stages of language in evolution remain operational. The doubleanalysis presupposes a remarkable redundancy in grammatical representation: two analyses for one phenomenon, driven by presumably ambiguous data. It also requires the power either to produce ambiguous data from an earlier unique grammar, or to make a second analysis2 gradually appear from an originally clear single analysisU). As in the basic neogrammarian dilemma with regularity and its temporary suspension, the challenge lies in the requirements imposed by the theory itself, i.e. the strict formal pertinence, and not in the phenomenon which can be accepted as observationally accurate and intuitively interpretable. Recombination by splitting constructions into parts and differently matching up the components (Clark and Roberts 1993) could be a solution to providing an open-ended array of novel options, if the direct parallelism between linguistic structures and genetic code is applicable.

2.3.3.

Harris and Campbell (1995)

Harris and Campbell (1995) is a criticism and downsizing of more systematically formal frameworks, but it continues relying on the form of language to yield basic insights into change without a clear theoretical commitment. The same attitude of (skeptically) accepting language as a kind of form-determined "object" pervades Lass (1997), while the book retains at the same time a sound distance from any more definite formal framework. The present argumentation therefore differs only in part from these views on language change, since it shares their criticism of standard contexts of thought, but it also sees the formal outlook in much of present-day linguistics as overly constraining. Language change requires a perspective commensurate with the phenomenon itself. Syntactic change is taken to be regular in the attenuated sense of not being random, i.e. following generalized patterns which can be comprehended as trends and subrules (see Harris and Campbell 1995: Chs. 3, 11). These rules are not projected as exhaustive or exclusive, so that different classes of non-conforming phenomena should be expected beyond the regular patterns: competing generalizations and singular occurrences. The rigidity of structuralism, formal syntactic frameworks, and the inflexible reconstruction of the neogrammarian position can thereby be transcended while maintaining the insight gained in the process. Language change still takes place primarily through reanalysis in the crucial phase of infant language acquisition. In addition, the relevance of adult change is also acknowledged

48

Chapter 2: Domains

in historical

linguistics

as the vehicle for modifying the manifest linguistic data. If this reaches a sufficient level, it may induce abductive changes in the analysis by subsequent learners during their acquisition phase. Language thereby becomes a continually adapting set of rules and procedures underlying an actual practice. At the same time, this view denies the object-like fixation of a formal grammar by understanding the rules as secondary abstractions from observed data. Instead of relying on a series of special mechanisms for change, from typology to grammaticalization, parametric variation and catastrophic adjustments as primary concerns of historical syntax, Harris and Campbell (1995) limits the mode of change to the broad categories of reanalysis, extension, and borrowing. The essential formal mechanism, the vehicle of regularity, is reanalysis. Contrary to the concept of the Transparency Principle (Lightfoot 1979) or of a parametric switch (Lightfoot 1991), reanalysis is free to apply when there is a chance to do so, but it does not obey any imperative. It might affect the language learners/practitioners at any one point in their experience. Reanalysis establishes a second way of accounting for the form of some string or function type, without thereby necessarily eliminating the first, older option. The constant precondition of reanalysis is the existence of a structural/formal ambiguity in the affected string type accessible to the learner. This ambiguity may lead to reanalysis only in certain more limited sub-constructions, while leaving others untouched. Such a second, new analysis derives from options already present in the language in other contexts, and they are also supplemented by generally available constructions contained in universal grammar. The contextual expansion of limited structures guarantees that the historical process does not lead to a general impoverishment of form and expression. It responds to the persistent diversity of constructions and types found in real languages while keeping the possible formal variety in check with the universal grammar substratum from which constructions new to a language must spring. Reanalysis changes the grammar-internal account of a given set of data; it thereby does not change anything on the surface. Ambiguity, i.e. the compatibility of the strings under investigation with more than one analysis while preserving their (surface) form, is the crucial idea behind reanalysis, as it implicitly underlies the hypothesis of the Transparency Principle. The concrete indication that reanalysis has taken place becomes available only through the companion process of subsequent extension. The newly established second analysis extends from its original application to analog strings which were not in the scope of the reanalysis, since they would have undergone a surface change. The complete fit between reanalysis and the

Various formal proposals

49

originating strings necessarily gives way to a surface adjustment of the strings affected by the extension process of the original reanalysis. Reanalysis is a change in grammatical principles, but it only indirectly conditions future change in language form due to material extension. Since extension is guided by analogical contact between closely related cases, its direction and eventual scope cannot be predicted. Any such extension might take place or not, it might catch on in the speaking community or not, and competing directions of extension might have been chosen by different linguistic individuals. Overall, extension will tend to broaden the scope of the analysis, make principles more general, and remove exceptions; but there is no guarantee for this course of action. Syntactic change in this view is a question of minimal mismatches in analysis, spreading outward from their motivated center. 23 The overall effect of the development is a potentially erratic attainment of broader, different structures growing organically, following paths made possible by both the surface appearance of the language and the formal constitution of the processes. Syntactic change can also respond to inorganic redirections through borrowing. This mechanism of syntactic change is at the same time a realistically constrained device and a wild card. The required bridge consists of the effective language contact enabling the borrowing: some degree of bilingualism for the speakers generating the transfer. The further propagation of a borrowed syntactic pattern will depend on internal factors characterizing the speech community. On the other hand, no limits exist on what might be transferred from one language to another; borrowing constitutes a mechanism transcending any comprehensive systematization of syntactic change. Its recognition takes away the security of reconstructing the observed data of change strictly within a naturalistic linguistic framework. There is always a possibility of borrowing, be it for what one might conceive of as internal development, or for more arbitrary changes. Overall, the approach practiced in Harris and Campbell (1995) is an improved elaboration of an explicit neogrammarian train of thought. Its advantage over the original neogrammarian conception is the lack of commitment to an overstated formal regularity of change, and a conservative approach to the kind and size of change to be expected in organic diachrony. The mechanism of spreading a change through the grammar (as opposed to social diffusion) is a kind of local contiguity of constructions, akin to an open-ended but constrained concept of analogy.

50

Chapter 2: Domains in historical

2.3.4.

Typology

2.3.4.1.

General

linguistics

considerations

Typological descriptions can very well pertain to a formal approach. This is perhaps most evident in the post-Greenbergian version of Hawkins (1983), where the formal nature of typology finds an expression in the statistical embedding of its correlations and predictions. In the initial instantiation (Greenberg 1966), the various universale of word order fell into the two major categories of absolute vs. statistical predictions. Strictly speaking, all of these universale are statistical, since they derive from the analysis of a closed corpus (even if it were truly representative). It would thus be better to talk of universale with a very high p-value (4a, b) vs. a somewhat lowered one (4c), since their distinction will tend to be fluid rather than clearcut. (4) a. Universal 13. If the nominal object always precedes the verb, then verb forms subordinate to the main verb also precede it. b. Universal 14. In conditional statements, the conditional clause precedes the conclusion as the normal order in all languages. c. Universal 9. With well more than chance frequency, when question particles or affixes are specified in position by reference to the sentence as a whole, if initial, such elements are found in prepositional languages, and, if final, in postpositional. (Greenberg 1966: 81,84, emphases added) In the technical extension towards a more sophisticated interweaving of dependencies and implications, the conceptualization of typological structure took a turn toward the formal. 24 The predictions of intra-language typological harmony became much more accurate and informative. The crucial limitation of the approach is the statistical reliance on the original Greenberg corpus, so that the ultimate assessment would need to take into consideration the degree of representativity and reliability of this corpus. Given the format and interpreted content of some Hawkinsian statistical correlation universals (5), the approach unquestionably belongs to the external perspective. (5) Revised Greenberg Universal XVIII' Postposition D ((AN ν RelN D DemN & NumN & PossN) & (DemN ν NumN ν PossN D GN) (Hawkins 1983: 111)

Various formal proposals

51

The kind of connection between property (4a), e.g. postposition, and (4b), e.g. the complex conditioning in the second part of the formula (5), is not part of a linguistic individual's knowledge, since the appropriate data for acquisition are simply not within the purview of the language acquisition process. Short of making rather risky claims of hard-wired universality for these correlations, there is no way to have the linguistic individual make relevant use of such statistical properties across languages. It is also rather difficult to imagine - and Hawkins (1983) does not give any evidence going in this direction either - what underlying properties of cognitive accessibility might support these stipulations of systematic coherence within languages, since they depend on their probabilistic distribution across languages. Without diminishing the potential value of these observations from the external point of view of linguistic description, the typological branch does not appear to be well suited for the purpose of elucidating the linguistic individual's position in language acquisition and language change. Applicable effects this type must derive from more linguistically embedded features and external conditions.

2.3.4.2.

Choosing a typological base

There is a second dimension of externality in the typological program, formal or not. It concerns the fixation of a type for a given property. The clearest illustration comes from the still central macroscopic patterns regarding major constituent order, formulas made up of the vocabulary S, Ο, I, V, ADV, τ , X, etc. This yields the well-known permutations of SOV or SOVX, VSO, TVX, SOV, and other types. An incisive single formula such as SOV glosses over the fact that these abstractions are sometimes hotly debated by researchers as to their relevance for a given language. The major declarative construction type without special contrastive or otherwise dynamically charged connotations cannot always be made out with certainty. In the split evidence of German, e.g., the parameter-setting argument ä la Lightfoot (1991; see above 2.3.1.) would make German a V-final, probably SOV language, since the subordinate clause requires a final V and cannot be taken into full consideration during language acquisition. For the regular verbfinal position to surface, the parameter responsible for unmarked V place must at some point in acquisition be calculable as clause final. This goes against the surface evidence of all finite root clauses with the verb in second position, and it does not take into consideration the regularity of subordinate clause construction. This is hard and artificial; moreover, it is very

52

Chapter 2: Domains

in historical

linguistics

risky in actual acquisition. If ambiguous data sets, such as the German one, must yield unique and secure, but counter-indicated results, it is difficult to see how ambiguity in data could ever lead to change in a parameter value, or how transparency could come into play. Again, as for the statistical implications of the Greenberg-Hawkins type of universals, it is unlikely that linguistic individuals will be able to perform at the level of expectation in learning these properties. If they cannot be learned from the envelope as any other acquired aspect of language, they cannot correspond to secure generalizations, and they cannot directly concern the cognitive make-up of the linguistic individual. Typology has its valuable applications (see Vennemann 1973; Hock 1986: 618-626; McMahon 1994: 139-160) and a sufficiently secure implicational logic using a broadened language sample (Hawkins 1983). Yet in spite of their sophisticated format, these statistical and implicational universals cannot solve any of the immanent questions emerging in language learning and linguistic change. Transitions from one major word order type to another seem to be rather common. As an illustration, the modern Romance languages represent an SVO type25, but they originated from a nonrigid verb final language, Latin, with an SOVX characterization (see Hawkins 1984; Wanner 1987: Ch. 8). The external frame of this proposition of change, i.e. the identifying formulae SOVX > SVO, can only be a shorthand representation, and an insecure one at that. The transition from one to the other obviously refers to a secondary, abstract reinterpretation of potentially ambiguous and contradictory data (see Vennemann 1973 on the intermediary TVX step for reaching SVO from SOV). The typological identity of the nascent Romance languages, presumably the undocumented period between 500 and 900 CE, essentially must have been vague or even non-decidable for the linguistic individuals of the period. In reconstructing the development in this way, the by now familiar cleavage between continuous data flow and discrete higher-level organization comes to the fore again. The power of harmonization according to pivotal typological stances must be quite weak, since it permits extensive violation of its preferred states as visible from the pervasive transitions. It does not block change, but it cannot explain it either as far as direction, actuation, and acceleration are concerned. This is not surprising, since typology can only embrace the external perspective short of being hard-wired. It is characterized by the same rigidity that made the Transparency Principle and the regularity hypothesis unprofitable for serious diachronic understanding. Typology may be useful as a tool for externally estimating the likelihood of a certain analysis in a

Various formal proposals

53

broader context, but it cannot be relied upon for elucidating and motivating individual operations in action.26

2.3.5.

Grammaticalization

2.3.5.1.

Grammaticalization

as a linguistic

principle

Grammaticalization again belongs to the external perspective. It is comparable to an extended parametric approach, combining several atomic parameters into the more holistic dimension of a cline. While this repackaging of parameters provides a better adaptation to characteristic linguistic constellations, it also increases the range of the formal device significantly, thus diluting its power of explanation. Grammaticalization elevates frequent diachronic pathways to the status of privileged avenues of development. Grammaticalization mainly concerns complex interactions between morphophonological and morphosyntactic processes diachronically moving items along a cline toward less autonomous forms. A two-dimensional arrangement with the axes of referential/deictic strength vs. formal independence projects a linear diagonal cline from high functional force and syntactic independence (upper left corner) to low force and independence (lower right corner; see Figure 1. In addition, the diagonal from high/high to low/low is synchronized with the time axis.

high

Ref/Deixis

low high


>t e.g. Figure 1.

strong deictic

—>

clitic pronoun

Grammaticalization cline for deixis to clisis

This view projects the unidirectionality typical of grammaticalization studies as a hyper-dimension of transition from syntax to morphology, pos-

54

Chapter 2: Domains in historical linguistics

sibly even phonology, taking place in time. Originally independent elements of syntax lose autonomy and become progressively "morphologized" in their diachrony, i.e. progressively less autonomous in their syntactic freedom of occurrence, semantic referentiality, and dynamic charge.

2.3.5.2.

Two meanings of

grammaticalization

A typical example of grammaticalization as a commonly observable mechanization of productive processes concerns the reduction of demonstratives to simple referential elements. In more detail, the schematic progression of Figure 1 involves Lt. 'ILLA 'deictic pronoun/adjective of distance' > strong pronouns, e.g. Sp., It. ella, Pg. ela, Fr. eile, Rm. ealäand on to weak clitic pronouns Sp., Fr., It. la, Pg. a, Rm. o, or definite articles Sp., Fr., It. la, Pg. a, Rm. ä. In other cases, the reduction may lead to actual incorporation of such an element into the inflectional morphology, as happened with suffixed subject pronouns in a number of Northern Italian dialects, e.g.,-t from Lt. Τϋ/ΤΕ for 2S verb endings (see also the preverbal clitic insert (d)t(d): Milan.(it') t(d) kredd-t 'YOU/you believe, think', or the IS elements, preverbal l-ä-/ and suffix l-i/, from Lt. EGÖ, Milanese (mi) e diz-i '(ME) I am saying (AIS, maps 1601, 1650). The cline thus comprises the sequential states of (6) specifying the blank schema of Figure 1: (6) a. ... > full pronominal ('ilia) > ...> b. deictically reduced, simple pronoun (ilia, ella) > ... > c. prosodically, phonologically, syntactically reduced pronoun (ela) > ... > d. (morpho)syntactically regulated clitic pronoun (=la=) > ...> e. morphologically regulated referential element (morpheme) (+la+) > ... > f. ?? Another well-studied cline concerns the gradual loss of independence by expressions of tense, aspect, and mood (Bybee, Perkins and Pagliuca 1994), where an impressive amount of divergent data is analyzed with the same categories, showing rather uniform changes taking place over time in genetically and interactionally fully independent languages. 27 This state of affairs, of evident diachronic interest, represents a first notion of grammaticalization, with the meaning of a scalar hyper-parameter of reduction in various dimensions.

Various formal proposals

55

In another sense, grammaticalization refers to the progressive regularization, i.e., "inclusion in the grammar as opposed to the lexicon or usage component", of some syntactic or other process which has not yet reached categorical application. Here grammaticalization serves to express a teleological idea of completing a process in diachrony to one-hundred percent application in frequency, contextual range, and/or input (see Hopper and Traugott 1993: 2) , i.e. grammaticalization 2 . As a shorthand designation, it may be useful (like "drift", "analytic", "synthetic", etc.); by itself, this second meaning does not provide anything new beyond the already available concepts of (progressive) generalization on the abstract level and standardization as conscious linguistic engineering.

2.3.5.3.

Grammaticalization

as a reducedparametrization

model

The two meanings of grammaticalization, as 'result' and grammaticalizat i o n as 'process' are complementary, as scrutinized in Joseph (2001 ).28 A holistic process (grammaticalization,) consists of more atomic processes that individually or in conjunction reach some arbitrary degree of generalization (grammaticalization 2 ). Grammaticalization represents a weak parallel to formal generalization applied to a functionally defined sub-domain of parametrization (see Heine, Claudi and Htinnemeyer 1991). Grammaticalization, requires a systematic delimitation and calibration of applicable scalar clines (Heine 1994) to avoid the vagueness secondarily imported into the parameter model by an open-ended multiplication of binary sub-parameters (Kayne 1996). If the grammaticalization scales are concrete, many are needed, and if they are abstract, they require interpretive adjustment for each specific linguistic situation, thus running into the usual filtering problem with raw data in acquisition. The desideratum of a confirmed list of such scales has not been filled by the extant research in the grammaticalization frame, reminiscent of a largely absent catalog of universally available parameters. 2.3.5.4.

The extent of a grammaticalization

cline

The cline in Figure 1, together with an instantiation (6), expresses a unidirectionality of the changes, from strong to weak manifestation, from top to bottom, specifically needs to be stipulated by superimposing the time dimension on the functional ones. The cline establishes the interacting developments as necessarily cohesive: loss of stress, of referential freedom,

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phonological material, and also syntactic freedom. But the cline as envisaged here is redundant as a formal device, since the constituent processes are sufficient to make the appropriate sequence of stages emerge freely. The cline cannot make the claimed unidirectionality follow automatically, since it does not rely on the inherent force of the component elements, only on their intersecting result. On the other hand, the component forces making up the cline produce the unidirectionality of progressive degradation by their very nature. If stress, reference, form, and distribution restrictions apply, they force the development to be in direction from (6a) to (6e). If other forces intervene, the directionality might change, e.g. if a reduced item is again prosodically prominent. In this case, it will not revert to an older state, but it might just become a stressed reduced form (see English a as normal [a] and stressed ['ej], no longer ['wan] in spite of the older connection with one). In this sense, the cline is actually at a disadvantage over the simple component account. In their multifaceted history, the Latin-to-Romance demonstrative pronouns/adjectives not only undergo reduction to clitic and article, but in two additional strains they are also preserved as strong pronouns and morpholexically expanded into newly strong deictics: 'ILLA > Sp. ella 'non-deictic strong pronoun', and *ek(k)u-ella / *ak(k)u-ella > Sp. aquella 'deictic of distance'. If an item maintains or acquires stress instead of losing it, it will show typical maintenance of the form at this raised prosodic level; and being stressed, it would be able to carry a substantive deictic function. Together, these conditions do not permit the form to shed much of its phonological body for prosodic reasons, and the referentially independent strong item will continue to exhibit syntactic freedom of the kind enjoyed by independent deictic elements. This is the fate of the eventual subject pronoun Sp. ella, and it represents half of the story for the reinforced deictic aquella, where the marked deixis led to an explicit expression of this raised feature. Morphophonological material was built up or broken down, in direct response to the functional charge taken over by the item in question and its dynamic/accentual status. Grammaticalization on the other hand represents a consequence that requires local justification in each case, since the evolutionary dimension is not independently given, only derivable from the interaction of the component processes intervening in the cline. Developments of grammaticalization can also go counter to the cline, relativizing its exclusive directional validity. Some Romance languages have lost the object clitic pronouns, foremost, certain registers of spoken Brazilian Portuguese and the Raetoromance dialect of the Surselva (Anterior Rhine Valley, Grisons, Switzerland). In both languages, the clitic ob-

Various formal proposals

57

ject pronouns did exist in full formation, as in any other Romance variety, presumably a stage corresponding to (6d) above. For Surselvan, the 16th and 17th century texts demonstrate this beyond any doubt, while the Brazilian precursor situation is the exported version of European Portuguese with a complete clitic system. The loss of clitics in Brazilian Portuguese is partial, and heavily conditioned by sociolinguistic factors. It includes total loss of the clustered forms (m-o '[IS IO]-[3S Μ DO]', Ih-as '[3s IO]-[3P F DO]'); near-complete deponence of the simple 3PS non-reflexive DO clitics (o, os, a, as) and somewhat less systematically of the 3PS 10 forms (Ihe, Ihes). The IPS forms subsist and alternate with their (formally) strong counterparts in low deixis, variably so for individual speakers (me~mi, no5). 29 The specifically reflexive se shows more resistance. The alternate expressions in unpretentious spoken Brazilian Portuguese are provided by the strong pronoun forms used in their regular NP syntax, showing a postverbal distribution in the string like any nominal object: BrPg. viu ela 's/he saw her', näo viu ela 's/he did not see her' vs. European Portuguese viu-a and näo a viu 'id.'. Under controlled referential and structural conditions, spontaneous Brazilian Portuguese resorts to zero representation for 3PS DO reference. This tendency has already been observed in European Portuguese for certain DOs with easy contextual reconstructibility, i.e. completely topical status and low deixis (Schwenter and Silva 2003). The Brazilian Portuguese phenomenon is clearly an extension of the European Portuguese option, but systematized in conjunction with the loss of full acceptability for the clitics.30 Whatever the forces, there is no indication that the loss here is induced by phonological reduction or similar mechanical cause, as might be expected based on the clitic cline. Clitics become gradually dysfunctional, and they decay under rather ordered formal and semantic constraints, with considerable margins of variability. This further development cannot be part of the grammaticalization scenario. The cline is thus at best a typical pattern. The forms seemingly following its trajectory are actually governed by independently constituted processes leaving open the option for some orthogonal development to disturb the directionality of the cline. The Surselvan loss is possibly different. It is now complete, and it took place between the 17th and the early 20th century. The last vestige of the 3PS reflexive se remains as an invariable prefix on some etymologically reflexive verbs, without any person agreement, just as a fully morphological reflexive prefix (jeu se-legrel, ti se-legras, el se-legra Ί am, you are, he is glad', etc.). The function of low-deixis object pronouns is assured by prosodically weak, but otherwise full renditions of the originally "strong" pronouns (as in the Brazilian Portuguese replacements). This is the case for all

58

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in historical

linguistics

all persons, numbers, and cases (DO, 10). The radical elimination of Surselvan clitics extends dialectally to the Sutselva and Surmeir (dialects to the South-East of Surselvan in the Posterior Rhine and affluent valleys), where some minoritarian clitics can still be found. In the Vallader dialect of the Lower Engadine (further South-East, in the lower valley of the Inn), the clitics are usually well preserved, but no clustered forms are known, while Puter (Upper Engadine) even maintains these exponents of a complete clitic system. The alternate expression, where necessary, is always provided by the full forms, prosodically degraded, but otherwise preserved. The usual analysis of this pattern points out the not improbable intervention of a pervasive, in part corrosive bilingualism with High Alemannic dialects of German (Schwyzerttiiitsch) and may thus depend on contact-induced change. 31 The parallel gradation of clitic presence and Raetoromance-Alemannic bilingualism is quite suggestive. Again, as for Brazilian Portuguese, the development is not a function of phonological loss, and the prominent condition of differentiation is a sociolinguistic specialty of Surselvan: its symbiosis with a typologically different language as far as the phenomenon under discussion is concerned. 32 As a consequence, grammaticalization, clines are not exclusive, they are further analyzable, and may thus constitute useful labels for taxonomic purposes. Grammaticalization remains committed to an external perspective on language in postulating clines, since these are not relevant for the linguistic individual, rather they represent an epiphenomenon of other factors of change, such as phonological and/or morphological reduction, and/or loss of independence of an item in frequent and formulaic collocations.

2.3.6

Explanation of language change: Croft (2000)

The comprehensive approach to language change in Croft (2000) stands in many ways close to the present endeavor. Primarily, it attempts to circumvent the insufficiency of the compartmentalized perspectives on formal, functional, social, and externally historical dimensions through the construction of a theory of language change. Its novelty resides in the integration of the incongruous components into a unified theoretical field. At the same time, the cross-generational and diachronic development of language is understood in parallel to the biological sphere with its well-known evolutionary dimensions of selection, adaptation, and mutation. This approach yields an for language a view as an inherently organized activity based on internalized knowledge and taking place in a material, social, emotional,

Various formal proposals

59

and cognitive setting (here, the envelope, see Chapter 3). The four main theses postulated in Croft (2000: 6-8, elaborated throughout the text) yield a largely compatible, but differently motivated view of change in language presented here. Manifest and largely conventional language form (represented in Croft by formal continuity as expressed by commensurate utterances across speakers) contains the seeds of change. Altered replication eventually leads to the standard scenario of the double analysis due to narrow formal alternation in a given function or, inversely, multiple functional mapping of a given structure. Social diffusion of the innovation operates separately from its inception, representing the selectional aspect of this biologically inspired framework. Given the relevance of social space for language change, the multiplicity of communicational channels at the disposition of each participant adds a natural bridge between system-internal and environmentally induced change (see also Milroy and Milroy 1985). Contact between different, but functionally harmonized linguistic domains of practice by interacting speakers injects external stimuli into the internal functioning of any participant. Where Croft (2000) stresses the biological dimensions of language change, this essay puts more weight on the cognitive aspects of the individual's role in the "creation" and practice of language. The blurring of external and internal causation of change in Croft (2000) finds a counterpart in the strongly surface-conditioned determination of form here, combining it with the null-hypothesis of social and cognitive contact (the analogical foundation of learning in all its dimensions; see Chapter 5). The broader construction of a theory of change undertaken in Croft (2000) can be viewed with some skepticism, given the nature of the components postulated in his study and consciously avoided here. This essay is close to Croft (2000) in some fundamental ways of trying to reorient thinking about diachronic linguistics. The visibly different patterns of argumentation and diverging preoccupations with prevalent challenges enable the present study to complement Croft's statement and to reinforce the tenor of contemporary efforts to overcome the limitation of an overly compartmentalized concept of linguistics, especially to include the diachronic dimension vital for the phenomenon of language in practice.

2.3.7.

Overview

The determining ideas from the frameworks discussed here can be organized under the following headings.

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Chapter 2: Domains

in historical

linguistics

(7) Basic dimensions of change: a. Regularity of change (ordered correspondences): - This is the foundation for a formal analysis of change and thus a theory-specific postulate. Non-regular (incomplete, irregular, sporadic) change is possible. - It is postulated in all frameworks, but more so in neogrammarian and generative approaches driven by formal properties. b. Ambiguity of analysis and reanalysis: - It softens formal rigidity to admit possible variation; it is questionable if combined with an otherwise strict regularity hypothesis as a corrective. - The effect of reanalysis may be latent and depends on secondary spread for visibility. - It can be a primary motor of change in generational transition. - Present in all frameworks, it is especially thematized in Kroch (1989), Harris and Campbell (1995), and Croft (2000). c. Deviations: Analogy, extension, adaptation, abduction; injection of new options from universal grammar. - Such mechanisms make change from reanalysis visible. - These mechanisms are surface-oriented patterns of change. - They are alternatively identified with unsystematic analogy, (neogrammarians, Harris and Campbell 1995) or with systematic generalization in structuralist and (post-)generative approaches. d. External interventions: Borrowing, effects from the envelope. - Since these are specifically opposed to requirements of formality and regularity, they can only represent "wild" changes beyond linguistic control, even if systematically present in Clark and Roberts (1993). - They are thematized somewhat in neogrammarians and strongly so in Harris and Campbell (1995). (8) Change takes place in and is a consequence of: a. Infant language acquisition. All frameworks are in agreement on this point. b. Adult linguistic practice. This option is only available to conceptualizations not uniquely relying on a dedicated formalized language acquisition device.

Various formal proposals

61

(9) Special mechanisms and perspectives (theory dependent): a. Parametric reevaluation describes major organizational shifts on abstract level. b. Typology classifies characteristic configurations of surface or abstract data at some level of representation. c. Grammaticalization classifies complex historical developments in functional terms using a small number of reductive clines shared across languages. 33 d. Broader integration of converging linguistic dimensions elevating the analysis to levels of cognitive embedding and social selectivity. The discussion has identified major tenets of diachronic development in significant frameworks. Some of these conditions are broadly shared. Given the contingent aspects of history, the various approaches contain elements that may not be compatible with strict formalization and regularity. The following chapters 3 and 4 explore the constitutive questions of the prevalent theoretical frames in general, focusing on grammaticality judgments, levels of representation, and the role of redundancy. The argumentation will establish that postulating and/or implementing such concepts is not optimal for the understanding of language change and language itself. This will lead to the postulation of generalized analogy implemented in a "soft" syntactic solution in Chapters 5 and 6, providing a better understanding of historical syntactic change.

Chapter 3 Reintegrating diachrony: A critique of some theoretical constructs

3.1. Four polar notions The current formal linguistic enterprise can be partially characterized by four metatheoretical choices (in italics in (1)) that at the same time evoke alternate options. (1) a. b. c. d.

Formal structuring vs. functional purpose Relation to the individual's cognitive dimensions vs. social action Perspective of the observer vs. the linguistic individual Generative atomism (computational) vs. morphologistic holism (semantic)

The italicized choices of a formal, a-social, observer-oriented, and atomistic perspective are appropriate for a field which understands itself as the foremost application of systematic scientific methodology in a domain of knowledge outside of the natural and biological sciences. These aspirations are in consonance with the guiding posts of critical rationalism (as defined by Popper 1968). Such a linguistic theory uses concepts that permit the analytic treatment of phenomena through modular components responsible for structure at different levels (see Fodor 1983). The ensuing theory is in principle a computational model assuring full compositionality of complex phenomena, in particular semantics (see Chomsky 1988). If, in a broader sense, language is heterogeneous, a theory of linguistics described by the dimensions of formality, cognition, observation and computation may well capture important aspects of its nature, but it does not fully encompass language in its broader manifestation and in its social use. Functional considerations (dichotomy (la)), largely excluded from the standard design of current linguistic theories, contribute explanations for the uses made of linguistic form. (Linguistic) interaction highlights the social dependencies of language (lb). The switch from the first to the second terms of the above dichotomies here depends on the horizon chosen for in-

The immanent view

63

vestigation, as the opposition of (lc) spells out. While the external point of view requires a comprehensive account of all that may be observed in a language, the immanent perspective represents a significant reduction of the horizon, limited now to what individuals confront in the exercise of their linguistic activities. The shape-dependent perception of language (Id) must at least complement the analytic domain, since the atomistic processes and elements are to an important extent derivative of external shape in terms of language acquisition. The requirement to take into consideration functional, social, and morphologistic aspects immediately elevates the historical dimension to relevance in the linguistic enterprise, since this field is crucially determined by the non-formal, socially contingent, and surface-shaped properties. At the same time, the immanence of language in the linguistic individual must still exclude historical components, unless such history directly concerns the experiencers in their exercise of language learning and use. The dichotomies of (1) cannot simply be reversed to obtain a diachrony-friendly science of language. The social vs. individual opposition (lb) is not exclusive; any account of language must remain strongly based on individuals as the cognitive participants in a social group. The computational choice of the formal enterprise ( l a , d) remains unchanged also for a more comprehensive, semantically and historically conscious account of language. The experience of the generative program, in combination with developing cognitive studies of multiple denominations, has shown that duplicate modes of understanding, formal and functional, monadic and social, are extremely fruitful and thus indispensable in any reformed linguistic picture. Yet the considerable theoretical divergence between formalism, psychologically anchored cognitivism, functionalism, and social interaction, indicates right away that the resulting comprehensive theoretical architecture for language will necessarily be composite.

3.2. The immanent view All by itself, changing the perspective from the observer's point of view to an immanent account (lc) produces a major shift. The choice of an observer perspective on language in the cognitive domain of the linguistic individual naturally leads to the reification of the phenomenon under investigation, a viewpoint that the natural sciences take with full epistemological justification. This secure fixation on the "object" of study becomes rather diffuse as soon as functional and social corrections are applied. In contrast

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diachrony

to physical phenomena, language exists "in the round", in a hyper-space determined by the coordinates of form, meaning, and use, in addition to the usual time-space envelope of human perception/production and social interaction. The immanent posture construes language as the result of symbolic operations within variably conscious levels of cognition and intentionality attributed to linguistic individuals engaged in social interaction. There is no object-like residue in this view, no "language" as a body of reference data for descriptive purposes, or "grammar" as a reified scientific description. Since the totality of linguistic events is not enumerable, and since the formative principles underlying the applicable utterances are not strictly deterministic, no exhaustive explanation of linguistic phenomena will be conceivable in the sense of a substantive formal theory of language or linguistics. Whatever components of linguistic behavior may depend on formalizable portions of cognition - e.g. a high degree of modularity for well-defined subcomponents such as phonation, auditive input processing, possibly some non-evident hierarchical principles of syntax, and similar - , they cannot constitute an adequate grammar by themselves. The essential connection between form and meaning escapes a narrow formalistic definition. The phylogenetic and ontogenetic background of the linguistic individual does not include a detailed inventory of atomic meanings, i.e. pieces of elementary semantic function out of which the world could be constructed. Meaning is the acquisition and structuration of the linguistic individual's experience in an external as well as an internal world. In the immanent view, this individually controlled experience cannot be shared in its exact form with any other co-participant due to the monadic separation between individuals (e.g. Taylor 1992).34 Communication in such a setting is possible, but not guaranteed: the utterance could be ignored, misunderstood, be seen as incommensurate in "meaning" and points of reference, etc. Effective transmission of content can be improved by assiduous exchange and especially by astute internal representation of a projected "external world" guessing the anticipated reactive pattern, of other linguistic individuals. As a result, meaning and knowledge of the "world" acquired in this trial-and-error approach will give cognitive subjects embedded in their environments the necessary informational stability to function adequately. Even assuming Taylor's (1992) pessimism, the observation of conversational maxims (Grice 1975) or, more simply, of the guiding principle of relevance (Sperber and Wilson 1986), can achieve reasonably stable communication across individuals constrained by their social setting. The indeterminacy of language is gradated, greatest at the beginning of language acquisition, increasingly stabilized by mid-infancy, tolerable in

Innate and constructivist

aspects

65

most communicational situations, and barely noticeable in situations of advanced stylistic awareness or register limitations in adult usage. The steep learning curve observed in infancy makes possible the transition from the early guesswork of meaning attribution to a later stage where the developing language builds up constructions and meaning through explicit feedback. This perspective is predicts the observation of fuzzy margins of linguistic behavior. The areas of fuzziness will not necessarily correspond between linguistic individuals and thus lead to increased blurring of sharp edges in acceptability of a given feature across a speech community. The remaining considerable domains of robust, nearly predictable linguistic activity by speakers could induce the observer to postulate a restrictive theory of universal grammar. However, by trying to reflect the linguistic individual's experience and current state, the immanent approach thematizes the fuzzy periphery as a determining marker for the way acquisition is taking place, i.e. by organic accretion. The formalizable properties are perhaps a central aspect of language, but not an exclusive dimension. From the point of view of immanence, the tension between an increasingly fuzzy periphery and a progressively stable core directly represents a difference in depth of embedding, specificity of representation, and anchoring in memory of their respective phenomena.

3.3. Innate and constructivist aspects If one considers the magnitude of the task facing the individual infant, there is no question that a heavy innate contribution to acquisition is required. But even if the innateness position is taken at its full value and in its greatest expansion, the amount of learning due to actual linguistic exposure, i.e. the selection of the phonological system and the entire range of meanings, distinctions and implications present even in simple discourse, still amounts to a staggering exploit of acquisition for the infant learner. The entire acquisition process needs to devolve without express instruction and negative evidence and it must lead to a serviceable copy of the information extracted from the surrounding linguistic practice. The immanent position thus presupposes a conservative, but necessarily sufficient substrate of innate specifications for general cognitive and specific language learning. To anchor the complex form-content pairs materially, the linguistic individual will utilize the phonetic material available from environmental modeling. As for meaning, the choice will fall on a concept or reference which has temporary prominence (relevance in the sense of Sperber and

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Wilson 1986). This focusing need only internally be judged as relevant to the situation, regardless of its congruence with the targeted "real" concept or reference. Through the interaction with other beginners, more advanced and adult speakers, the phonological and semantic aspects undergo progressive centering on standard values. Continual self-monitoring of practice in language and action will be of essential help for assuring the linguistic individual's success in communication. Self-perceived insufficiency is not a black and white pattern, since only the learner's individual needs and situation underlie the judgment. Any approximation will do in principle, as long as the reaction from others lets the speaker-participant conclude that the intended communicative aim has been reached. The immanent view thus depends to a large extent on some version of constructivism (see Piaget 1975; in a different tradition operational!zed in Culicover and Nowak 2003; see below Chapter 5). At the same time, the key attitude of the linguistic individual must be that of anticipating other linguistic individuals' interpretations, so that each individual will model a social environment according to their own communicative needs and their understanding of those of others. Socialization must go hand in hand with language acquisition, since one implies the other in direct terms. The immanent view frees the linguistic individual from the imperative to guess the world, and through it also language, with complete accuracy. Given that the practice of language in a naturalistic setting takes place with considerable latitude in precision on the part of most participants, an acquisitional model which depends on approximations, guesses, layered accretions, etc. appears to be superior to a more rigorous model requiring specific correction, precision and congruence between linguistic individuals to avoid serious degeneration of communication. According to the constructivist schema, the initially massive imprecision and errors in the semantic domain receive their gradual correction through repeated exchange with other linguistic individuals in a natural setting. The immanent view of language thus lowers the burden of the acquisitional task in the central domains of semantics and knowledge of the world. Since no values need to be fixed in a rigid way early on in learning (if ever), acquisition can proceed at its own pace for each linguistic individual as permitted by the enveloping conditions. The remaining need for an innate specification of linguistic capacity now concentrates on the triggering phases of "bootstrapping" (see Roeper and Williams 1987; Weissenborn and Höhle 2001), i.e. the facilitation of initial attributions of correspondence. While the phonetic and syntactic predispositions can be understood in this genetic framework, it is not possible to rely on this mechanism for the unfailing success of initial form-

The shape of language

67

meaning pairings. Even if the predisposition towards symbolization is genetically encoded, it cannot be the case that any actual symbolic pairings could be so specified. This requires invoking considerable constructivist activity on the part of the linguistic individual in strong as well as weak versions of the nativist hypothesis. 35

3.4. Communication and causation The causally connected aspects of speech only concern the formal side. The essential links which make language into the crucial instrument of human existence, i.e. the coupling between form and meaning, are specifically excluded from this chain. The decoupling is three-fold. First, the association between form and meaning is not rigid in the sense of a one-on-one relation as required by strict causality. Second, there is no guarantee of identity between the specific linkings across linguistic individuals. Words, expressions, discourses, all can be ambiguous; arrangements larger than a word (typically a single coherent concept) can be contradictory, they can be false or nonsensical, etc. There is no guarantee that a formal linguistic event should be associated with any meaning constant, thus also no guarantee that different linguistic individuals use a given form with the same meaning, or that they attribute the same meaning to a given form. In the face of oblique speech events, ironical discourse, and similar non-direct modes of meaning, compositionality may not be sufficient in all instances. A third breaking point for direct causality occurs in the interpretation of a given message by the receiving linguistic individual. Beyond comprehension and appropriate response, reaction may range from lack of comprehension to lack of intention to heed the contents of the message (e.g. of an order, prohibition, request, menace, etc.), from misunderstanding the intended contents to second-guessing the other participant's motives, etc. The interlocutor's interpretation of the original message beyond its compositional content remains wide open for any intentionally guided reaction. It is thus by definition unpredictable. The possibility of a "mutual misunderstanding" is a distinct possibility in this realistic scenario (see Taylor 1992 with this exact title).

3.5. The shape of language Language is perceived by the linguistic individual as material which possesses a distinctive appearance, a shape, and which can be used in this for-

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Chapter 3: Reintegrating

diachrony

mat for the speaker's purposes. It can further be manipulated through stylistic restrictions, prescriptions and proscriptions of words, expressions, illocutionary effects, etc. The shapes of immediate relevance for the linguistic individual are the combinations between holistic and atomistic aspects: words form phrases, clauses, and sentences, and phrases form clauses and sentences, etc. But each one of these higher levels of organization is potentially also present as an unanalyzed unit, e.g. in some idioms, set phrases, formulae, etc., as a shape instead of its componential analysis. Language is a phenomenon consisting of shapes that in turn may constitute larger shapes. But shapes belong to the performance domain, relegated to irrelevance in standard linguistic theories due to the postulated redundancy of a performance theory. This kind of reductionism is not successful in the normative sense of critical rationalism (Popper 1968), since it achieves reduction only at the price of excluding an entire range of phenomena from possible consideration. Performance data are more than just additional information about the output of competence. They are actual distortions of the data relevant for the investigation of competence, and there are no data available to the linguistic individual that do not pass through the distorting prism of performance. Minimally, this seems to require a critical foundation of competence achieved through performance, thus making it possible to specify the realistic capacities of the idealized speaker/hearer underlying much of recent theoretical efforts. The twin atomistic and shape-related representations acquire sufficient motivation as soon as the two representational modes cannot fully be translated. In first-language acquisition the shape domain must be in control of major aspects of all language-specific aspects: lexicon, local morphology and syntactic structures, plus all specifics of phonetic concatenation and inventory. On the other hand, in accounting for fully mature linguistic behavior, the atomistic rule-plus-principle perspective appears more appropriate under an external perspective. A language needs to be learned in its material otherness from all other possible languages through the linguistic individual's (more or less) accurate observation of the environmental language input. This input reaches the processing receptor modules under the guise of shapes, even though the learning targets may be atomistic entities and principles; these, however, cannot be derived from the forms in any direct way. The data require filtering for further processing to eliminate the variability of a given instantiation, and the necessary filtering devices require priming by language specific performance norms. The situation results in a circulus vitiosus.

Environmental dependence of language learning

69

3.6. Environmental dependence of language learning This stance could imply that an extreme degree of innateness is inevitable to overcome the bootstrapping problem concerning the early acquisition process (e.g. Weissenborn and Höhle 2001). By attributing to a hypothesized underlying simple grid of parameters 36 a formally driven assurance for full reconstruction of surface differences, change cannot naturally occur in language, i.e. in the real-world appearance of linguistic shapes. Since change is a very concrete option in language, the linguistic individual's knowledge of grammar must minimally depend on a co-determination by shape instead of atomistic principles alone, introducing gradually structured data (specific forms and form types) alongside categorical differentiations (parametric switches). A difference between two linguistic stages set far apart in time may be sufficiently deep to attribute them to a parametric switch, e.g. the pro-drop status of Late Latin (5th century) and the non-null-subject property of early modern French (17th century), or the development of manifest clitic status with specialized distribution for Latin demonstratives becoming Romance object clitics between the 2nd and the 13th to 15th century. A narrow segment of 200 years, e.g., between 1800 and 2000, may however prove to be only imperceptibly affected by macroscopic changes, hardly depending on any meaningful parametric values. Some concrete differences of expression can nevertheless apply, even though they may not provoke a clear-cut impression of change. 37 An example can be found in a detailed comparison of the (literary) English of the early 19th century and the present-day narrative prose style in British or American English regarding the inversion of lexical verb and subject pronoun in intercalated quotation frame (a typically written feature). Postverbal subject position was still standard around 1800 with say, and acceptable with a limited range of lexical verbs (see (2b)), while it has now ceased to be possible altogether; see (2a) (Quirk et al. 1985: 1022). (2) a.

r

Elizabeth complained, she complained, "The radio is too loud, "-< complained Elizabeth. *complained she. %said she (archaic)

NP- V PRON - V V-NP *V - PRON %say - PRON

b. 7 never saw a gentleman's handwriting " - Emma began, ... but stopped. (Austen, Emma, 267) (marginal, or not a quotative phrase at all)

??NP - V

70

Chapter 3: Reintegrating diachrony "Yes," he replied (205; prevalent anteposition) "I don't believe any such thing, " replied Emma ... (211; unique solution) "To be sure!" cried she playfully (99; less common than anteposition) "This is very true," said she (262; standard)

PRON - V

V - NP V - PRON

say

- PRON

This kind of difference in syntactic use between two linguistic phases, characterized by restrictions on the lexical level, does not derive from parametric variations in a direct sense; neither the point of departure (2b) nor of arrival (2a) exhibit a categorical distribution. Compare e.g. the acceptability of V - N P in both phases, but the demise of the V - P R O N string in the contemporary language. A special, emblematic verb to say, however, still allows pronominal inversion to some degree. What changes can only be partial parameters, or the value of a parameter in a portion of its domain of applicability, i.e. the opposite of what the parametric hypothesis tries to capture. The corresponding languages in their scalar dimensions are successfully learned by the linguistic individuals of either period. There are various strategies for attributing these effects to some linguistic construct. One could invoke an auxiliary hypothesis of a performance-related satellite processing those aspects of grammar which would account for the sub-parametric approximations between observed surface value and idealized parametric behavior. This move finds itself in the questionable company of the already criticized idea of a performance module: secondary adjustment to concrete data by simple stipulation. Alternatively, the parameters could be adjusted to include dimensions of cross-lexical (and/or cross-categorial) extension, of different degrees of resolution. Each substantive parameter would be accompanied by its rangespecific implementation. The difficulty with this proposal lies in its ad hoc translation of the surface distribution into universal categories. The question of lexical diffusion and variable rules with their deeper lack of linguistic motivation reappears (see Labov 1971; Chen and Wang 1975). The nature of lexical diffusion - a descriptive device for some distribution problems in diachrony - is statistical and extensive, not substantive. The paths of extension are not limited by the formulation of the concept of lexical diffusion, so that its effect does not go beyond the statement of unpredictable spread in a plane, i.e. the lexicon. Since the lexicon is the least systematically structured of all the generally accepted components of linguistic

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faculty, the label of lexical diffusion does not solve the fundamental problem. Rather, it recognizes an unpredictability and gives it a name. The parameter framework is being undermined in its crucial parsimony by adding performance factors into the systematic aspects of competence. Finally, the substantive parameters could be revised to contain ever narrower segments of linguistic effects, with the hope to accommodate the non-categorical through some systematic secondary categoricalness with ever finer gradations (see Kayne 1996). While this program is impeccable from the point of view of a theoretical construct, it misses the core of the present problem. The set of parameters would undergo a massive expansion to accommodate the many dimensions of detail covering the possible variations of fact across languages. The comprehensive set of such microparameters will necessarily form part of the genetic endowment to sustain the basic motivation of the program of universal grammar as an explanation of first-language acquisition; at the same time, the explanatory device merges with the phenomena it is intended to elucidate (e.g. for the singleverb exception of said she in today's standard in (2a) above). The formal category of parameter is in principle not able to achieve the formal simplification it must provide as a primary tool for acquisition. This is a crucial point requiring a more detailed examination in the following.

3.7. Parameter setting as induction 3.7.1.

The level of parametric determination

The pro-drop (also null-subject) parameter was conceived of as an invariant dimension expressing a higher-order generalization based on a concrete observation, i.e. the possible or unmarked absence of a subject expression with finite verbs. Not all languages permit this constellation, even though a majority of known languages belong to the null-subject (or pro-drop) category. Rather closely related languages may be differently classified in this respect. Within the Romance family, all modern standard languages are of the pro-drop type except for French which requires the obligatory presence of the subject expression. 38 French acquired its non-null-subject status during historical times (medium to advanced phases between 1200 and 1500, with categorical completion in the 17th c.), showing that the value of this parameter can be switched in a coherent diachronic evolution. The original cover category [±null-subject] offered a bold hypothesis, since it implied specific settings of three other correlative traits. A null-

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subject language such as Spanish should exhibit relatively free postverbal subject NP positioning and no effect in the so-called that-trace (or COMPtrace) constellation. 39 A third feature "rich inflection" correlates with the null-subject pattern, presumably preserving morpho-syntactic information. The parameter organized substantive and significant portions of syntax under one coherent rubric across languages, a clear advantage for acquisition. A closer analysis of a broader data range led to the dissolution of the hyper-category, since it became impossible to delimit it with any precision. The postverbal subject position turned out to be much more complex in a narrow comparison between Spanish (both VS(X) and v x s for low vs. high subject dynamics), Italian (only dynamically steered V ( X ) S ) and Portuguese (basically no V ( X ) S ( Y ) outside of grammaticalized contexts). The last parametric hope, the COMP-trace effect, fares even worse, since it is not only weakly constituted in its phenomenology (see the incisive discussion of English in Sobin 1987), but it cannot seem to find a satisfactory theoretical account of its original assumptions. 40 The factual inadequacies of the original hyper-parameter undercut its purpose of accounting for a streamlined acquisition of the features involved. At best there will now be independent simple parameters controlling the original component dimensions. The difficulty of deciding on the null-subject status based on surface manifestations led to a typological duplication of the null-subject syndrome, either concerning syntax or else morphology. The situation henceforth requires an internal parametric split for a three-way distinction: overt subject expression in syntax, e.g. French; no overt subject expression in syntax or morphology, e.g. Italian; and a morphological presence of (noninflectional) subject morphemes, but no overt subject expression in syntax, e.g. modern Trentino or Florentine (see Brandl and Cordin 1989; Wanner 1993a). Beyond this refinement, the attribution of a value even to these sub-parameters became vague. 41 A possible revision of the parameter framework could recognize different levels of generality, between hyperparameters and micro-parameters (following Kayne 1996), with an empirically determinable degree of freedom in value specifications. One might then think of the null-subject problem also in the following hierarchical arrangement (see (3), next page). In a cascading model such as (3), not every language with some nonnull-subject symptoms would reach a unitary specification at the maximal level. If the computation of the value coefficient is such that only exclusively positive values of all sub-parameters can yield a positive specification at the next higher level, the macroscopic insight meant by the original

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maximal level

intermediate levels

73

non-null-subject

(person)

(Ι,ΙΙ) (III) (number)

(clause/construction)

(root)

(subord.)

minimal level idea of null-subject can only be maintained marginally (see Perlmutter 1971): some languages require obligatory argumental subject expression. The present reinterpretation adds the modification of "in the specified contexts) /X - Y/". The expansion may still not succeed in accounting for an in-between value (e.g. of morphological richness). While the non-categorical value for such a feature will block a higher level positive specification [+non-null-subject (at level x)] without qualifications, it leaves other areas of the range of constructions unaffected, pinpointing the problem on a specific difficult data constellation. The categories along which null-subject behavior can vary according to (3), i.e. person, tense, level of embedding, construction type, etc., must obviously be accessible during first-language acquisition for a variety of functions. But this does not yet imply that these categories, directly operative in the language, need also be represented in a second instance as parametric dimensions. Such duplication would impose a considerable computational burden on the linguistic individual, and the parametric hypothesis would cease to facilitate language acquisition. The limitation to a specific construction, e.g. [root clause, 2nd person, singular, postverbal subject], 42 depends on appropriate computations. A direct constructivist 43 approach has been claimed to be too demanding for the language learner, and instead abstract principles (parameters) underlying the data and available to the language learner as input categories were postulated. In the sub-parametric model of (3), made necessary by the complexity of the data, the parametric settings need to be learned on the basis of the concrete data, no different than if there were no parameters to "aid" the acquisition. The hypothesis sketched in (3) becomes equivalent to the task of learning the grammar constructively; the parameters and sub-parameters lose their function. If one insisted on a parametric solution for first language acquisition in spite of these difficulties, one might invoke a maturational concept of subsequent learning modes. An earlier categorical perception and registration

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mode (Streitfeld and Wilson 1986; Woode 1992) in consonance with the hypothesis of binary parametric variation could carry out the learning task in an environment of (massively) simplified perceptual representation. After this foundational phase, the rough grammar would undergo refinement leading to an improved, discrete, and now non-dichotomous representation of the linguistic percepts. The change is due to the maturational passage into a subsequent phase in which the linguistic individual benefited from more sophisticated perceptions. This scenario is not a priori impossible, but it calls forth three critical observations. First, the temporally spaced sequence of phases, prior categorical and later scalar, should be documented in the linguistic output. The critical age for the change-over is an empirical question. With infant acquisition data, utterances are short, frequently they do not extend to conventional clause structures, and many of the adult grammar principles do not appear in earlier data sets (see Ritchie and Bhatia 1999a; especially Wexler 1999; also Hyams 1996). The coalesced, undifferentiated, highly ambiguous use of forms for reference to desired meanings (objects, needs) in the early phases of one- or two-word utterances does not provide proof of an early stage of parametric precision. Later on, with the short sentences of more or less closed structure (even though still very simple), the pattern of adult language seems to be attained for the somewhat restricted phenomena and principles actually utilized. The deviations from the eventual grammar have never been observed (or analyzed) as corresponding exactly to the difference between pure parametric choice and more detailed and realistic linguistic patterning (see Gleitman and Gillette 1995; also Clahsen, Penke and Parodi 1993-1994). Second, given the linguistic individual's challenge of learning the language from impoverished data, how can a premature (and possibly erroneous) value attribution for the infant or adult parameters be prevented? For the non-null-subject property, the data indicate a trajectory from [-non-nullsubject] in earlier productions until a more adult [+non-null-subject] stage is reached later on (in the case of a language such as French, German or English). This earlier constellation cannot represent the parametric choice, even though the direct evidence of learner data points to it (Lightfoot 1991; Boster 1997). The question is (i) what evidence, (ii) in what kind of density, purity, or frequency, and (iii) at what stage of grammar development will be able to change an early parameter setting for the adult grammar, where the initial analysis does not capture the adult models. Setting the parameter value in a concrete situation represents a material induction from observed raw data to an abstract representation, quite con-

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trary to any intentions of the program of universal grammar. Since language data have determining value for the parametric stabilization, the parameter value choice [+PM(i)] or [-PM(i)] depends on the external signals. If the selectivity between a [PM(i)] and its /TRIGGER(PM(i))/ is very high, it prevents the accidental setting of a parameter value by a stray datum. These trigger specifications would also have a predetermined representation in the same way as other constructs of universal grammar. The parametrization portion is now properly shielded from concrete external data other than designated triggers, i.e. parametrically processed and abstractly represented mediate linguistic stimuli. However, different languages will still require divergent substantive specifications for the earliest learning process to progress properly. For the last link we are still confronted with real induction as a precondition for making possible the deductive process of grammar construction. The maturational hypothesis is not supported by the facts, since the predicted output breaks between early and late stage(s) do not take place; rather development is smooth and gradual. The problem of identifying appropriate trigger data is as acute as ever, and the most advanced auxiliary hypotheses cannot push the question beyond a crucial portion of substantive induction in the learning process. The third objection against a maturational approach with early parametric adherence and a later overlay introducing realistic variability takes aim at the fact that the frequency and distribution patterns beyond the categorical parametric predictions of early acquisition must now be learned as such in the secondary adjustment phase. The amount of assistance provided by initial parametrization is little, and it comes early, accounting for a very preliminary data range. The adjustment towards the adult output pattern will take place as surface corrections starting from the preliminary parametrization results. Postulating instead yet another layer of preestablished measures (secondary adult parameters) remains ad hoc. Learning a secondary variability pattern based on a (more or less) categorical parametric foundation is not preferable over a more direct account in which some frequency effects are learned outright. The parametrization hypothesis with secondary learning correction is no less complex for the linguistic individual to acquire than a situation without the parametric aid. Its postulation does not improve the learning problem and the maturational approach decreases in plausibility. The early parametric learning scenario could provide a partial answer to the bootstrapping problem, because it has the potential of reducing the learning task massively. In order to achieve this result, its outcome would

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need to conform to a very narrow band of variation with robust differences between the options. This scenario should lead to a discernible early learning phase of highly systematic infant talk that would later on give way to the adjusted, more adult-like outcome of "real" acquisition. There is no concrete evidence either so far for this projected break in the quality of linguistic output or for a uniformity of early talk patterns across individuals and languages under the guidance of the initial parametric boost. The nullhypothesis of a continuous model of language acquisition is still better supported.

3.7.2.

Beyond parameters

The question about apparent parametric effects in language still remains open. The observation of the two patterns of subject expression, dynamically and referentially functional vs. formally obligatory, seems to have clear relevance at a pre-theoretical or typological level. The distinction between clitic and non-clitic elements likewise expresses an important generalization, even though this differentiation cannot always be carried out with final authority (Zwicky 1985). A string position such as second position (P2) received much attention for a variety of phenomena (clitic place, verb position, auxiliary location, etc.). After numerous attempts at elaborating a satisfactory structural definition based on many languages, P2 remains elusive in general, but real in concrete cases, enough to want to maintain it as a possible point of reference (see Halpern and Zwicky 1996). The same somewhat vague motivation and potential utility for linguistic understanding pertains to other such notions of quasi-analytic dimensions (e.g. auxiliary verbs, reflexivity, etc.). How can these aspects retain their conceptual utility in spite of a persistent vagueness? Such categories and divisions could be understood as basic-level concepts with fixed core properties plus varying peripheral traits. Alternatively, the later discussion here will concentrate on a model of analogical association of similar forms in multiple chains. Contrary to the prototype approach, the analogical constitution of such a domain does not imply that there is an immutable core characterizing all the outcomes. The implementation of such patterns in either interpretation produces a non-deterministic range of similar outcomes across languages, e.g. the range of clitic phenomena or P2 interpretations. It provides for a fairly well understood result in the "best" cases: e.g. French as a non-null-subject language, Spanish clitic object pronouns as crucially clitic elements, or the Serbian and Croatian positioning of clitic elements as

The modeling of frequency

11

manifestly occupying second position. 44 In this way, such notions form part of the arsenal of linguistic auxiliary constructs in a network of tentative points of reference; in each case, though, they are in need of specific interpretation within the grammar under investigation. Elevating them to automatic consequences of universal parameters or principles overstates the case and blocks understanding of the many different instantiations of these phenomena. Overall, the change from predetermined parametric delimitation to constructivist constitution of categories and processes requires the major connected shifts to an immanent approach, strictly minimal assumptions, and abstraction through induction.

3.8. The modeling of frequency 3.8.1.

The role of frequency

Underlying the problems of parametrization and the setting of its values is the question of what role the frequency of a form or a phenomenon plays in the learning and practice of language. Frequency is a property of language taking place in time; it also impacts the learner by giving some phenomena of the linguistic input materials higher visibility due to repetition. This could in turn help determine what will acquire prominence through relevance for the learning process, e.g. in the determination of an unmarked parameter value. We will first explore the conditions under which frequency is the last resort of analysis, and then investigate the way in which such patterns can in principle be acquired. Where the rate of occurrence of a given phenomenon (a lexical item, a morphological category, or a syntactic construction) is simply a function of discourse content, such frequency need not be learned separately. Only where two phenomena are perceived by the linguistic individual to stand in competition as formal variants or near-variants for a given function will their frequency distribution possibly be recorded at some stage of language acquisition. Frequency distribution takes over where more meaningful contextual and content-driven differentiation between constructions is not available on the observational surface and therefore cannot be acquired. Variability is a flat projection of a more complex meaning-form constellation where meaning is replaced by content-neutral probability of occurrence.

78 3.8.2.

Chapter 3: Reintegrating diachrony Unstable differentiations

Assume that two alternants Ixl and lyl, in addition to a form difference δΦ, also involve some meaning discrimination δΜ (connotational, referential, and/or dynamic). The condition enabling the two constructions to compete is their semantic, functional, and formal affinity. An example may be variable clitic doubling in Spanish (4). Two minimally differentiated constructions, with or without a doubled clitic pronoun in a specific context, have different frequency coefficients. (4) a. Trdigate, un jugo de naranja a la ninav bring-her a juice of orange to the girl 'Bring the kid an orange juice.' b. (Lej) puso otra diapositiva a la presentation multimediaj. 3S-IO 3S-put other slide to the presentation multimedia 'She changed a slide in her multimedia presentation.' c. Si quiero viajar, ya no illle) hablo a un agente,. if I-want to-travel already not him I-speak to an agent 'If I want to travel, I no longer talk to an agent.' d. Si quiero viajar, ya no *let hablo a una agenciai. if I-want to-travel already not him I-speak to an agency 'If I want to travel, I no longer talk to a travel agent.' The correferential clitics le, corresponding to indirect object NPs (in bold), represent four degrees of variation: obligatory presence of the doubling clitic in (4a), a not further qualified alternation in (4b), and rather unusual presence of the doubling element in (4c). The non-specific, nonanimate indirect object in (4d) typically rejects doubling. The determining conditions in (4b) and (4c) are specificity and animacy, both favoring doubling. Specificity variably overcomes the inanimacy of la presentation multimedia in (4b), while animacy will less easily counteract the nonspecificity of un agente in (4c).45 The variable cases (4b) and (4c) establish the need for some learning of frequency among competing alternants. The relative strength of animacy and specificity cannot be invoked as primary, thus obviating frequency as an independent dimension. This ordering of the constraints is the result of learning based on the available evidence, i.e. the infrequency of doubling in (4c) (= low animacy) vs. the flat variability in (4b) (= importance of specificity). The learner must also respond to the two options of (4b), with and without clitic doubling, to produce the free variation within a single narrow meaning category partaking of two contradic-

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tory vectors, inanimacy (no doubling) and specificity (favoring doubling strongly). 46 The relative weight of the options must be learned in some way. In a second case, a meaning differential δΜ of very fine texture corresponds to two competing alternants. Where the pragmatic and dynamic implications are of little consequence, the linguistic individual may not be able to devise an accurate representation of this tenuous differentiation in a given instance. The selection by the speaker of [+MJ or [-Mi] is externally uncontrollable, so that the individual, in learning as well as in understanding, must model the frequency distribution as a replacement for the missing 6Mj. Not having captured a meaning differentiation - i t may not be present for the speaker - , the learner can only operate with a flat representation of probability. The use of indicative vs. subjunctive morphology in different Spanish subordinate clauses illustrates the case in (5) to (7). (5) Subjunctive only: purpose clauses, predicates of volition and causation Es preciso que lo terminesmO cuanto antes is necessary that it end-2s how-much before 'You need to finish it as soon as possible.' (6) Subjunctive alternates with indicative, with a clear meaning differentiation: concessive clauses type I, relative clauses, adverbial clauses of time, ambiguous verbs of communication a. Decidi hacer un viaje que en efectome diomD nuevas ideas decided- lsto-make a trip that in effect me gave new ideas Ί decided to go on a trip that really gave me new ideas.' b. Decidi hacer un viajeque me dierasm} nueva esperanza decided-lsto-make a trip that me should-give new hope Ί decided to go on a trip to give me new hope.' (7) Subjunctive alternates with indicative, where δΜ is far from stable: concessive clauses type II, emotive predicates, nominal complements Me alegre de que pensaranSUB] / (pensabanlND) hacerlo me I-was-glad of that thought-3P to-do-it Ί was glad that they (really) planned to do it.' (8) Subjunctive virtually excluded: causal clauses, real conditions, 47 noncommunicative declarative predicates Sabe que lo comemosWD con mucho gusto knows-3s that it eat-lP with much pleasure 'She knows that we like to eat it a lot.'

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The categories of immediate interest are (6) and (7). For (7), the description reconstructs them as instances of a fine meaning difference, where the distribution in the [+subjunctive] vs. [-subjunctive] form may not always depend on a clearly perceptible contrast, neither for the learner and linguist nor for the speakers themselves. This is best seen in the psychological predicates of the perfunctory type alegrarse 'to be glad (polite formula vs. real emotion)', or the ambiguous esperar 'to expect (futurate)' and/or 'to hope (personal involvement)'. The observed surface result is significantly underdetermined for the listener as well as for the linguist. Speakers of (7) will already have been caught in this tension during their own acquisition, so that there is no guarantee that the choice of indicative or subjunctive has any significance for them to begin with. The role of a 6M between subjunctive and indicative, clearly attested in other contexts (e.g. (5) and (8)) is much weakened, if concrete at all. For (6), in contrast, the firmness of core cases (e.g. based on a temporal/intentional difference in the example) reinforces the choice of verb form as driven by an intended and expressed meaning difference. Learning of frequency concerns only the (non-)contrast between (7a) and (7b) as a last and flat resort for speakers not applying a concrete meaning differentiation between the two options.

3.8.3.

Incorporating frequency

For neural networks, frequency is a consequence of imprinting the connection paths according to their weighted importance, i.e. the frequency of their activation. The appropriate ρ value for each transition consists in the analog translation of the ease of excitation of this transition proportionate to the actual frequencies encountered in acquisition and later linguistic activities. Such an incorporation of frequency as a value p™ measuring transition activation (TA) between two (or more) closely connected linguistic manifestations is natural, inexpensive in systemic terms, and realistic as a solution for the otherwise difficult statistical distribution problem. Whatever the cognitive capacities of a linguistic individual may be, they do not extend to overt frequency control at any level of accuracy of observation and numerical approximation. Frequency can thus be captured if the underlying cognitive framework of the linguistic individual is not parametrically organized, but dependent on scalar properties. Considering the difficulties in modeling evolving frequency patterns in a connectionist network, 48 Skousen (1992) develops an alternative account based on analogical concepts. The associational properties of the frame-

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work of Analogical Modeling provide the means for adapting frequency ratings (or probability of occurrence) to locally determined contexts (the analogical sets), overcoming the apparent rigidity of the built-in specifications of transitional probabilities in the network architecture. Frequency thereby becomes an embedded function of memory, and in the interest of computational realism, this continually adjustable frequency record is fragmentary and idiosyncratic rather than accurate for the individual. Being imprecise in its calibrations, it will in part depend on the most recent memory traces having affected the linguistic individual and this permits the frequency record to become changeable according to developing conditions. In this way, the parsimonious design reflects the importance of significant frequency differences and the irrelevance of anything beyond its very approximate reproduction. The incorporation of frequency into linguistic description is possible independently of the assumption of a cognitive network approach. The linguistic individual needs to be attuned to frequency in a way so as to foster, and not further weigh down, the challenge of language acquisition. This approach will yield a functional, rather than precise reproduction of environmental linguistic practice.

3.8.4.

Frequency calibration

If linguistic behavior, as observed in real-world situations, indicates the conscious control of distributional relationships, a minimum mechanism for cognitive frequency representation must be available. Following the description of the two Spanish examples above, a minimal frequency pattern includes a recommended, strong option and a disfavored, weak variant (9a); outright prohibition (zero) necessarily coupled with categorical validity of the other option (9c); or non-weighted alternation, i.e. a random probability of p=0.5 in (9b). (9)

a. ^ » pj b. ^ = pj c. ^ = 1, pj = 0

pi is much greater than pj Pi and pj have non-distinct frequency characteristics Pi is categorical, while Pj is proscribed (hence *pj)

This simple set of relationships, together with any aleatory aspects of actual discourse, must be sufficient to describe an approximate behavior of linguistic individuals short of attributing to them special statistical competence. The linguistic individual's language use will thus not be calibrated more accurately than by generic differences. The first relation (9a) does not

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refer to just any statistical differences, but only to such divergences which are accessible on the experiential level, i.e. massive discrepancies, registered as such by the individual, as suggested by the right-hand verbalization. Smaller cleavages in probability, even though they might be statistically relevant in technical terms, will not be part of the linguistic individual's competence and rather correspond to an indifferent reconstruction (9b). The limit case (9c) deals with the emblematic categorical judgments of "good" and a non-existent or proscribed "absent" as sole variants (pi vs. *Pj). In many cases, this latter option pj could by itself very well exist, but it may have been proscribed at one point or another in a standardizing move. The real-world interpretation of the frequency relationships of (9) depending on the linguistic individuals' less than precise reproduction of the input materials yields the linear representation (10), either in a more detailed version (10a) or a rudimentary instantiation (10b). (10) a. l ( o r n e a r - l ) > much > variable > little > b. 1 (or near-1) > variable >

0(ornear-0) 0 (or near-0)

Depending on the situation, the simple difference between a polar value and variability may be sufficient, collapsing thus the in-between range of (10a) as in (10b). In all instances, the hedge of the polar values, 1 or near-1, 0 or near-0, is a necessary adjustment in view of imperfect recording in the linguistic individual's memory. The absolute exclusion of the opposite value may objectively not be justified, since there are rare examples of it, yet for the individual these outlying values did not achieve the prominence level of being registered. The imprecise recording category (near-)polar value permits the linguistic individual to operate with (approximate) closure for a given situation. The experience of sociolinguistics, and also of stylistic studies of individual texts, shows that the very rudimentary calibration mechanisms of (9) are far from the reality of the known data situations concerning specific sociolinguistic features, where identifiable groupings of linguistic subjects seem to adhere to rather precise frequency distributions. 49 A greater precision, e.g. of a stable 37% vs. 59% of some alternations (plus a remainder of 4% of "other"), is a consequence of the data constitution in broader studies. It corresponds to the averaging effect of the group response (various individuals, periods, registers, texts), not to the secured behavior and capabilities of the single linguistic individual in a given envelope and diachronic setting. Only this latter domain of cohesive production can be expected to depend on the very rough numerical guidance of the principles (9) at the

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level of the individual. In an immanent perspective, a higher level of precision beyond that indicated in (10) does not need to be reproduced through cognitive devices. Even if the leveling effect of the group constitution is granted, singleauthor stylistic studies (of highly formalized textual genres) occasionally point to constant frequency values for a given linguistic feature. These observations are linguistically relevant to the effect that they represent continual adjustments due to ongoing exposure to language, i.e. acquisition beyond the infant/child phases. The continuity of language acquisition with the possibility of finer, more specific patterning is natural for noncategorical models, e.g. neural networks or an analogical approach. The infant language acquisition phase, the later childhood and adolescent periods, all depend initially on the modeling of the frequency of excitation for a given phenomenon, searching to anchor it in a relevant meaning. As this constitutive process for memory, knowledge and understanding originally builds up the cognitive and linguistic faculties of the learner, so will the further linguistic activities affect the linguistic individual's knowledge and practice of language in later phases, albeit much more slowly than in infant and early childhood acquisition. Continued adult learning can be expected to produce noticeable differences between linguistic individuals, since it is directly connected to each linguistic life history. In such cases, the raw probability relations of (9), (10), distributed over the relevant participants in a specific world of discourse, may have yielded a more precise and reasonably stable numerical relation for a given phenomenon. Such stylistic constants may actually represent partially controlled, normative features for certain styles and/or registers of discourse. Projected stylistic features would follow in the steps of successful individual performances, translate into group specific expectations, and finally be made independent of linguistic individuals and constituted as emulated or binding horizons of linguistic expression for certain communicational purposes. At such points, the phenomenon of textual genres (Raible 1991, 1995) finds a natural linguistic explanation as the exaltation of locally standardized expressions and specific functional interpretations of discourse (see 2.2.2.). Frequency belongs to the typical performance domain of perception. The relevance of frequency distributions and their functioning in linguistic production depend on their learnability by the individual as the responsible agent for the motivation of this dimension in linguistic explanation. The elegant and more powerful hypothesis of parametrization fails the expectation of facilitating and elucidating first-language acquisition through its inability to assimilate the frequency problem. Frequent vs. infrequent, pre-

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ferred vs. relegated, better vs. less appropriate alternants in effective pairings remain central for language learning. Choosing the more frequent option as the preferred one, modeling distributional properties, and in general conforming to the input received from the training data are better properties leading to social and linguistic integration than the locked-in holistic parameter values.

3.9. Conclusion: Language as the object of diachronic study The conceptual domains of functionality, social embedding, immanence of perspective, and relevance of surface shape receive primary (or at least equal) attention over their polar counterparts of formality, abstraction, externality, and atomistic constitution (see (1) above). The crucial orientations have been identified with (a) the relevance of the envelope within which any linguistic activity, i.e. language, takes place and/or exists, and (b) the changed perspective now based on the linguistic individuals and their immanence as compared to the otherness of the linguist-observer's gaze. The inclusion of envelope conditions complicates the analysis of linguistic form considerably, but it corresponds to an inevitable enrichment for a realistic description of language. The concomitant compensation through reduced computation for formal concerns follows a similar mandate of realism for a sustainable processing task. Other cognitive tasks correlated with some physical properties (e.g. the sensory domains or complex manual control) are traditionally understood as the result of a combination of innate predispositions, voluntary concentration, and environmentally steered learning. In the proposed view, language acquisition must similarly rely on extensive constructivist and envelope contributions in addition to very general, but genetically encoded foundations. The ultimate reason for using language concerns meaning of all kinds, transmitted directly or obliquely, clearly or in veiled fashion, with success or missing the mark. The main vehicle for transmission, of whatever degree of accuracy, is the form of language in its multi-dimensional plasticity within its envelope. Due to the primarily inductive and abductive nature of language learning and thus of the resulting linguistic knowledge, the shape of language must represent the central axis of reference, rather than the atomistic principles of formal equivalence. As a consequence, the historical dimension inherent in the envelope and the linguistic individuals' life-long accommodation to their linguistic surroundings give a constitutive place to diachrony and historical information experienced by linguistic individuals.

Chapter 4 Critical issues: Grammatically, representation, redundancy, and regularity

4.1. Types of grammatically judgments A key concept for any systematic approach is grammaticality and its evaluation by the linguistic individual. Grammaticality judgments have long been a challenge for historical syntax, while morphology and phonology enjoy easier access to previous language states. Synchronic judgments in syntax seem to be readily available from the reactions of native speakers. In historical work, they cannot be obtained other than by the accident that the utterance type under investigation has in fact been transmitted in a reliable format, even though perhaps not in a spontaneous register of language. This section will explore the reliability of standard grammaticality judgments, concluding that a less deterministic categorization of utterances corresponds better to the reality of language reconstructed from an immanent point of view, thus putting theoretically informed research in historical syntax back into focus.

4.1.1.

Two levels of grammaticality judgments

The grammaticality value of an utterance serves as the basic input calibrating the model. A representation receives the grammaticality value of 0 or 1, [OGRAM] or [lGRAM], depending on whether it could occur as a real-world event in the judgment of the linguistic individual. Strictly speaking, there are two levels of grammaticality evaluation: covert evaluation, and overt judgment, both ultimately based on the same covert intuition of wellformedness for guidance. The linguistic individual's intuition on the grammaticality value of an utterance depends on the application of the subconscious principles of construction embodied in the internalized (formal) grammar G. This covert evaluation, henceforth symbolized by [acovert gram], depends on formal criteria alone, exclusively deriving from the principles of G. It necessarily yields an unambiguous output of acceptance (by convergence) or rejection (by conclusive negation, or by indecision), en-

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tirely based on the formal principles constituting G: the classification [±covert gram] is an algorithm of G. The overt judgment, for which the label [±OVERT GRAM] will be reserved, refers to the interpretation of an actual utterance made by a concrete linguistic individual in a certain envelope situation. The linguist as external observer can only obtain this latter grammaticality judgment [OVERT GRAM] from one or more linguistic individuals, but a reliable value for [covert gram] cannot be elicited with any degree of accuracy. Any value of [OVERT GRAM] involves a contextualized judgment as the only kind accessible to the linguistic individual. As such the judgment potentially deviates from the corresponding evaluation in terms of [covert gram]. With the necessary split between [covert gram] and 50 [OVERT GRAM], a critique of the grammaticality concept imposes itself. A direct approach would wrongly accept the performance-based judgment [OVERT GRAM] as identical to [covert gram], i.e. the competence-based automatic product of evaluation by G. For the idealized 51 identity between [covert gram] and [OVERT GRAM] to obtain, the external envelope conditions influencing [OVERT GRAM] must be equal to zero. This extreme value is imposed on the idealized speaker/hearer, alias linguistic individual, who is viewed as unaffected by performance factors (e.g. Chomsky 1965: 4). With an utterance receiving a qualification [1 covert gram] from G, the ideal speaker-hearer should only be able to come up with the result of [1 OVERT GRAM] = grammatical: the utterance is good, on both levels. Similarly, for an output verdict of [0 covert gram] from G, the linguistic individual would only produce [0 OVERT GRAM], i.e. really ungrammatical. Grammaticality judgments by native speakers do not yield the postulated neat binary categorization that the formal theory predicts and requires. Transitional values, hesitations, and agnostic reactions are not infrequent. Furthermore, the reaction by a linguistic individual to one and the same utterance on different occasions may vary. A more differentiated classification of grammaticality values allows for degrees of doubt to be expressed by an accumulation of degree markers. This creates degrees of goodness, expanding the idealized polarity of grammaticality to a scalar interpretation; see (1) for an approximate syntax of these expressions and some Spanish illustrations in (2).52 (1) a. ** * *??? ??? ?? ? ok n m b. /(*) (?) / 1< η < 3 (usually 1, except for expressivity), and 1 < m < 3, and combinations of * and ? are admissible, e.g. "[*???]" as 'basically

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ungrammatical, perhaps marginal with much insistence and the right circumstances, but I do not really know' (2) a. *La musica me deleita armoniosa the music me delight harmonious 'Music delights me with its harmony.' b. ULa musica me conforta armoniosa the music me comforts harmonious 'Music comforts me with its harmony.' c. ?(?)Con que noviat no sabes si Maria encontro with which girlfriend not you.know if Mary encountered a Luis enfadado t,? to Luis angry 'With which girl friend don't you know whether Maria found Luis upset?' d. IJuan ve las montanas contento John sees the mountains pleased 'Juan sees the mountains with pleasure.' e. Juan bostezo tranquilo John yawned quiet 'Juan yawned quietly.' (Demonte 1991: 164, 186) The usual compromise is to accept the descriptive usefulness of the scalar grammaticality values, and to correlate them with violations of minor constraints, enough to produce a noticeable effect in the degree of grammaticality, but not sufficient to let the derivation crash. Such an utterance may still be interpretable, with a more or less strong connotation of awkwardness. The fact that the systematic values of [covert gram] do not really support such an interpretation (at least outside of an adaptation of Optimality Theory53) remains unacknowledged. This suppression of a technical detail, however, has serious consequences, since the window on reality provided by the interface level of grammaticality judgments risks becoming a mere trompe-l'oeil. The more or less marginal, more or less good utterances in (2b-e) must all correspond to [1 covert gram] evaluations; otherwise it should not be expected that they can be interpreted at all by a linguistic individual. A scalar grammaticality value may thus be rather far removed from the envisaged categorical [covert gram] judgment. [OVERT GRAM] as the only accessible evaluation does not permit us to tap into the underlying cognitive functions with any algorithmic precision. Aptitude, exposure, intention, etc., may have an important part in the individual's

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determination of [OVERT GRAM]. Reliability of judgment for formal linguistic purposes, i.e. [acovert gram], cannot be ideal under such circumstances. The presence of interpersonal differences, and, more significantly, of fault lines even within a linguistic individual may significantly codetermine G. All these differences depend on circumstances of envelope, strength of reaction to a given probe, or whatever other, possibly unsuspected factors may intervene in reaching an [OVERT GRAM] judgment. The idealizing step from aleatory performance to systematic competence cannot be certified.

4.1.2

Dealing with grammaticality results

Further critical appraisal of the scalar [OVERT GRAM] function is essential. The linguistic individual can only produce an [OVERT GRAM] value under the comprehensive conditions of a situated performance. Reaction time for arriving at [aOVERT GRAM]j may vary significantly depending on the type of construction; even a complete change of evaluation is possible, or a gradation of grammatical ity may be naturally and spontaneously offered by the linguistic individual (Schütze 1996: 19-53). A usable mechanistic model would presuppose predictable reactions and no noticeable processing time. All of this is not the case in the real-world situation of eliciting from a linguistic individual an [OVERT GRAM] determination. There is also some awareness that training and exposure may be required for a given type of construction and its crucial test utterances before the more complex cases can be judged in a useful way, even by the professional linguist (Postal 1974). This means that [OVERT GRAM] judgments are at least in part acquired, possibly controlled by consciousness, and definitely organically derived from the data, but not exclusively from the categorical output of grammar G in the form of a value [ßcovert gram]j. There are now two difficulties: (a) the inherent indeterminacy of a linguistic form in conveying a precise content (input dimension); and (b) the constitutional inability of a linguistic individual to provide the observer with a secure value for [covert gram]. Neither input nor processing can guarantee reliability in grammaticality judgments. Using such judgments as base-level protocolary statements obtained during data collection cannot guarantee the pertinence of the ensuing theoretical enterprise. Undermining their validity subverts the formal endeavors in a fundamental way. The telling sign of the incongruence of [OVERT GRAM] * [covert gram] is the need for gradated judgments in [OVERT GRAM].

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On the empirical level, there are cases where a certain pattern of categorical grammaticality judgments is reported in the literature and subsequently elevated to canonical status in later publication. Nevertheless, minor, and sometimes even major discrepancies can be found in speaker judgments and language practice. An interesting case is the that-trace (or COMP-trace) effect, as revisited in Sobin (1987). 54 The problem lies in the use of isolated speaker judgments (usually introspective intuitions by linguists) in the formal tradition, as opposed to quantified data sets for more descriptive purposes. The grammaticality values used in the standard formal literature are not fictitious; they may really exist for the speakers concerned and under certain envelope conditions. However, once embedded in a more neutral speech community of non-linguists, these introspective judgments by professional linguists may very well turn out to be marked, minoritarian, or at least alternating with other reactions in a considerable portion of the speech community. Whatever the numerical proportions, a single set of grammaticality valuations that excludes actually co-occurring alternate options will not do as a foundation for a serious explanation in formal or any other terms. An analysis built upon exclusive grammaticality judgments in such a variable situation, e.g. to explain the COMP-trace effect, would need to coexist with an equally cogent explanation for the opposite solution if it turns out to be a possible alternative, as it is in the COMP-trace problem. Concretely, the two WH-extractions from subject position in (3), across that in (3a) vs. whether in (3b), should be equally excluded from grammaticality on theoretical grounds. 55 A questionnaire survey of nonlinguist college students however yielded massively different reactions in Sobin (1987), where the judgment "*" used in theoretical contexts for (3a) corresponded to an observed average value of rejection of only 17.5% (or "little" in the calibration (10), 3.8.4.). On the other hand, extracting a subject across whether in (3b) produced a negative evaluation for 97.6% ("near-0") of the speakers surveyed (Schütze 1996: 40). Another control study on such extractions (Bley-Vroman, Felix and Ioup 1988) found a roughly even division among their survey population for the extraction across that in the utterance (4a), parallel to (3a), with 48% of negative reactions ("variable"). The extraction of an object across whether provided a respectable group of 26% acceptance in (4b) (perhaps "little"). Theoretically good structures (long-distance extraction not crossing any COMP or subject gaps) may also be found lacking in reported grammatical persuasiveness, since this same study mentions a rejection rate of one-third (32%, i.e. "variable") for the formally unexceptionable (4c) (object extraction and no filled COMP positions).

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(3) a. Who did you say that 0 kissed Harriet? (Sobin 1987, ex. (1)) b. Who did you ask whether 0 loves Mary? (Sobin 1987, ex. (4)) (4) a. What did John say that 0 would fall on the floor, if we're not careful? (Bley-Vroman, Felix and Ioup 1988) b. What does Mary want to know whether John has already sold 0? c. Which information would it be possible for Mary to persuade Susan to tell the reporters 0? Extraction across that, a simple complementizer, must be postulated as frequently obtainable, even though not uniformly so. If a lexico-functional connector whether intervenes, the extraction is however much more frequently rejected (3b). For some speakers, the result is quite acceptable if the extraction concerns an object (4b) (a subject-object asymmetry). In both structures, the formal, and thereby theoretical, explanation must accomplish the feat of accommodating A and not-A, even though with differential frequency distribution for different speakers. This cannot be done with an exclusionary analysis; where there is variation, the explanation needs to seek an appropriately lower common ground to encompass the alternating options practiced in the speech community.

4.1.3. Dimensions of grammaticality At the level of introspection, the results of the [OVERT GRAM] valuation are local, contextualized, specific, individual, and not calibrated. They apply unevenly across speakers, so that individual judgments are likely not to be representative of the speech community. Using isolated individual judgments as raw materials for theoretical generalizations can thus be risky. The potential bias in a single judgment, or even in a non-representative sampling, extrapolated to a high level of generalization, may project a major deviation from the attempted goal of capturing the phenomenon of language in a given case, as the COMP-trace experience showed. The parallel and basically equivalent uncertainty of judgments stemming from different speakers argues for a social co-determination of grammaticality, since language form must be coupled not only with the appropriate semantic contents, but also with all applicable envelope conditions. In this way, grammaticality will expand to encompass the broader horizon of acceptability and adequacy in a natural way.

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The covert grammaticality judgment has in effect been eliminated as a primary gauge of linguistic data and may only function as an abstract reconstruction, not usable at the investigative end. The remaining domain of [OVERT GRAM] now turns out to be much more complex than a location on a scalar dimension. Concentrating for the moment on just the social dimensions, their pertinent evaluation can be captured with three binary distinctions describing the social space (4.1.3.1.), combining it with a progressive frequency scale as a probability of occurrence (4.1.3.2.).

4.1.3.

Grammaticality in a social space

The aspects determining grammaticality of an utterance in the social space are three. First, it is a question of who is reporting, whether a linguistic individual or an external observer (typically a linguist investigating the language). The dimension PERCEPT(ion) ranges over the values "subj(ect)" and "obs(erver)". The assessment of an utterance may refer to the practice of the linguistic individual reporting about him/herself, or to the practice of the members of the linguistic community. The dimension REFER(ence) distinguishes "self' from "oth(ers)" in the group. The third dichotomy covers the situatedness of the utterance to be gauged, so that SITUATE may carry the label "sit(uated)" in the envelope or "out(side of the envelope conditions)". This yields the eight combinations of Table 1. Table 1.

Dimensions of grammaticality

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

PERCEPT

subj

subj

subj

subj

obs

obs

obs

obs

REFER

self

self

oth

oth

self

self

oth

oth

SITUATE

sit

out

sit

out

sit

out

sit

out

Concentrating on the speaker-centered constellations (a) to (d) in Table 1 (the enclosed area of columns a to d), the most precise protocol statement is given by the first column (a). Comparing (b) to this standard, the difference consists in an certain amount of vagueness added to (b), since the envelope information is no longer considered and the utterance is judged more as a formal object: "I would say this" as opposed to "I would/did say this in the given situation" for (a). If a judgment of type (a) can be taken as relevant for the current state of the linguistic individual offering such a

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judgment, a statement with the features of (b) covers an utterance that the same linguistic individual might evaluate differently or even reject under other circumstances (elimination of the dimension SITUATE). This same vagueness will in general be the effect of changing from SlTUATE(subj)) to SITUATE(oth).56 If a linguistic individual reports evaluations of linguistic acts by other members of the speech community (columns (c) and (d)), the REFER(oth) value again lets vagueness come into the picture. The linguistic individual may have a definite idea about what constitutes typical behavior in the speech community regarding the utterance in question, but this idea is very likely not derived from objective information. Rather, this is an impressionistic assessment of considerable uncertainty. For purposes of measuring grammaticality in a realistic sense, the applicable formulae can be envisaged as given in (5). The quality of individual judgments will not always be uniform across speakers, for historical reasons of individual experience, both for what concerns latitude and aptitude. A speaker-specific corrective constant should be applied to an approximate calculation (5a), i.e. the vagueness conditioned by the individual compared to some idealized and unattainable standard. The distinction between the states of SITUATE reduces the univocal nature of the judgment by some individual factor (the potential loss of perspective on other possible contexts of evaluation applicable to the given utterance; see (5b)). In the same way, the vagueness in REFER(oth) derives from averaging over many members of the speech community without having available the necessary information on their behavior (5c). (5) a. Vagueness INDIVIDUAL b. Vagueness SITUATE c. Vagueness REFERENCE

ο ^ vINd 1-VlND ( l - v I N D ) x vSIT 0 < vSIT (l-v I N D )x vREF 0 < vREF

< <
>%dijiste+s (see 2.3.1.2.). Any application of analogy may be the cumulative effect of (a), (b), and/or (c) together. The more weight enhancements a given situation contains - greater similarity between the terms according to (a), reinforcement from the frequency of an analogized form (b), and/or strong system pressure from the frequent model (c) - the more likely the application of

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analogical extension in the given situation. On the other hand, this natural and cumulative gradation of analogical likelihood still permits the equally natural possibility that no analogical assimilation happens in spite of a calculable, even high similarity (see again the Spanish 2s ending /+s/). Similarity is only a necessary, but not a sufficient condition to activate the analogical process. The force inhibiting activation of analogical assimilation at the level of the linguistic individual is the inertia inherent in the preexisting presence of a given form for the item under the scope of similarity. It is as simple, or even simpler, to reproduce a given form unaltered than to adjust it to a somewhat different model, especially if the model is not particularly characterized by formal, numerical, or social urgency. Inertial retardation and analogical push to assimilate may be balanced overall, but their outcome in a specific situation may be unpredictable. Most analogical effects are only nonce-events without any social uptake after their original occurrence, i.e. forms which will not even reach the linguist's attention due to their evanescence. The analogy described here is not a marginal process taking place in special situations when regular formal processes fail, as was the case with the controversial neogrammarian concept. On the contrary, this current analogy is always available, to be expected in all contexts and situations, inevitable as a tendency, but also much less than regularly executed. Such pervasive analogy is able to solve the problem of vagueness by accepting it as ubiquitous. It depends on simple gradations of similarity and probability of application at the individual level, leaving their group-level selection, suppression, and expansion to the social processes within which language practice is embedded.

5.3.3.6.

Analogical

modeling

Analogical Modeling 71 details the operation of analogy for linguistic individuals producing categorization and expansion within their internalized linguistic knowledge. Later on in this chapter, the domain of this model of analogy will be expanded from current intra-subjective validity (the only concern of Analogical Modeling) to the intersubjective social space of linguistic practice that is crucial for diachrony (see 5.5.). For Analogical Modeling, the notion of an analogical set determines the potential direction of the analogical action. The analogical set, i.e. the collection of forms acting for the linguistic individual as the comprehensive reservoir of analogical models for a given data point, depends on the materials available from previous language acquisition and is therefore at least

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in part dependent on the individual. The constitution of the analogical set depends on the degree of similarity between forms calculable by a simple algorithm. The best exemplars of Analogical Modeling so far concern morphophonology, e.g. the past-tense formation of some marginal Finnish verbs (Skousen 1989: 101-136), the alternation of the English indefinite article a/an, or a determination of graphic renditions for initial /hi in English as h- (e.g. hue), wh- {who), j- (Jose) (54—71).72 Similarity is predicated e.g. on the chain of phonemes or co-present properties, implicitly coupled with a controlled or constant meaning effect (e.g. the tense function of a given verb stem). The domain of potential analogical pressure on a given form corresponds to its supracontext. A form /abcX/ (where X is the feature subject to analogy) is co-determined not only by all other forms of the shape /abc-/, but also by those showing /ab . - / , /a . c-/, /a . . - / , / . b . - / , /. . c-/, and possibly even / . . . - / (where "." designates a feature not considered). The forms influencing the target /abcX/ (the probe in Analogical Modeling) are united by having a single value for the variable X, responding thus to a requirement of homogeneity for the set and subsets; see Skousen (2002a). For the emblematic Sp. 2S ending /+s/ (see 5.3.3.5.), the minimal supracontext will involve X = '2s ending', a = ' 2 s ' , b = {tensej, (-preterit)}', c = '{moodj}, d = {conjugation classes /a/, /e/, /i/, irregular}' for a supracontext /2s + tensej + moodj + conjugation class/. The value X is homogeneously /s/ everywhere except in the preterit, therefore the analogical action favors the extension of /s/ to the 2s preterit form. Within the forms of the analogical set, the relative strength of each element is calibrated according to its frequency of occurrence (a part of the linguistic individual's knowledge about language) and the incidence of the pattern in the set: the more prominent in frequency, the stronger a form's analogical effect. The capacity for natural statistics attributed to the linguistic individual and elaborated in Skousen (1992) give this complex calculus the degree of realism needed to regard it as a potential solution. As demonstrated in some successful computational implementations of the algorithm, the problem remains within the range of finite challenges, mainly thanks to the properties of natural statistics. So far, the proposal appears to be as deterministic as any other stronger claim of formal closure for linguistic behavior. However, the random aspects necessary for the proper operation of analogy as a weak force of generalization come into play in several ways. First, as discussed for the general model of analogy, the optionality of reaction is a guarantee for parsimonious processing to be a main concern: not executing an analogical adjustment is generally simpler than changing a form, while under other cir-

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cumstances a strongly motivated change may be as efficient as unaltered continuation. Second, an important trait of natural statistics is the open recognition that an individual's record of what took place (which linguistic forms they have been exposed to and with what frequency) is necessarily imperfect, and that this inaccuracy may be quite different between individuals. However, a more intensive (more frequently repeated) exposure to specific data has the effect of increasing accuracy simply by the size of the sample (Skousen 1989: 86-95). Third, the individually non-identical constitution of an analogical set may have a differential effect on the induction of an analogical adjustment. Finally, and this is a specific contribution of Analogical Modeling, two different choice rules are postulated for the selection of the analogical model to serve in the adjustment of the target form: (a) a plurality-choice rule considering the preponderance of forms, and (b) a random-choice rule that optionally propels disfavored and unexpected solutions to the status of models. This double option decouples the analogical situation from an unwarranted determinism by introducing an individually-based aleatory uncertainty in the direction of analogy. The choice rule of plurality represents the rational option affording an intuitive understanding of the analogical process: the greater the number of closely similar forms that make up the analogical set with a homogeneous outcome for the probe, the more likely is it that this analogical set will exert sufficient pressure for a specific analogy to take place. The prevalent solution in the analogical set fully prefigures the likely outcome of analogy. On the other hand, the random-choice rule, picking any one solution in the analogical set (outside of the homogeneous range) as a model for the target form regardless of frequency is also an option. In the logic of the immanent perspective, this is not just an escape move to counteract any overgeneralization of the plurality-choice rule, akin to the complementarity between general rules and corrective analogy in a structure-dependent framework. In an immediate sense, the individual liberty of choice is guaranteed for a cognitive domain that is doubly determined by consciously controlled and automatized modular acts. If this is appropriate for Analogical Modeling, the systematically immanent perspective permits a deeper understanding of the justification for the random-choice rule. This option expresses a flat projection of what might well be the motivated choice of a model inside the linguistic individual's knowledge. The real conditions obtaining for the individual judging relative similarity, preponderance, frequency, etc. of a potential analogical model, cannot be ascertained beyond their external manifestations. The available forms constituting a specific analogical set for a given linguistic individual are not known to the ob-

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server. In this opacity, the apparent random choice observed from the outside may still correspond to a plurality choice from the inside due to an analogical set deriving from the individual's idiosyncratic linguistic experience. Transcending this barrier requires access to the individual's concrete experience. The investigative process touches here on the limits of possible knowledge about the internal state of the individual. At the same time, this consideration returns to the point of departure for the immanent perspective, i.e. the monadic inscrutability of the state of knowledge and/or consciousness obtaining for the linguistic individual (Maturana and Varela 1972 and section 3.2 in this essay). The analytic separation between two choice rules may actually mask the single, simple constitution of an ultimately rational mechanism of selection for the cognitively integral linguistic individual. The externally verifiable plurality-choice will always project a viable prediction for the evolution of the network of positions. Given the uncontrolled interference of the "irrational" random-choice rule (whose potential rationality may not be verifiable), real prediction for analogical development, and thus for diachronic movements in language, will never be possible for an external linguist as observer. Analogical Modeling is formulated as a synchronic process, manifestly affecting forms that are somehow underdetermined in their synchronic shape, like the rarer Finnish past tense formations (Skousen 1989: 101136). While this constellation will eventually produce a visible change in the language based on the calculated analogical adjustment according to the plurality-choice rule, the relevance of Analogical Modeling is not limited to exceptional or otherwise marginal situations. In principle, all forms are the target of analogical pressure. Assuming a preponderance of rational selections (the plurality-choice rule), the analogical set corresponding to any given form will in general contain a heavily biased contingent of homogeneous instances that necessarily reinforces the existing form. In such standard cases, Analogical Modeling as a process would apply vacuously. To satisfy computational realism, vacuous calculations will not routinely be performed by the linguistic individual. Rather such uncontested forms correspond to lexically stored items with their ensuing stability, minimizing computation for standard processing. Even though the two research programs of Concrete Minimalism and Analogical Modeling have not been designed for complementarity, the significant connection between them concerns the equivalence of the analogical process to a categorizing mechanism as specifically highlighted in Chandler (2002). If CAMiLLe depends on similarity to perform its exten-

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sion of properties, i.e. recategorizations abstracting away from the points of dissimilarity between the forms involved, it executes analogical assimilations. By implication, the basically analogical process of Analogical Modeling, seen from the other side, is a categorization in its essence. In the following, the properties of this double approach, Concrete Minimalism and Analogical Modeling, will guide the discussion of the diachronic dimensions of a systematic notion of analogy. For the purposes of this essay, the implementation conditions of the original conception of Analogical Modeling (elaboration of full analogical sets with η dependent variables, etc.) will not be observed, to remain within the spirit of this more programmatic discussion. As a minimum, the two choice rules and the category of the analogical set are fully embraced, as well as the necessary acceptance of the linguistic individual's imperfect statistical grasp, thus yielding a skewed weighting of forms in the fragmentary analogical set. All forms are ultimately due to analogical pressures of the kind described by Analogical Modeling. For the diachronic dimension, a rudimentary social analogy must be added. Here, contact equals potential influence; the amount, strength, and direction of such influence will again be controlled by the two choice options, i.e. pressure by plurality of convergent social contacts, or an individualistic random choice of an otherwise not motivated specific solution existing in the social context.

5.4. Analogy in diachrony 5.4.1.

Analogy as a process: Assimilation and spread

Due to its functions in first-language acquisition (and by implication in later language practice), analogical assimilation in the general sense of Analogical Modeling and as described in the context of Aqui, Clagen, and CAMiLLe, will also be the prime motor of historical developments. Linguistic change is understood as driven by the cognitive process of assimilating one element to another. As a general cognitive force, analogy operates in the linguistic subjects' practice inevitably and continually throughout their lifetimes. The product of making one expression more similar to another, against the practiced norm of some coetaneous group, will eventually yield a recognition of change if viewed post factum and thus from the outside. The crucial proviso must be added that this act of assimilation, i.e. of operating an analogy, be imitated or paralleled by other participants and eventually extended to a sizable domain of linguistic activity across many

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linguistic individuals. The proviso thus contains the second motor of change (in the sense of 'change as process') which is the continual spread of such an assimilation across a portion of a speech community's members. The picture of change in progress is founded on two crucial assimilations: one of linguistic form concerning internalized linguistic knowledge and one of social distribution concerning the speech community. The dimension of time, fundamental to any notion of change, affects (i) the process nature of analogy operating in real time during linguistic practice (individual act), (ii) the time elapsing in a linguistic subject's life span (longitudinal practice of a linguistic subject), and (iii) the (possibly extended) period of social spread of any analogical process affecting language.

5.4.2.

Two pathways for change

An approximately synchronic practice of language is the dimension in which language learning by the individual takes place. Whether the analogical result is embedded in early language experience or acquired in a later phase, both acquisition scenarios occur in an individual's concrete synchronic language activity, and both produce a diachronic adjustment, i.e. linguistic change, if confirmed in ensuing social practice. As a consequence, the same associational properties need to emerge for a synchronic description as well as for a diachronic interpretation of language. To the extent that there is a discrepancy between infant and adult change, it does not lie in language as such, but rather in the social space, since the analogical extension of adult practice affects the linguistic reality in the community differently from the infant generalization. Adult change, assuming its social anchoring in at least part of the speech community's output (hence its acceptance by other adult speakers), will have a direct effect on some new members in their phases of infant first-language acquisition. On the other hand, the internal generalizations during infant acquisition will not affect the speech community at large immediately, even if there should be a group-specific social acceptance or spontaneous parallelism among some young linguistic individuals. If the extension survives into the later adult phases of such a group, perhaps also spreading further, the model for more recent first-language acquisition members is likely to be more fundamentally changed than is the case for modifications affecting adult speakers. The consequence of this social differentiation is a rapid spread of rather superficial adult changes vs. a slow social spread of extensions during in-

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fant first-language acquisition; these, however, concern more important, more deeply embedded dimensions of linguistic practice.

5.4.3.

Random direction of analogy

The operation of analogy necessarily constitutes a step towards generalization, but each individual step of analogy may represent an independent, potentially contradictory direction of generalization given possible variations in the constitution of the analogical sets controlling the rational, pluralitychoice analogical potential for a given form. The social emergence of clusters of similarly directed extensions will enable a group effect to take hold, reinforcing the weight of the solution exhibited by the set of forms as a function of their frequency among inventoried items. In the same way, a prominent element may impose its solution more effectively due to textual frequency in language practice. The effect of analogy operating on a form is necessarily a movement toward generalization in the sense of locally extending the validity of a preexisting model to yet another form. The three conditions enumerated above that structure the analogical set, (a) degree of similarity, (b) token frequency of the applicable model, and (c) frequency of the type of solution, together guarantee the likelihood of an evolution oriented toward some broader generality. The generalization in the making through assimilation can on the one hand represent an arbitrary local extension of an isolated form, e.g. Lt. GRAVIS » Late Latin grevis 'heavy, sad' (see Old Fr. grief 'sad, grief') on the spur of the single metonymic model LEVIS 'light'. The applicable analogical set for this assimilation is restricted to one form. This case is at the limit between random-choice assimilation and extremely restricted plurality-choice with one available item for selection, i.e. LEVIS, that must have presented a (subjectively, but also repeated) strong attraction for GRAVIS based on semantics. On the other end of the spectrum and more expectedly, some last hold-out form might adjust to a general pattern, as in the anti-etymological extension of the 2s ending /+s/ to the preterit in certain varieties of Spanish. Given the freedom with which similarity can be perceived and construed by the linguistic individual, there is no guarantee that the analogical direction implemented in one instance will be judged as equally compelling in a subsequent instance. At a limit, analogical events surrounding a concrete data constellation can follow contradictory directions, canceling each other out, and not making any "progress" toward a standard generalization.

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The same incongruence of development may easily mark analogical contributions by different linguistic individuals, since the judgments validating the applicable models (types and tokens) for analogy need not be identical across individuals; hence, the motivating base of analogy can be different. If two or more different analogical solutions for a data point reach a discernible level of social uptake, the result can be social competition between alternate generalizations for one underdetermined phenomenon. With a social null-hypothesis of simple contact diffusion, the visible effect in a language will first be variation, potentially followed by a polarization that will undergo a period of aleatory shake-out before concentrating on one solution or another. The historical record corresponding to this scenario shows variation and over time, in a curious zigzag, it may favor first one, then another, and then again the first solution. Such a situation cannot correspond to any stronger version of generalization, while the wavering pattern is directly predicted by the forces of analogy presented here (see the next section for an illustration).

5.4.4.

Oscillating analogy

The lack of a clear direction for analogy in a given case, and even more so in a longer evolution, is a consequence of the multiplicity of potential analogical sources, the malleability of the underlying analogical sets, and the aleatory injection of the random-choice rule. These can lead to backand-forth developments that defy generalization of any stronger kind than punctual analogy strictly bound to place and moment.

5.4.4.1.

Clitic pronoun

and infinitive

in Italian

The development of clitic linearization with the anchoring infinitive in Spanish and Italian presents an interesting illustration of an oscillating value for [PRECEDENCE], i.e. the Soft Syntax dimension controlling linear order between any two elements (see 6.3.3.1.). In modern Italian, all nonfinite forms hosting a clitic pronoun require its enclisis regardless of syntactic context (2).73 Concentrating on the infinitive as emblematic, the linearization question for {VINF, cl} starts in the 13th c. with a strong preference for enclisis as in the modern language (3a), accompanied by minor proclitic options in the contexts (3b, c). In the Renaissance and early modern phase (15th to 16th or even 17th c.), the infinitives introduced by adverbial prepo-

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sitions, negated infinitives, and less frequently also infinitives dependent on a complementizing preposition (a, di) subcategorized by the governing predicate, show up with preverbal pronouns in proclisis (4). The difference from the medieval conditions lies in a much higher probability for the proclitic arrangements, especially in (4b, c). The early modern language rapidly changed back to preferential, then obligatory endisis; see again (2). (2)

(3)

a. INF-CL

(0/efdi/a) farlo b. PREP—INF—CL per farlo c. NEG—INF—CL (per) no η farlo Enclisis a. INF-CL

(4)

'{0/and/comp di, a} (to) do it' 'in order to do it' 'in order not to do it' Proclisis

01eldi!a farlo b. PREP—INF—CL per farlo c. NEG—INF—CL (per) non farlo

(??CL—INF

Mixed enclisis/proclisis a. INF-CL 0/e/di/a farlo b. PREP-CL-INF per lo fare c. NEG-CL-INF (per) non lo fare

Variants

(PREP-CL-INF NEG-CL-INF

e/di/a lo fare) per lo fare) (per) non lo fare

e/di/a lo fare ' id.') PREP—INF—CL per farlo NEG—INF-CL (per) non farlo (CL-INF

In the context of the two different strategies for clitic linearization characterizing the medieval and modern languages, the back-and-forth could represent an adaptation to different forces resulting in the apparent oscillation enclisis > proclisis > enclisis. The medieval set of conditions regulating the [PRECEDENCE] values for {V, cl} based on the syntactic string context would impose the Renaissance pattern (4) (left-hand column). According to this view, the clitic cannot occur on the left edge of the non-finite clause (4a) following the general prohibition against clause-initial clitics in medieval Romance, i.e. */[s cl-X.../ as the Tobler-Mussafia generalization (Tobler 1912; Ramsden 1963: 112-133; Salvi 2004: 33-36). However, the Tobler-Mussafia (TM) syndrome was no longer operative at that juncture. As long as the medieval TM "standard" is valid, the infinitive does not follow this principle in any appreciable way. While the negation in (3c) admits both proclisis (appropriate according to TM) and enclisis (contrary to TM), it invariably conditions proclisis for finite verb forms (5) in accordance with TM. There must be at least one strong element in the left periphery of the clause in line with the TM injunction against clause-initial clitics (*[s cl-...]). From the 17th c. onward, enclisis becomes again the norm with infinitives, thereby reaching the still valid modern conditions of (2).

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... ch 'uom non si metta / in rischio di ... (Dante, Rime XLV, 7-8) '... that man should not put himself at risk of ...' *ch'uom non metta-si in rischio

5.4.4.2. Clitic pronoun and infinitive in Spanish The same contradictory conditions that apply in Italian are also observed in the transition from medieval to (early) modern Spanish. Table 2 provides a more detailed quantification of the various conditions deriving from an extensive search of two databases (ADMYTE and Corpus del espanol). The percentage figures for proclisis have been scaled to the idealized frequency grid (developed in 3.8.4.): (close to) 1 > much > variable > little > (close to) 0. The left contexts are as for Italian: e 'and', a and de complementizing prepositions, por, pora, para 'for, in order to', no(n) 'not', ni(n) 'nor'. Notice the variation across the medieval and Renaissance periods and the eventual convergence by the end of the 16th and beginning 17th c. Considering the general relevance of the left-edge context for medieval clitic linearization in finite situations, Table 2 (next page) clearly does not express a situation controlled by the type of left context and structural differentiation characteristic of the finite analysis. The PI weight of the preceding element changes seemingly in an arbitrary way through time. The complementizer a is very "light", i.e. not PI-worthy, in the 13th c. during comparatively secure TM times and again in 1550-1600 with TM already in recession, but reaches the bold-faced figures "much" and even "near-1" between the 14th c. and 1550. The other items show similar vagaries. In the 13th c. with TM in vigor (if ever), the two complementizing prepositions a and de show opposite values (de high for proclisis, a low), while the indubitably good PI item no(n) does not really entail proclisis on an infinitive any more than the phonologically minimal preposition de or the somewhat "fuller" prepositions por/pora/para. Furthermore, the effect of preverbal negation with finite verb forms is invariable proclisis (as in (5) for Italian). The general trend from the 13th to the 15th c. is an increase in proclisis in all categories (perhaps not for the coordination e) to the late 15th c. and early 16th c.: 3 of 5 contexts with values "(close to) 1", one with "much", and one with "little". Then proclisis precipitously drops to low levels in the second half of the same century: 3 of 5 contexts with "little", one with "(close to) 0" and one with "variable". This leaves only marginal remnants in the 17th c. where all contexts show values of "(close to) 0".

Analogy

in diachrony

133

Table 2. Proclisis with infinitive in Castilian and Aragonese 74 13th c.

14th/ 15th c.

1500-1550

1550-1600

17th c.

de

34%

65%

90%

20%

saltäste 'id.'. In spontaneous registers, the analogical extension to saltaste+s is frequently, but irregularly observed. The strength of the analogical set appears to predestine this completion to happen. The fact that this is not necessarily the case underlines the fragility of form-driven generalization in diachrony, requiring the postulation of a weak assimilating force to model the observed outcomes, i.e. analogy. Based on the locally contextual constitution of the analogical sets for two different, even though parallel constellations (here full completion of 2p /+js/ extending to the preterit vs. near completion of 2s /+s/ but not affecting the preterit), a rigidly deterministic solution must be excluded. Since in both cases there are remnant alternate realizations (some spontaneous and regional registers maintain a 2P preterit in /...-stes/ without a diphthong, and many spontaneous realizations show extension of 2S /+s/ to the preterit, against the standard language), a further refinement of the determining mechanism cannot yield convincing results short of a degree of abstraction discouraged by the limitations of online processing. It should suffice to know that analogical pressure does exist in such cases of near-completion, and that it may obtain or fail to impose itself in underdetermined ways. Formal closure depends on strong analogical pressure combined with appropriate social uptake of a given welldefined solution as "normal" or "standard", if and only if such a solution is in conformity with a purely formal linguistic aspect. In practice, this will only hold in a few privileged instances. Regardless of the formal constellation, there is no end to analogy without the intervention of some external supportive conditioning from the envelope due to the nature of analogy affecting shape, categorization, and social distribution.

5.4.6.

Constructive assimilation

From the logic of analogy, the necessary movement is expansion, not reduction. There is no reason for assuming an active slow-down effect of reduction or anything like dissimilation. A visible reduction of similarity, i.e. dissimilation, thus derives from other independent effects, specifically allotropic assimilation along a different axis. When an analogical process goes

Analogy

in diachrony

137

forward within one dimension, its effects may accidentally produce a dissimilarity in a different dimension and/or for a different analogical constellation. This is the case for the extension of the Italian special morph /ja/ in IP PRES SUBJ ( 6 a ) extending to the indicative ( 6 b ) . It assimilates the IP forms across mood and conjugation classes, but thereby disrupts the natural connection within the paradigms, e.g. 1 P P R E S I N D compared to 2 P ( 6 b , c) or the visibility of the theme vowel in conjugation classes I, II, and III. (6)

Conjugation class a.

IP

PRES SUBJ

b.

PRES IND

C. 2 P

PRES SUBJ

d.

PRES IND

I/a/ parljdmo *parldmo parljdmo parljdte parldte

II/e/ temjdmo *tememo temjdmo temjdte temete

III l\l dormjdmo *dormimo dormjdmo dormjdte dormite

»

The results of the analogical IP vs. unaltered 2P endings differ visibly in the indicative, while they are parallel in the analogical subjunctive and in terms of their reflection of the three conjugation classes (the paradigmatic dimension). Extending /ja/ throughout the subjunctive is equally disruptive for the paradigmatic pertinence of IP and 2P endings. Its extension to the present for IP does not follow any formal need that would exclude the same treatment for 2P. The disruption of paradigmatic coherence due to the differential treatment of IP and 2P is collateral damage from the positive extension of /ja/ in IP as a local phenomenon of IP. Rather than an independently powered retention of 2P within the paradigmatic pattern (expression of thematic vowel, identity with imperative forms), the lack of extension of /ja/ in 2P, distinct from the change in IP, is a non-event.

5.4.7.

Essential dimensions of change

These are defining aspects of analogical change and categorial extension: (a) Change is a constructively oriented assimilation; it can only expand some existing trait or classification, rather than operating any other adjustments. (b) Change and categorization are gradual through item-by-item accretion under conditions of locality. (c) All such operations are strictly local, i.e. they occur in contiguity with the triggering model; and

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(d) The relevant forms motivating an analogical event are a function of their (homogeneous) similarity with the target item as perceived by the linguistic individual experiencing the event; i.e. the motivating set for one and the same target may substantially differ between individuals due to their experience. The result is an explanatory perspective on the gradualness of ongoing change vs. its abruptness in metachronic perception, and its chronic incompleteness and lack of specific motivation. Synchronic and diachronic dimensions are intrinsically the same, since language is activity by the linguistic individual rather than an object in the analytic vision of the linguist.

5.5. Change in social context 5.5.1.

Social dimensions of change

One of the central themes of historical linguistics is the social character of language evolution. Linguistic change takes place in a given speech community, affecting a specific language in a concrete period of its history. Change is thus not only analogical in its formal dimension and contingent upon its relation with the outside world, but it is also social with regard to its implementation. The recognition of change by an observer (a linguist) depends on a measurably altered practice in the speech community (metachronic diagnosis). The individuals' intrinsic knowledge of their language only records the resulting situation, but not a dynamic change observed as such. Lacking this hindsight, the linguistic individual cannot have any knowledge of operating in a linguistic transition phase, if this consciousness derives from a comparison between the current state of affairs and its original conditions. Given the ubiquitous variability of linguistic practice powered by analogy, the concept of transition is not even meaningful, since all synchronic crosscuts will by definition contain significant transition phenomena, i.e. analogical trajectories without formal closure.

5.5.2. Modeling change in the social context Language takes place through direct interaction between individuals, and this direct contact is responsible for any exchange of information, including all linguistic input. An individual is in contact with others in a space-time

Change in social context

139

setting, whether this takes place in real time or under delayed and/or topographically displaced or technologically mediated conditions. This social interaction can be captured by a very simple model in which positions (ideas, requests, questions, etc., but also specific linguistic forms) expressed by one individual may influence the cognitive state of an interlocutor by this very contact. While there need not be any effect in such an exchange, it is also possible that a value α for some opinion Oj represented by an interlocutor A differs from the [βΟ ; ] of another participant B, so that Β might change her/his value to [aOJ to conform to A's pursuant to this contact. If Β has not previously held any established opinion at all, i.e. a blank value [0Oj], Β may assimilate her/his state (the opinion held by B) in the same way to that of A as a consequence of exposure to the difference. However, the change is not predictable in its actuation in either case. This scenario transfers the analogical linguistic model elaborated here to the social stage, equating the internal with the external sphere. In both domains it assumes a null-hypothesis, seeing contact and aleatory activation of value assimilation, i.e. analogy, as sufficient for some change to occur. Compared to linguistic material, actual ideas and opinions may typically be subject to additional conditioning in undergoing change, e.g. power and prestige differentials between participants, frequency considerations, accommodation, advantage seeking for life, state of mind, or material gain, etc. In addition, the constitution of social networks in which change is taking place may have a crucial impact on the eventual diffusion of an innovation, depending on the cross connections between individuals and networks (Milroy and Milroy 1985).76 Still, contact exposure to a different value remains the fundamental condition for change, with additional considerations adding refinements, but not fundamentally different dimensions. Variant linguistic ways of coding the same contents will be processed in function of their reference to content, subject to contact-induced analogical assimilation under non-deterministic triggering conditions. On the strength of the demonstration provided by the computational implementation of CAMiLLe (Culicover and Nowak 2003), this aleatory mechanism is sufficient to enable an item to become an established option in the language through social diffusion. The external model assimilating variant linguistic forms across individuals in interactive contact is only one macroscopic aspect of the operation of analogy. It is crucial to keep the two aspects, intersubjective and intra-subjective, together as one single process of analogy differentiated through the material discrepancy between their domain of manifestation. The two choice rules, based on pluralistic vs. random selection, have an immediate social interpretation, since it is expected that the linguistic indi-

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vidual be influenced by the prevalent solution for a data point in her/his social dealings (plurality-choice rule). For whatever reason, a more isolated, less frequent model may also be favored against the communis opinio (random-choice rule), in addition to the null position of no change at all. The parallelism between intra-subjective and inter-subjective analogical pathways rests on the identity of the linguistic individual confronting the cognitive and social tasks with the same apparatus. Acquisition of the two tasks occurs in a symbiotic arrangement starting at the earliest moment with the bootstrapping challenge of initial learning. Language learning and social interaction minimally share important qualities mediated by the individual's constitutive capacity for learning, i.e. processing information, recording it, and associating separate instances in constructive ways.

5.5.3.

A computational implementation of the social model

The computational implementations for linguistic purposes, Aqui for acquiring basic categorization, Clagen for the assimilatory extension of categories, and CAMiLLe for constructions (Culicover and Nowak 2003) are linguistic adaptations of the original program SimSit based on work by Latane and Nowak (1994). This program was created and calibrated without reference to linguistics; it took its inspiration from the attempt to model individual attitudes with regard to questions of public policy and perceptions. It implements a social network and affords historical linguists the opportunity of trying out social scenarios for specific historical situations, regardless of how much or little may be known about the actual situation defining a speech community at the point of a diachronic development in the past. The simulation presents the manipulation of social conditions to recognize which values favor or impede the expansion of a given change in the concerned population compared to a flat default setting. Relevant dimensions for control are given in (7). (7) a. b. c. d. e.

Number of competing options in a linguistic community: oi5 l s i s n Frequency of option in a linguistic community: f(Oi) Weight (prestige) of option in a linguistic community: w(Oi) Receptivity for change by the linguistic individual: r(sj) Imprinting of results in the linguistic individual: i(sj)

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There may be two or more competing options (7a), 77 and each such option occurs with an observed frequency fs (7b). The linguistic subject in the acquisition phase will be able to reproduce the frequencies found in the environment according to the 5-part scale repeatedly mentioned. Not all such options are equal with regard to their prestige, depending on whether influential individuals make use of an expression or not (7c). An individual may have a constant determining his or her receptivity to other opinions and options, expressed by the factor r (7d). Basically, linguistic individuals can be expected to be favorable to converging opinions and defensive with regard to contrary ones, everything else being equal. Finally, the readiness of the cognitive apparatus to retain some information in a more permanent manner could be significant (7e). With these controls, analogical assimilation and classification can be analyzed for the influence of five different modifying factors in a social context, complementing the basic model of flat contact influence. Some observations on the various controlling factors follow.

5.5.3.1.

Imprinting and

connectionism

The degree of imprinting (7e) measures the rate of adjustment in weight that a given contact event will have for future activations, i.e. to what extent a contact unit can affect the state of a particular item and its memory record. For language, the factor i itself may change over time, from comparatively high receptivity in first language acquisition to a typically low degree of major reorientation in spontaneous adult language use. Earlier experiences in a lifetime shape the cognitive landscape more fundamentally than later ones due to the crucial absence of much relevant previous information at the beginning of first-language acquisition. This scenario could imply a higher imprinting coefficient i (7e) in early acquisition. Instead of a narrowly realistic modeling of linguistic subjects, however, an average value for i may be sufficient to simulate aggregate behavior due to a stable age distribution in society and expected irrelevance of imprinting strength across the population. Only when dealing with age-specific developments may this factor play some role. Concrete Minimalism as well as Analogical Modeling are committed to a non-connectionist stance, since the greater rigidity of neural networks does not seem to easily permit the necessary alterations (recalibration). The single-device approach of connectionism appears to be too direct as well as too opaque in its architecture. The ad hoc postulation of the hidden layers of nodes in sufficiently strong neural networks can successfully be avoided,

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but requires the acceptance of multiple processing avenues instead of the undifferentiated neural network model. The theoretical cost of otherwise unmotivated hidden nodes vs. multiple processing modules for different purposes arguably favors non-unitary processing models. There is a discernible differentiation in processing among specific tasks, some of which are modularly automatized and operating in parallel with more or less consciously controlled activities, e.g. seeing and hearing while walking and speaking. The linguistic individual necessarily engages in a series of cognitive tasks, transcending linguistic form to include the challenge of manipulating contents and concepts. The potential for cognitive multitasking argues prima facie for a series of parallel processing strategies. The postulation of a single network, or even multiple, fixed ones trained to reach robust stability and non-adaptation to new situations is an unlikely candidate to be a useful model of this kind of performance. The more complex architecture pursued by Analogical Modeling and Concrete Minimalism provides dynamic readjustments of non-modular processing for mastering linguistic tasks with minimal cognitive effort and maximal social conformity.

5.5.3.2.

Receptivity, prestige, and frequency

Not all opinions have the same weight when we encounter them; a natural propensity is to more highly value those bits of information which coincide with our own. In a realistic speech environment, the variants coinciding with the linguistic subject's already established grammar will be more easily processed and more highly valued in terms of receiving preferential treatment for reception. This is controlled by the factor of receptivity r in (7d), representing a probability value p(r) of accession to processing. Privileging of concordant information has the advantage of reinforcing acquired knowledge, instead of throwing it continually off balance, if incongruous options are admitted too easily. The evident stability of linguistic knowledge indicates that the responsible module does prefer consonant information to some degree, but is also capable of acquiring non-congruous features over time. Beyond simple contact, socially realized phenomena are influenced by their legitimization through provenience and group marking. There are prestige varieties, and others less highly valued. A linguistic feature identified with a group considered prestigious in a given linguistic community may acquire this lead group's perceived prestige in contrast to a comparatively less favored option (Trudgill 1986). The weight factor p(w) of (7c)

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will increase the probability of preferential processing, counteracting thereby a f o r m ' s potentially lower frequency and thus reduced chances for gaining acceptance. Since prestige is controlled by external factors, its linguistic impact will be idiosyncratic. In the limit case of a rather homogeneous community, the factor will appear as a mere question of frequency: what is frequent has prestige because it is the group's norm, everything else being equal. The dimensions of receptivity, frequency, and weight closely interact to yield a secure reproduction of the dominating aspects of the model. Favoring congruent over divergent information for the linguistic individual has the additional effect that the material coming f r o m speakers with a stabilized linguistic knowledge will necessarily be modeled by new participants in their renovated grammars. This constellation, together with a possible weight factor, is responsible for the relatively sharp delineation of group phenomena, special group languages and diverging features. In a situation of strong intra-group cohesion the differentiation of one group's linguistic patterns from that of other groups will be accentuated: clear linguistic boundaries can form at the no-contact line between two such endocentric groups. This corresponds to the well-known phenomenon of national boundaries orienting participants toward diametrically opposed centers of social interaction and thereby sharpening whatever linguistic difference may have been there otherwise. On the other hand, regular contact with members of other linguistic groups, if pursued with insistence as in most socio-economic settings, will necessarily broaden the linguistic horizon. The introduction of new forms, even though meeting at first with resistance, will gradually acquire the regular status of a minor option, with correspondingly lowered resistance, i.e. increased receptivity. Similarly, individuals with extensive experience beyond their local group have at their disposal a much wider palette of options proportional to each individual's exposure (see again Milroy and Milroy 1985 and note 76). The modeling of linguistic contact and change through the CAMiLLe program, modulated with these parameters, clearly illustrates well-known diachronic conditions, especially regarding group formation, boundary phenomena, prestige effects, and interpenetration of groups in contact (Culicover and Nowak 2003: Ch. 6). The model also renders a clear effect of conservatism, again underlining the basic experience of diachrony that (macroscopic) change is more marked than the essential continuity of form and meaning, everything else being equal. Change and innovation are predicted within the relatively narrow limits set by linguistic constitution as

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well as the social and other environmental conditions in which language is being learned and practiced. Beyond the computational simulation of the crucial and recurring social factors, the reality of historical linguistics responds to a number of special conditions in which the social embedding of language plays a defining role. Even though such constellations do not affect the basic model, they can be understood as possible consequences of the conditions established so far.

5.5.3.3.

Predictions by the model and linguistic

reality

The natural progression of analogy in its diachronic course leads toward some degree of generalization, and, if nothing else intervenes, will eventually reach closure. The time required for such a categorical result may be considerable, as computational simulations indicate with the high number of epochs (recalculation of a data set potentially affecting the output) required for such a result. In the conceptualization of Analogical Modeling, the epochs may correspond in linguistic reality to attentive processing of an analogical set due to contact with a non-conforming target form. Given the determining weight of received forms recorded as repetitive individual experiences, the pace of analogical evolution for stabilized adult linguistic practice will be slow. The social implementation of contact-induced change according to the scenario developed in CAMiLLe contains various dimensions regulating the impact of any event of social contact. Without such weights for frequency, prestige, receptivity, etc., each contact might lead to visible adjustments of a surface form, contradicting the observation of fundamental linguistic stability. Nevertheless, the controlling dimensions can be effective as secondary modifications, fine-tuning an analogical macrophenomenon 78 without thereby canceling its fundamental character as a constructive assimilation. The implementation factors leave intact the postulate that contact between uneven manifestations of one form or function distributed across social participants is the necessary and sufficient condition for setting the intersubjective analogical mechanism in motion. 79 The artificial conditions of computational simulation provide the opportunity to observe what happens if the contact situations (representing here the epochs of simulation in social context) can go on without orthogonal interference, i.e. without the emergence of another analogical macrophenomenon disturbing the experimental situation. The results of the CAMiLLe applications, starting out from a random state and regardless of the control settings, all point in the same direction of massively decreased

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entropy favoring a concentration on some privileged analogical model(s). These reductive trends concern in the first place the number of competing options. The situations discussed so far operate with the minimal set of two alternants. If the number of options is increased, the effect of contactinduced change is an invariable limitation to fewer options by starving the weaker variants of occurrences, eventually bringing the competition down to two alternants, i.e. the limit case. Given enough epochs in simulation, i.e. time in the real world, the alternation will subsequently be pared down to a unique solution. At this point, the course of analogical events has reached its endpoint in effective closure. In all simulations, the point of departure is a randomized distribution of the competing options, each one with the same chances of success in the opening phases of the competition. The non-discriminatory simple contact model with an aleatory component is enough to produce manifest differentiations in the distribution of the options (number of maintained occurrences, grouping of identical solutions into more coherent, contiguous groupings). With time, the impoverishment of solutions will reach a direct dichotomy, frequently accompanied for a while by some marginalized remnants, i.e. near-zero options as postulated in the cognitive frequency measure (see 3.8.4., ex. (10)). When there are just two alternants, the direct elimination of the weaker of two competing options is the expected solution in the logic of this framework: progressive analogical adjustment responding to the plurality-choice rule. Linguistic practice has then reached categorical completeness of a process (e.g. in the 2P ending of the Spanish preterit or the eventual subject clitic exposure in expletive function for a nonnull subject language). In concrete language development, a unique manifestation may also result from a bifurcation of function at the stage of a binary opposition: specialization of meaning/function if more than one formal expression is available. This is a regular procedure in linguistic standardization, i.e. in a domain rather removed from linguistic spontaneity (see 5.5.4.1 below). At the same time, it also corresponds to a trend postulated for infant language acquisition as the principle of contrast (one form, one meaning; see Clark 1988). The same analogical mechanism invoked here as determining regular linguistic practice can extend to the clearly external process of standardization because the cognitive apparatus has validity for the entire linguistic domain, from spontaneous first-language acquisition to adult practice and even secondary social adaptation of form and usage. The elimination of options in a field of alternants follows naturally from the null hypothesis of social contact influence. Obeying the "rational" choice rule of plurality, a situation with an uneven distribution of options

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produces a feedback loop, strengthening the already favored solution(s) while concomitantly depressing the frequency of the less prominent options.80 This trend will eventually lead to the elimination of all but the single strongest solution. Since the random-choice rule and the inert lack of reaction to a contextually given influence both subtract from the straightforward vector of the plurality choice, non-linear evolution must be expected.81 In the simulations of CAMiLLe, this condition finds its expression in the unpredictable fate of a minor variant at a given point in the simulation trajectory. The numerically inferior variant in a competition may turn out to increase in importance compared to the majority option, possibly even winning out over the originally weightier solution. The aleatory forces at play in the analogical constellation are sufficiently strong to perturb any strictly deterministic interpretation of the power play between competing options in a simple contact-induced change, linguistic or otherwise. Once again, the many dimensions of manipulation for the simulation program cannot go beyond modifying the speed of the analogical adaptations, since they all follow the trend toward closure, only at a more controlled pace. The simulations all end up either in a significant simplification of the field of options, if the process hits a local minimum before true closure, or they reach final uniformity. The experience of concrete historical developments corresponds well to such a range of outcomes. It goes from regularity of historical change, especially over long periods and affecting only a smaller core of the potential range of application as in the auxiliary choice of etre/essere for core unaccusative verbs in the French and Italian compound tenses (see 7.7.2.6.). More often than not, the trend toward closure is countered by incomplete developments diminished in their effectiveness by many exceptions and deviations (Medieval Romance clitic linearization with the verb; see 5.4.4.1.), or curiously limited to non-intuitive subsets of applicable forms (clitic raising with some aspectual and fewer motion verbs in Spanish and Italian; see Suner 1980; Wanner 1982). Without attempting to reproduce linguistic situations in detail and with deterministic security, the computational simulations in Culicover and Nowak (2003: Ch. 6) yield a realistic depiction of what may happen in language, thus validating the program as providing useful projections about the development of language.

Change in social context

5.5.4. 5.5.4.1.

147

Secondary social forces Standardization

The difference between the two Spanish developments discussed in 5.4.5.2. (completed analogy for the 2P ending /+js/ vs. stopped extension of 2S ending /+s/, both in the preterit) can be attributed to an additional factor of standardization. This concept represents the intersection between a formal solution and its social projection controlled by an external constituency in cases where linguistic practice offers two (or more) options in narrow competition for a given function. Standardizing limitations permit categorical completion in one case (saltasteis against the spontaneous maintenance of some unassimilated occurrences of %saltastes '2P') and prevent it in the other case (saltaste against a spontaneous trend toward assimilation as %saltastes '2s'). The specific choice operated by standardization may not be linguistically compelling, licensing the analogical extension /+js/, saltdstejs for 2P while maintaining the etymological absence of /+s/ for 2S saltaste. The practice within the applicable speech community, narrowly or broadly delimited, favors one solution over another competing one (limitative standardization yielding higher uniformity) as for the 2s and 2P preterit endings, or adopts both alternants but endows them with a differential function that can be perceived as an enrichment of expressivity due to standardization. This happens with enclisis of an unstressed pronoun with nonfinite forms vs. proclisis with finite V deriving from an earlier state with alternating enclisis/proclisis for both finite and non-finite forms (see above 5.4.4.), or the narrow interpretation of mood selection in Spanish concessive subordination (see 3.8.2.). Standardization is a potentially anti-formal and a-linguistic phenomenon, frequently interfering in an oblique way with linguistic dimensions by imposing solutions of a local and/or conservative nature. Standardization facilitates communication within a broad speech community by providing uniform patterns of expression, regardless of other constraints. The need for a robust super-regional, eventually normative and standardized language follows the intensification of contacts among diverse groups of linguistic subjects within a larger speech community with different local practices. An open network of contacts requires the means of communication to become flexible and adapted for this interaction, to serve all participants, and to permit all participants to express themselves as well as understand others with sufficient ease and accuracy. The specific choice operated by the standard language is outside the realm of secure prediction, first because of the

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formal indeterminacy of the analogical processing, and second because of the social indeterminacy of which group of the social web will be able to impose its local practice as standard over that of any other group. The first step in the development of a standard language opens up new options beyond the core choices in response to a demographic expansion of the group making crucial use of this tool of (usually written) communication. As a reaction to this inflation in expressive means, the typical second step in standardization consciously limits the unstructured variability and richness of parallel expressions, 82 giving standardization a strongly prescriptive sense. 83 The first opening phase is an automatic process, induced by contact situations and the ensuing incongruities of form and practice between participants. The limitative second phase requires a more conscious reshaping of "natural" linguistic conditions, and it is necessarily carried out by a (self-)selected group of proponents: grammarians, teachers, publishers in all functions and media, and other agents of codification. The eventual success of this phase of standardization is not invariably guaranteed, contrary to its beginning, since it requires imposition through medial, educational, and political-administrative means for broad social uptake. The fact that a derivative social phenomenon like standardization interferes with linguistic developments indicates that the dimensions of the envelope play an appreciable role in the constitution of linguistic practice. The understanding of historical developments presupposes embedding the question in the context of language practice. The display of power through linguistic form takes place independently from language, but it affects its practice. Standardization, cultural, social, and/or contingent historical upheaval touching the linguistic lead group can masquerade as form-based linguistic change. To maintain a meaningful outlook on language and its properties, such shifts need to be recognized as secondary social events; this is the role of forceful philological certification of the quality of the data under analysis (see 2.2.).

5.5.4.2.

Social shifts

The discussion of clitic pronoun linearization with the infinitive in the history of Spanish left the final segment of the development without explanation (5.4.4.2. above, especially Table 2). In the 16th c., the well-established preferential preverbal position of the pronouns reverts to a near-complete postposition within about 50 years or two generations according to the extensive databases consulted. The model of assimilatory local change cannot

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account for this sudden development, since it imposes a more gradual process of alteration by its nature of propagation from individual to individual. The data represent the written usage in the Castilian language of the time, a period known to witness major changes in its written expression and identified by a separate period label of Middle Spanish (Eberenz 1991). At the same time, the sudden strong presence of enclisis must associated with the group responsible for the texts considered. The change in fact coincides with a period of major cultural and political readjustments with the establishment of a centralized royal court (Philip II, died 1598) and administration, including the communicational needs imposed by the expanding colonial empire (Parker 2002). At the same time, printed language experienced a massive extension in material availability and through the accession of much broader population strata to literacy, leading to the well-documented preoccupation with language as a means of broadly based communication (early and forcefully in Antonio de Nebrija's grammar of 1492). The partially conscious efforts of fixing the variable patterns through early standardization directly led to the modern standard language essentially reached by the early 17th century. The correlation between the dramatic change in linearization preference and external conditions affecting language practice is a likely explanation of this reversal. The sudden shift from preferred [X>[cl>V INF ]] (alongside [[V INF >cl]>X]) to its invariable opposite [VINF>C1] i.e. [(X >)[V INF >cl]] regardless of context, reflects a change of guard among who writes, edits, and prints texts, a shift from an older scriptural elite to a broader technocratic stratum (see also Eberenz 2000: 157-166; Keniston 1937a: 99). The final change from proclisis to enclisis here is a movement from one social standard to another; both options must have coexisted prior to the change for the reversal to be materially supported (see again Table 2 in 5 A A.I.).94 The concept of double analysis (Kroch 1989; Harris and Campbell 1995: 50-59, 70-77) can be applied due to the certified presence and known derivation of the two options for the feature under discussion (see again 2.3.2.). Beyond any properly linguistic factors, the historical contingency of a group's fortunes in the real-world envelope will thus interfere with observable diachronic outcomes. This is most evident in the massive shifts implied by conquest, domination, and colonization, repeated with equal force but less clamor in various polyglossic situations internal to a broader speech community. The reasons for ascendancy over rival groups, hence linguistic practices, may variably be:

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(a) demographic: e.g. abandoning the narrowly central Italian distinction between I'd and /'ε/, /'ο/ and /'D/ when incorporating new communities into a linguistic unity in the 20th c. (de Mauro 1963: 409^10); 8 5 (b) political: e.g. the centralizing institutions of the French central government, from the mid-16th c. on and increasingly after the French Revolution, marginalizing the more local speech forms first in written communication and all formal occasions, later on also leveling the oral practice to mere differences in regional speech styles {patois, Picoche and Marchello-Nizia 1991: 29-36); and/or (c) cultural: e.g. elevating Florentine/Tuscan to an early Italian standard in 16th c. printing practice. This was based on the avowed prestige of the three major literary figures of Dante, Petrarca, and Boccaccio writing in a modified Florentine/Tuscan during the 14th c. This choice was able to overcome the absence of an identifiable political or demographic center on which to base linguistic conventions for printing (Migliorini 1978: 360-378; Durante 1981: 158-170). The temporal modalities of a formal development are indicative of the kind of forces at play in a diachronic shift. On a statistical plane of purely formal aspects, the rate of change should on average be constant. This inherent speed is rather slow due to the low rate of social transmission: superficial adult adjustments taken up in more stable form in first-language acquisition, thus requiring several generational cycles for full deployment. A sudden acceleration as observed in the rapidly reversed linearization of clitics with non-finite verb forms is indicative of exceptional social conditioning superseding purely internal linguistic forces.

5.6. In brief This chapter explored the concept of analogy as a judgment of similarity as well as a process of assimilation, attributing to a target some new piece of information deriving from the analogical model. Analogy depends on the simple comparison of similarity, i.e. (partial) identity, and thereby conforms to the goal of a parsimonious cognitive foundation of linguistic capacity. The same principle of analogy is crucial for first-language learning (through categorization), formal constitution of language (analogical expansion), and social dispersion of linguistic features (communicative conformity). Analogy is a weak and insecurely activated bond between terms,

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yet it is the only force available and is present throughout. Where it takes hold, analogy produces linguistic classifications, form classes, constituents, and constructions. At the same time, this analogical categorization inevitably effects change through innovative association, and eventually assimilation, not yet present in the specific linguistic practice. The social depth of perceptible and consummated change is again mediated by analogical assimilation across individual speakers participating in a given group practice. In its necessarily positive direction, analogy keeps language evolving naturally while also determining its functional conservatism. The combination of Concrete Minimalism with Analogical Modeling gives this program a foundation. The tenor of positions, as well as of the current essay, is the recognition that only limited postulates for specifically language-oriented cognitive capacities can be maintained in a comprehensive linguistic framework and that major aspects of language acquisition and ongoing practice depend on constructivist cognitive events. The following two chapters will now explore the specific operation of analogy with regard to the acquisition, functioning, and evolution of a syntactic framework appropriate for the immanent perspective.

Chapter 6 Soft Syntax

6.1. An overview of linguistic components Within the requirements and goals set out in the preceding chapters, a redimensioned approach to syntactic analysis can now be sketched. Soft Syntax, as it will be called, implements a parsimonious approach to cognitive resources, obeys appropriate flexibility in analysis, unifies synchronic considerations with diachronic ones, and relies on the dynamic principle of analogy as presented in Chapter 5. For ease of exposition, the current chapter will essentially refer to synchronic configurations, relegating the diachronic application to the extensive discussions of Chapter 7. The framework of Soft Syntax is however one and the same in the two observationally separate perspectives that form an indivisible whole in linguistic practice. With the assumption of partial analysis and the observation of computational realism, only dimensions and processes which have an independent justification in the cognitive domain can be of relevance. Any principle with crucial language-specific input is subject to variation across languages and must successfully pass the barrier of acquisition (Piattelli-Palmarini 1989; Fodor 1990; Valin 1990; Lightfoot 1999: Ch. 3). The dimensions of parsimonious syntax only exist through their pertinence for the linguistic individual. They are required in language processing for accessing linguistic manifestations, and their power can on good grounds be assumed to form part of a linguistic individual's cognitive endowment. The following list is an approximation of the indispensable components. The dimensions in (1) describe core syntactic aspects (subsumed under [SYNTAX]),86 while those in (2) concern the "other" domains, traditional phonology, morphology, as well as referential and some semantic aspects (i.e. [OTHER]). (1) and (2) together represent the cover category [CHAIN]. The categories in (3) finally name broader aspects of the linguistic picture typically conceived of as interface components for general domains of the envelope labeled [WORLD]. (1)

[SYNTAX] a. [PRECEDENCE], or linear sequence of elements

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b. [COHESION], or chunking of contiguous elements into constituents c. [DEPENDENCE], or lexical argumenthood and head-oriented modification d. [AGREEMENT], or manifestation of co-reference within a constituent e. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], or functionally specific string configurations f. [CONCATENATION], or hierarchical integration of elements (predication, superordination, subordination, default addition) (2) Other linguistic dimensions [OTHER] Domain [CONNECTION] a. [REFERENCE], or reference interpretation b. [DYNAMICS], or discourse dynamics Domain [SIGNAL] c. [PHONOLOGY], or phonological constitution d. [MORPHOLOGY], or morphological constitution e. [INTONATION], or intonation contours (3) Aspects of [WORLD] and its representation a. [LEXICON] as the record of effective symbolizations b. [INPUT/OUTPUT] modules for input and output of the linguistic chain; specifically [PHONATION] for articulation, [AUDITION] for hearing, [SCRIPTURE] for mechanical expression including signing, [VISION] for reading c. [SEMANTICS], or semantic interpretation of linguistic materials in the envelope d. [PRAGMATICS], or pragmatic interpretation of linguistic materials in the envelope e. [EXTERNAL], or contingencies of material, psychological, social, historical nature These dimensions will now be considered one by one to give an idea of the operation of this framework.

6.2.

Major articulations and interfacing

The groupings (1) [SYNTAX] and (2) [OTHER] together define the linguistic [CHAIN] as the primary focus for a linguistic framework. For language to mediate the gap between one linguistic individual and another, its only es-

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sential points are the conceptual domain on one side, i.e. (3) [WORLD], and an articulated manifestation signaling the conceptual matter in some representation, here [CHAIN] consisting of the components in [SYNTAX] (1) and [OTHER] (2). The envelope, not linguistic in nature or organization, encompasses the external dimensions of the real world in their physical concreteness, the intersubjective forces of social organization and mutual perception, the individually grounded beliefs, feelings, actions, intentions, and whatever else makes up an individual's living world. This aspect is necessarily open-ended and receives here the mnemonic tag [EXTERNAL] without implying or denying any further organization or structure. On the other extreme of language, a series of low-level interface components can be grouped under a label [INPUT/OUTPUT] to comprise [AUDITION], [VISION], [PHONATION], and also [SIGNING] and [WRITING] (direct handwriting and indirect mechanical writing). These are more or less encapsulated modules of automatic functioning and largely shielded operation. [AUDITION] and [VISION] are highly shielded, [PHONATION] is weakly accessible, while [SIGNING] and [WRITING] permit higher degrees of interference and consciousness. The open-ended classification [WORLD] and the closed-set component [INPUT/OUTPUT] form the liminal domains of language, connecting it with the world outside the individual. The in-between field then defines the narrowly linguistic aspects, mediated by the subcomponents [SYNTAX] (1) and [OTHER] (2). The depository of all relevant information for the dimensions of (1) and (2), as well as the linguistic interpretation of the external conditions is the [LEXICON] as in any other framework. 87 Figure 3 provides a rough flow chart of the interconnection between these components. [INPUT/OUTPUT]

[CHAIN]

[WORLD]

[LEXICON]

Figure 3.

Interconnection of components

The connections between all parts are strong (continuous lines) with the exception of the pairing [CHAIN] - [WORLD] (dotted line). The mediation between these two poles must go through the appropriate interpretive apparatus, typically [INPUT/OUTPUT] transduction, and/or lexical storage [LEXI-

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mediates on the physical level of the signal, while [LEXICON] provides the available chunking of the external world in a linguistic format. The linguistic form, [CHAIN], is a mediate product deriving from language-specific transformation of what may be the content, intent, connotation, and effect of an utterance. The lexicon in Figure 3 is crucial, since it puts at the disposal of linguistic expression and understanding the entire range of chunked, categorized, and associated experience previously committed to memory. Thanks to the networked major components, a lexical entry (element, construction, pattern, etc.) can reach a higher level of relevance as controlled by the comprehensive situation and the linguistic individual's attention. The natural connectivity between linguistic and external components as implied in Figure 3 breaks down the boundaries between language and other kinds of cognition, since language regularly serves to access most, or even all, cognitive domains including itself. The highly redundant connections between components permit the efficient and robust decoding of potentially incomplete input forms by over-sampling. CON]. [INPUT/OUTPUT]

6.3. The dimensions of Soft Syntax 6.3.1.

Around syntax

The categories in (2) and (3) fall outside the narrow province of syntax and/or strictly form-related linguistics. The phonological and morphological components also require parallel reelaboration in terms of a radically internal perspective.88 This must remain outside the purview of this essay. The role of the lexicon as the repository of specific information diverges considerably among different approaches. The lexical component, whether limited to the strictly idiosyncratic or extended in its role to much of partial productivity and compositionality, is a constant of every linguistic design (Jackendoff 1997; Prince 1997). Its functioning depends on linguistic symbolization, i.e. the association between some notion and an articulated sound chain of some kind. In the first place, the lexicon provides access to more narrowly constituted types of signs: words (or even sub-words, morphemes) with core associations between phonological content and semantic force. This represents a basic level of lexical storage. On a second pass, the lexical symbols, simple or complex, contain much idiosyncratic information of a more specifically linguistic nature, making these symbols into actual linguistic elements: (a) form class (Ν, A, V, P, C, ADV, etc.), (b) arbi-

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trary lexical classification of gender, inflectional type, and similar, (c) specific requirements and conditions (distribution, irregularities, etc.), and (d) whatever else needs to be stored in the linguistic individual's memory since it cannot be derived from other information. The lexicon overall does not exhaust itself in words and their unpredictable aspects. Syntax in a parsimonious model is primarily lexical, and extends to more formal reaches only in limited cases, but does not crucially depend on fully formalized refinements for core purposes. The crucial addition to simple lexical storage of elements and phraseological idioms is the postulation of syntactic chunks characterized by their constructional identity (see (le)). These are constructions with a given underivable meaning, e.g. passive, compound tense, causatives, and less evident configurations such as comparison, imperative, interrogation, etc. Part of what formal syntax must accomplish in other, more "external" models, becomes here a lexical function. 89 The summarily bundled fields of directly linguistic and logical meaning [SEMANTICS], of action-oriented contributions [PRAGMATICS], and linguistically contingent but controlling external circumstances [EXTERNAL] represent the "world" as perceived by and known to the linguistic individual. This constellation of forces [WORLD] plays an important role in understanding language, since its real counterpart is the motivation for language and must therefore have a major impact on the functioning of language. The three domains obviously correspond to highly complex fields in their own right. [SEMANTICS] constitutes a relatively coherent area by covering lexical and logical content. The inevitable intrusion of concrete knowledge about the world and its phenomena will necessarily complicate the picture far beyond any level amenable to a specifically linguistic solution. The [PRAGMATICS] category is designed to evaluate the action-theoretic aspects of an utterance concretely placed in the envelope. Such determination of non-linguistic consequences is by definition a task which may interface with the linguistic form, but it will mainly obey demands autonomous from language. The true remainder classification for Soft Syntax is [EXTERNAL] as a collective name for whatever takes place in and around an utterance or its reference. These aspects concern social, but not (or not primarily) linguistic matters of language use, i.e. style, register, dialectal choice, etc., They may also extend to completely non-linguistic forces, from political conditions of language use to material or ideological impositions on the communicational channel (e.g. language policies of restriction or support, especially also standardization), to physical constellations affecting the speech community (geographic articulations, trade patterns), and more. The

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only concern here regards the effects which such conditions may have on the linguistic product. [SEMANTICS], [PRAGMATICS], and [EXTERNAL] decrease in specifically linguistic pertinence, yet as envelope d i m e n s i o n s of language, they remain centrally important to the practice of language.

6.3.2.

Dimensions of form

Reference interpretation, i.e. [REFERENCE] (2a), and discourse dynamics, i.e. [DYNAMICS] (2b), belong to the core aspects of any account of language in operation, but this does not yet elevate them to specifically or exclusively linguistic problems. Reference determination is a cognitive operation independent of its linguistic expression and rather connected to the need for orientation in the existential and mental space (Culicover and Jackendoff 1995; Pollard and Sag 1992). A basic stock of language-independent semantic principles can be assumed for linguistic purposes, which then only need to concern themselves with specific form-related problems, e.g. the distinction in syntactic distribution between formally reflexive vs. nonreflexive reference markers (Turley 1997). Specific knowledge learned by the linguistic individual in the acquisition of a given language brings about the implementation of general conditions on reference in full linguistic contextualization: formal conditions (e.g. extended reach in subjacency as for the Latin accusativus cum infinitivo), morphological markings (limitation of reflexively characterized forms in French outside of arbitrary reference), and dynamic override options (unbounded reflexive forms in emphatic functions; see Zribi-Hertz 1989, 1995; Pollard and Sag 1994). The dynamic component, [DYNAMICS] (2b), is intimately bound to the devices required for getting a grasp on deixis in all its manifestations. The existence of various levels of relevance (zero, weak, strong, emphatic or extra) and different modes of prominence (e.g. topic, focus, core novelty, and neutral; see Prince 1981, 1988, 1997; Vallduvi 1992) belongs to the organization of the train of thought and follows the implications of the broad cognitive property of relevance (Sperber and Wilson 1986). The manifest marking of such categories in a specific language is highly idiosyncratic and far from uniquely determined. Some connections lead to the syntactic dimensions of linear precedence [PRECEDENCE] (word order as e.g. in left dislocation, Fr. ce bouquin,, tu devrais let lire 'this book, you should read it') and [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] (e.g. cleft construction, Fr. c'est elle qui VP 'SHE (focused) VP'). Furthermore, dynamics and reference interact and are interdependent to a certain degree. This is clearly visi-

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ble in emphatic reflexive forms with non-reflexive reference (she told me herself, Fr. eile me I'a dit elle-meme 'id.'). An additional marking tool for [DYNAMICS] is constituted by [INTONATION] highlighting the chain in salient ways. Ultimately, the interpretation of dynamic potential requires the collation of any [DYNAMICS] function with the external domains of [WORLD] to assure a coherent encoding of the situation or interpretation of the utterance. [INTONATION] reaches across lexical elements, determining their wordlevel prosodic shape and the natural occurrence of these elements in chains organized into phonetic phrases, utterances, paragraphs and larger units. The pitch, insistence, and inflectional marks characteristic of the contours in intonationally poor as well as rich languages can be described in physiological terms for their acoustic effect (e.g. with the ToBI conventions; see Beckman and Ayers 1997). The distribution and constitution of contours fully depends on the syntactic form and especially its semantic and pragmatic interpretation. 90 As a recapitulation, the non-syntactic dimensions of (2) and (3), with the exception of [INPUT/OUTPUT] (3b), will be repeated here as Table 3 (next page) with some refinements deriving from the discussion. Their domain of functionality receives a holistic attribution to traditional linguistic dimensions: phonetics, morphology, semantics, lexicon, and pragmatics. The distribution is suggestive of a basic orientation, rather than constituting a precise determination.

6.3.3.

Syntactic components

The syntactic notions of (1) require a more detailed explication. They are repeated as (4) for ease of reference. (4)

[SYNTAX]

a. [PRECEDENCE], or linear sequence of elements b. [COHESION], or chunking of contiguous elements into constituents c. [DEPENDENCE], or lexical argumenthood and head-oriented modification d. [AGREEMENT], or manifestation of co-reference within a constituent e. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], or functionally specific string configurations f. [CONCATENATION], or hierarchical integration of elements (predication, superordination, subordination, default addition)

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Table 3. The non-syntactic domains of language (a) Lexical domain Name

Domain

Function

Applications

[LEXICON]

lexicon

conventionalization

[SYMBOLIZATION]

semantics

symbol formation

- basic chunking of meaning - further associations to discrete units - basic unit of sound/ meaning - complex symbolization

(b) Dimensions of form Name

Domain

Function

Applications

[REFERENCE]

pragmatics

reference

[DYNAMICS]

pragmatics

text dynamic

[PHONOLOGY]

phonology

phonetics

[MORPHOLOGY 1

morphology

shape of lexemes

-

[INTONATION]

phonetics

intonation

utterance internal unbounded topic, focus, core neutral lexical shape post-lexical realizations prosody of lexical level contextualization (inflection) - meaning variation

(derivation) - phonetic phrase level - utterance level - paragraph levels

The simplest one is precedence [PRECEDENCE] (4a), a purely linear ordering device. [COHESION] (4b) and [DEPENDENCE] (4c) concern the organization of the linguistic chain into units, from words to constituents referring to simpler base ingredients, e.g. words and phrases. Dependence covers the lexical relationships independent of contiguity, while cohesion maps linear string organization under contiguity, roughly corresponding to an organization into coherent constituents. This is the syntactic function par excellence, where syntax recovers its etymological sense of constitution or 'placing together' (see also the syntagmatic dimension in Saussure 1916). [CONCATENATION] (4f) and [AGREEMENT] (4d) again organize the linear string beyond simple adjacency and precedence. Agreement provides a sur-

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tion. It confines with [COHESION] by additionally marking the extension of a chunk identified by cohesion, e.g. agreement patterns exhibited throughout a constituent. On the other hand, [CONCATENATION] organizes meaning constitution in a hierarchical sense, i.e. subordination (clause recursion), coordination (clause addition), and superordination (scope determination). Finally, [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] in (4e) is a higher-order principle, since it identifies complex configurations as units with at least partially unpredictable properties. This dimension is intimately connected with the lexical aspects of (3a), since these devices permit the archiving of prefabricated syntactic elements due to [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] for further use and recombination. [SYNTAX] is at the level of the traditional comprehensive categories of the lexicon, phonology, or morphology, and they all represent abstract organizational units. The six syntactic dimensions in (4) relate to simple cognitive articulations, thus tying language into the broader tasks impending on the individual. A closer look at the six dimensions will give an idea of how much can be achieved within such a parsimonious framework and what will remain for other devices to capture.

6.3.3.1.

[PRECEDENCE]

Given the linearity of speech, a necessary ordering principle is precedence, a simple linear ordering statement /a>b/, with open class membership for /a/, /b/. Linear order applies to the surface manifestation, so that such a precedence statement will always be true to fact and accessible to inspection by the observer and the linguistic individual. [PRECEDENCE] assures the factual linearity of speech, holding across the line for any individualized elements.91 Linear precedence can be imposed on specific items or constructions. It may have an immediate effect for contiguous elements, as e.g. in the clitic clustering constraint of Spanish which imposes me lo rather than *lo me. Alternatively, it could also be predicated of two items located at a distance from each other, as e.g. in the necessary preverbal occurrence of the negation particle: /neg>...>V/ (Sp. no, Pg. näo, It. non, Fr. ne, etc.). Here the two terms of linearization can be separated by intervening clitics: contiguous in Sp. no se Ί do not know', no saberlo 'not to know it (infinitive)', but separated in no lo saben 'they do not know it', /no me digas! 'you don't say! (imperative)'. The mediate precedence statement can be derived from the immediate one through a transitive chain of ordered pairs.92 The place for recording such specific precedence relationships is the

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lexicon, be it applied to a given class of lexical items, specific items, or as part of an entry under [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]. Thus, Spanish clitics of IPS, 2PS could carry the mark [ - >3PSC|]C| (necessarily preceding any clitic of reference [3PS]), and/or those of 3PS might, among others, be identified by the trait [Xcl> -] c , (necessarily preceded by other clitics, if any). Alternatively, the ordering statement [IPS, 2PS>3PS] d can be envisaged as one of the items defined by [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] (and also stored in the lexicon).93 An essential property of [PRECEDENCE] is its surface truth, and where it seems to be contradicted, it will not be the product of derivational depth, but a non-applicability of the specific [PRECEDENCE]! and its replacement with a more appropriate description [PRECEDENCE^ (if at all). The [PRECEDENCE] relationship depends on contextual conditions for its pertinent specification. While the Spanish clitic cluster statement does not suffer from any qualifications, e.g. in the somewhat generalized form /IPS > [3PS, -refl]/cl (me lo dijeron 'they told me so', jdimelo! 'tell me! ( 2 S ) ' ) , this is not the case for modern French. Variation between the normal proclitic arrangement obeying a constraint /IPS > [3PS, -REFL]/ d (elles me le diront 'they'll tell me') and the enclitic manifestation /[3PS, -REFL] > lPS/ c l in imperatives (dites-le-moi! 'tell me! (2P)') requires a modification of the range of validity for each one of the complementary orderings. Accepting a marked option /[3PS, -REFL]>lPS/ c l for imperative forms (or for post-verbal clitic placement), the other variant /IPS >[3PS, -REFL]/C, could then be set up as a default value.94 Staying with clitics, in the Romance languages the obligatory ordering /NEG>V/ is surface-true for Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, Italian, Romanian, Dolomitic, Friulian, and Sardinian, but it requires modification for modern French, various dialects of Rhaeto-Romance, and much of Northern Italian idioms that show postverbal negation particles (Fr. pas, RRm. betg and similar, Nit. biic, mia, etc.). If the statement refers to the NON-type negative marker, it has continued validity and will serve for modern French with its remnant preverbal negation contexts and registers: colloquial je sais pas vs. formal je ne sais pas 'I do not know', very formal je ne saurais 0 vous dire 'I could not tell you' even without any postverbal negation. However, it would not touch those dialects of Rhaeto-Romance and Northern Italy where NÖN negation has disappeared; it is only variably retained in Vallader and Puter (Rhaeto-Romance of the lower and upper Engadine valley; Ebneter 1994: 9 0 2 - 9 0 9 ) , but more broadly present in the Veneto, Ladin, Friuli, and Liguria, and weakly in the remaining regions (Jaberg and Jud 1 9 2 8 - 1 9 4 0 : maps 5 2 , 6 5 3 , 1 5 9 4 among others). If the precedence specification is associated with the preverbal negative element

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deriving from NÖN, the cases not involving such an element are not at issue. The alternation with postverbal negation (itself specified as postverbal on the lexical item, Fr. pas, RRm. betg, etc.) belongs to the construct!vist task of learning variability in its relevant dimensions. In yet another case, the ordering contradiction can only be comprehended as a contextually steered alternative. Modern Romance clitic pronoun linearization in most languages enters into proclitic and enclitic arrangements with the anchoring verb according to the morphosyntactic identity of the verb form. The statements /cl*>v / and /v>cl*/ (where "cl*" stands for an arbitrarily long string of clitics) both hold, but each one only in a given context: /cl*>[V, +fin] / and /[V, {-fin/+imper }] > cl*/.95 The specific precedence relations connected with a given lexical item or form class can take two directional manifestations, precedence or subsequence. A preposition will by constitution carry a precedence specification with regard to its dependent argument, loosely symbolized as [P, >], e.g. in fact, while an encliticum tantum such as Lt. -que 'and' (senatus populusque romanus 'the senate and the people of Rome') would show up in the lexicon as [cl, b/ - specific conditions (lexical, constructional)

Sign >

[COHESION]

A chain of linguistic expressions contains an internal organization. Precedence under contiguity, i.e. [PRECEDENCE], defines only one relationship between items; another one is their affinity, addressed here by [COHESION]. This dimension helps define constituents on the basis of their proximity in sequence and functional pertinence between different elements, setting specific items into closer contact with one another than with any element outside of the group involved in a [COHESION] bond. The cohesiveness of items is a gradated property, so that the result will not be a neat separation into cohesive and non-cohesive elements in the chain. [COHESION] forms constituents by binding two (or more) elements together and it thereby defines two contrary relationships, positive cohesiveness vs. separation. These can be schematized as the forces running between two elements x, y in (5). Version (5a) binds the two elements together, forming a constituent bond, while (5b) lacks this cohesiveness, with a boundary [ w running between χ and y. Separation can constitute the right edge of the current constituent after the last cohesive item, or as well indicate a following unconnected item, i.e. mark the left edge of the adjacent constituent. (5) a. Cohesiveness(x,y) / x + y / D [ w x y ] b. Separation(x,y) / χ I y / D χ w ] y or

χ [w y

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Cohesiveness, or lack thereof, concerns contiguous elements; by extension, a longer stretch of elements may be connected by cohesion, forming a longer constituent. Schema (5b) is more specific than what may seem warranted. The noncohesiveness between χ and y is not directional, hence only a representation /χ I y/ is supported, where "I" indicates the boundary of separation. In full interpretation, this should be expanded to the paired edge marking for the preceding and the following constituent: /x w ] [ w . y/ as in (5b). If the essential information concerns the beginning of a new constituent, closure or continuity of the preceding one is not essential. Vice versa, if separation closes a constituent domain, the beginning of a new constituent to the right is immaterial. Within a given phonetic phrase, any preceding material will count as relevant up to the point where a new group commences. Closure of the structure is thus not very topical, while the beginning of a new stretch in the organized chain matters centrally. The values represented by [COHESION] should thus be understood as being just two, positive cohesion (5a) and (negative) separation (5b), avoiding the directionality of left/right edge. This latter aspect falls properly in the domain of [PRECEDENCE]. A well-known formal issue in delimiting constituent structure involves the right edge, e.g. in the relative construction where the antecedent NP is complete in and of itself, but at the same time contains the relevant continuation of the relative predication; see (6a) with more complex bracketing vs. simplified (6b). The problem is aggravated by a potential ambiguity of bracketing, as shown in (7) where the relative CP can refer to la casa de la cochera 'the house with the garage' (7a) or la cochera 'the garage' alone (7b). Solution (8) produced by [COHESION] is superior in both cases, because it clearly marks the prominent left edges, but does not resolve the question of the end points, leaving it to the linguistic individual to make a choice as appropriate. (6) a. [Np [

la casa] [cp que estd abandonada desde hace tiempo ]] the house rel is abandoned since ago time 'the house which has been abandoned for a long time' b. [ la casa. [ que estd abandonada desde hace tiempo ]]

(7) a. [Np [NPi la casa [pp de la cochera}) [cp. que estd abandonada ]] the house of the garage rel is abandoned 'the house with the garage that is abandoned' b. [Np [Np. la casa [pp de [Np. la cochera] [cp que estd abandonada ]]]]

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I la casa I de la cocker a I que estd abandonada

is not the only dimension supporting the division into constituents. It also receives (unpredictable and inconsistently manifested) reinforcement from [AGREEMENT] with its dependence on cohesiveness, and from [INTONATION], especially with marked breaks and transitions to underline separations between major chunks. A crucial role falls upon the lexical dimension in so far as word class pertinence is concerned. In (8), the second and third separations are induced by the intrinsic property of prepositions {de) and complementizers (que) to open up prepositional phrases and subordinate clauses. The negative [COHESION] value in these positions thus follows from basic lexical information representing functional classifications. The first bracket depends on the preceding null context, reinforced by the lexical dimension of the determiner (la) as a common sign of an NP's left edge. In combination, these forces are sufficient to assure the minimally required structuring of the linear chain into three identifiable chunks, especially since the semantic support operates in parallel with the formal aspects following basic categorization. These form-plus-meaning units may in turn have a certain degree of cohesion as grouped configurations at the next higher level of analysis. The initializing power of a preposition or complementizer is flanked by their relational functions projecting a [COHESION] value for the aggregate string (9), where the parentheses are graphic indications of the simple constituents entering into positive cohesion. [COHESION]

(9)

(I la casa) + (I de la cochera ) + (I que estd abandonada )

Figure 4 (next page) shows a more elaborate analysis involving the different levels of [COHESION] and their effect on constituent formation. A standard bracketing analysis is also provided for comparison. The last lines of Figure 4 (PP3, VP8) indicate what one would expect as major constituents, defining at the same time the major breaks in [COHESION], Auxiliary dimensions supporting [COHESION] are agreement and intonation, each to be represented on its own tier (not marked in Figure 4; see below under [AGREEMENT] in 6.3.3.3.). Agreement operates inside the NP, and PP5 levels (article-noun, noun-adjective) for number and gender. Intonation will play a major role in interpreting actual speech. This dimension and [COHESION] are mutually dependent, so that one essentially determines the other, with inverted directionality for understanding and producing speech. The semantics of the emerging expressions also contributes to this effect where the

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la

ICP [pp Prep [NP I + I

caseta

de

art [ Ν · [Ν· Ν [ PP + I

pago

prep [NP Ν ]]] [ PP + I

de

la

prep [NP + I

art +

NP l a

NP l b

PP^

PP*

PP2c

PP1a

[v I

nos cl +

PP3b detuvimos v] I

a [pp PreP l v p +

comprar v[NpU +

cafe N] [ p p I

en P rep[ N p [ N . +

NP4a PPia VP*,

carretera Ν ]]]]

vasos Ν I

termicos. A ]]]]]]] +

NPY/ or /Y>X/ [COHESION] IX+Υ X is left-edge contiguous to Y [DEPENDENCE] (Χ (Y x )) Y depends on X as an argument [AGREEMENT] [X, a] ä [Y, b] /a x /, /bY/ make Χ, Y agree [PRECEDENCE]

The equivalence of the two markers a, b in (12d) is defined by the morphological information of the language. Agreement is a surface-true phenomenon as long as it depends on directly accessible morphological markings. These however do not need to be identical for all participants in a given agreement pattern, since the form of the marks is mediated by the morphological knowledge and the language-particular constitution of agreement markers, inflectional classes, and anchors for agreement marking. [AGREEMENT] operates within a domain defined by [DEPENDENCE] and/or [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]. A nucleus or head element XNUC by lexical attribution contains certain morphosyntactic features φ appropriate for the function of the nucleus and licensed by the morphology of a given language: e.g. number, gender, case, etc. for nominals, person, number, tense, mood, etc. for verbals, or case for prepositions. The [AGREEMENT] effect concerns typically endocentric constructions, e.g. internal agreement of determiner, adjectives, etc. with the nuclear nominal within a NP (Sp. la vieja casa amarilla 'the yellow old house' expressing F SG with the endings -a). An exocentric situation obtains e.g. with subject-verb agreement (Sp. ellas se despidieron 'they took leave' for 3P F, where -iN, -rony express plural) and subject-predicate nominal (la casa es vieja 'the house is old' for F SG), or with past participle-direct object concordance (la tienen ensayada, esta obra 'they have it well rehearsed, this play', again for F S). The exocentric [AGREEMENT]105 domains depend on an appropriate [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] record, since they are not uniquely determined by simple juxtaposition ([COHESION] and [DEPENDENCE]). The function of [AGREEMENT] expression falls into the range of [REFERENCE] phenomena, establishing the identify of reference between the participants in the concordance of form. In the endocentric cases, this amounts to the rather trivial mechanical distribution of a surface marker

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across a constituent (e.g. NP) already established and unified by the other dimensions. [AGREEMENT] reinforces this pre-established identity of reference and unity of construction with external markings of form. The exocentric concordance carries more functional weight, since the coreference between the components is not intrinsically given, rather specifically stated through [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], The necessary interpretation is secondarily marked by an [AGREEMENT] effect that gives them some salient similarity or identity of shape. The significance of this formal device is higher in exocentric constructions, since they lack the automatic identity value conveyed by the nucleus-complement relationship.

6.3.3.4.2. Endocentric

VJ.

exocentric

[AGREEMENT]

In the spirit of Soft Syntax and the immanent perspective on the linguistic individual, [AGREEMENT] needs to be confined to learnable situations, essentially to contexts and instantiations where it is manifest, rather than implicit or vacuous. This approach significantly limits the amount of required computation. [AGREEMENT] thus will only be retained where two (or more) items show an appreciable morphological similarity. One-sided constellations are marginal for this dimension. For instance, a Latin "agreement" between preposition and its dependent NP regarding case concerns [AGREEMENT] only trivially. Rather a [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] requirement of lexical nature established by the [DEPENDENCE] connection between PREP and NP controls the case assignment for Lt. in campumACC 'to the field' vs. in campoABL 'in the field' with two different lexical prepositions w+NP(accusative) 'to (direction)' vs. m+NP(ablative) 'in (location)'. While such a situation still has a functional impact due to the dual preposition, the regular pattern is simply an internal morphological application (but not [AGREEMENT], strictly speaking) with one-sided formal exposition on the NP, e.g. pro bono 'for the good' with pro+NP(ablative). The postulation of agreement between the preposition and the single nominal in such a situation remains abstract, since the required case is already part of the lexical entry of the preposition. If the NP dependent on such a preposition contains more than one nominal element, the case feature will indeed undergo [AGREEMENT] spread within the NP proper, as foreseen in this simplified scenario. In other endocentric situations, [AGREEMENT] retains full validity in (13a) (examples from Spanish) with transparent marking of the gendernumber value across the NP, while in (13b) only number overtly participates

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in concordance, and gender is unilaterally visible on the adjectival satellite, but not on the nucleus. Finally in (13c) there is no manifest [AGREEMENT] effect visible, and any postulation of morphological concordance is fully abstract, even more so in (13d) with a color noun serving as a modifier. (13) a.

la casa nueva 'the new house'

b.

la cruz blanca 'the white cross'

c.

casa grande 'big house'

d.

color naranja 'orange color(ed)'

- e x p o s e s F on ART, ADJ, lexically specified and visible on Ν - e x p o s e s SG on ART, ADJ, N, semantically given - e x p o s e s F on ART, ADJ, lexically specified on Ν but implicit (but juez 'judge': M) - e x p o s e s SG on ART, ADJ, N, semantically given - e x p o s e s F on Ν (lexically given form); no gender agreement on adj - e x p o s e s SG on N, ADJ, semantically given

- n o gender expressed (color = Μ SG; but labor = F SG), naranja = number/gender invariable (actually a Ν F SG: (la) naranja '(the) orange')

For the exocentrics, the patterns between subject and verb are significant. In a parsimonious approach, only an explicit string /NPSU-V/, e.g. Sp. ella llego 'she arrived', can be seen as a case of agreement, while a null subject situation 0SU llego 'she/he/it arrived' needs to be treated as a straightforward morphological expression on V with a broader reference function in the absence of any independent subject expression.

6.3.3.4.3.

Nature and function of [AGREEMENT]

To capture the variable applicability of [AGREEMENT] and preserve the potential economy of computation in language processing, the nature of [AGREEMENT] needs to be redefined. It cannot be a generalized process of feature checking and extensive covert application under a unified structural configuration of Spec-Head agreement as in Minimalist practice (Uriagereka 2000). Rather, [AGREEMENT] must assure the actual concordances of form where they really occur. An explicit subject NP or pronoun (Ana/ella llego 'Ana arrived/she arrived') has the morphological/lexical potential of expressing number, gender, person, case. The verbal morphology of Spanish extends to person, number, tense, mood. The [AGREEMENT]

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coincidence in the sense of a bi-directional concordance concerns thus the shared features of number and person. The subject, externally determined by the semantics and referential aspects of the utterance, provides the information for the operation of [AGREEMENT] based on the subject's lexical properties, and the verb must express the applicable φ features for person and number where morphologically available. With a null-subject constellation (llego '3s arrived'), on the other hand, there is no question of overt agreement; the verb expresses the entire referential content in its morphology in isolation, including any φ features for person and number. Postulation of a null subject only complicates the syntax and in addition imposes the vacuous application of an agreement process. The meaning and referential constitution of the utterance determines the sole manifestation of these properties directly at this site, not via an abstract center hosting the φ values in question. Given the relative poverty of a specific morphological system and the vacuity of indiscriminate agreement checking in all potential contexts, [AGREEMENT] only controls the distribution of an item's marked surface distinctions. Specifically, in a nominal constituent /art+N/, the article form la visibly carries the [AGREEMENT] charge of 'feminine, singular' and will need to coexist with a nominal of identical specifications. The rightward concatenation of the string /art>N/ and the leftward direction of the determining information on gender going from the right-edge nominal to the left-edge article indicate that in such a true agreement case, e.g. (13a, b), both a traditional formal analysis and a Soft Syntax one end up with the same result: full agreement calculation over gender and number. Whether this takes place by feature spreading (an active agreement process) or by aleatory exposition of a form and its secondary evaluation, does not seem to make a difference at this point. In the more implicit case of (13c), the simplification proposed here avoids any processing regarding gender given the gender-neutral adjective grande. In (13d), [AGREEMENT] takes no part in constituting the form, since even the singular reference of the expression cannot be marked on the invariable adjective. In the same way, the full expression of subject plus verb remains neutral between this analysis and a more traditional one, while the null-subject version eliminates the need for agreement altogether, given the semantic determination of subject reference. [AGREEMENT] is a process of selecting or evaluating the appropriate form among the positively marked paradigmatic options of a non-nucleus. The result must match a given set of φ features pertaining to a nucleus or its containing constituent. 106

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In the exocentric constructions, the applicable terms for the operation of [AGREEMENT] are defined in the [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entry. For subject-verb agreement, the straightforward solution states the applicability o f [AGREEMENT] o v e r t l y , as in ICONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY: /NPSU, ^ j r

Vfin, q W 'subject-verb agreement re φ(ΐ)Ί. The additional indices j, k on φ refer to the φ features privative to each one of the terms; only the set ψ; consisting of person and number is of idiosyncratic concern for [AGREEMENT]. 107 The agreement between the two terms is not inherently given, it represents a stipulation of no further transcendence. In exchange, there is no need for the affected structure to correspond to a canonical shape for agreement, e.g. the specifier-head constellation of most formal approaches, simplifying syntactic structure accordingly. A major concern with [AGREEMENT] in the reality of language is the fragmentary exposition of real agreement. The only evident motivations for this device are its contribution to resolving reference attribution and pertinence to locally defined constituents. The marked difference between Latin disruption of the linear cohesion of NPs ("scrambling") and Romance elimination of this option has been attributed to the fact that it will be somewhat easier to track NP pertinence for discontinuous pieces of a broken-up constituent in view of the overt gender, number, and especially case marking in Latin. Most of surface case having been lost in the transition to Romance, the integrity of a linear NP became more important for secure understanding. The problem with this functionalist view is the considerable phonological ambiguity through syncretism of the Latin φ forms for case, number, and declension class that effectively masks clear identification of a given case. Thus in a Latin NP (14) paruä manü agill, the ablative marker for F SG takes three different phonological forms pertaining to three different declension classes. (14)

'PARU

-A

'MAN

Ό

'AGIL

-I

small

F SG A B L I

hand

F SG ABL IV

agile

M/F SG ABL III

'with a small nimble hand'

Contrary to [PRECEDENCE], [COHESION], and [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], the morphologically controlled dimension [AGREEMENT] does not have a surface effect of evident reliability and utility. Its fragmentary instantiation appears as more of a ballast for real-time processing in both directions than a help.108 Still, agreement phenomena abound across most languages, and they invariably show the complications familiar in this context from the Romance languages to a greater or lesser degree. The evolutionary

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justification for this device may have been prominent in linguistic phases beyond our historical inspection, but they are not evident in the many known forms of morphological agreement systems. The diachronic vicissitudes of [AGREEMENT] explored in the next chapter confirm this diagnosis. The effects of [AGREEMENT] are directly accessible for the linguistic individual; they must be learned through faithful imitation of the surrounding models. Cross-linguistically, [AGREEMENT] is an optional and variably developed component. A major part of [AGREEMENT] can be subsumed under [MORPHOLOGY], on whose options it expands constructively. However, there are also productive syntactic processes that express the same function of uniting separate elements under a common reference signal as will be discussed for clitic doubling in Spanish (see 7.2.5.3.). Given its overall unstable and unsystematic signaling function, especially in morphology, its cognitive relevance appears to be marginal. The strongest reason for separating [AGREEMENT] as a dimension in its own right is its interaction with and reinforcement of [COHESION]. Cognitively, it is a variant of the basic perceptive function of judging similarity/sameness between two elements, to which [AGREEMENT] adds a signaling effect. The insistent, even though unpredictable presence of [AGREEMENT] in many languages further adds some individuality to this dimension as represented in Table 7.109 Table

7.

[AGREEMENT]

Name

Domain

Function

Applications

Sign

[AGREEMENT]

morphology

manifest cohesion

- internal to XP - combining argument-predicate

/a«b/

6.3.3.5.

[CONSTRUCTIONAL

IDENTITY]

operates on an extension of the principle of symbolization. Sign formation has been invoked as a defining feature of cognition, with a particularly pointed development in the linguistic sector. It produces progressively more complex arrangements such as words, compounded and derived lexical patterns, and entire syntactic constructions of relative autonomy. The creation of stable word signs, the constitution of inflectional or gender classes, and of more difficult and vaguer categories such as Ν, V, or ADJ can be understood as constructivist solutions to symbolization that find crucial support in language-learning mechanisms. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]

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Analogical classification during infant language acquisition, starting from the simplest cases must gradually associate item with item and progressively group the surrounding cases into an increasingly secure core. The incorporation of item /x/ into class IXI is not a necessity in the internal perspective. Rather it follows from the degree of similarity that the behavior of an element /y/ has (meaning effect, distribution, and/or form) compared to other members of IXI; this will lead to relevant assimilatory attraction. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] extends symbolization to complex con-

figurations consisting of previous results of categorization. It thereby creates a compound symbol based at least in part on underlying compositionality in the syntactic terms of [PRECEDENCE], [COHESION], and [DEPENDENCE]. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] attributes to this emerging symbol a functionality transcending the sum of the parts that make it up and therefore require recording in the lexicon. Such entries range between idiosyncratic constructions of arbitrarily attributed meaning and broad patterns with a central, stable, but possibly non-derivable semantic impact. Again, both the form of the construction and the semantic effect need to be captured in a robust way in the lexicon. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] can be seen at work e.g. in the periphrastic passive or the compound tenses. In the synchrony of any Romance language, medieval or modern, there is no way to reduce the pattern of the passive voice, or of a compound tense, to a purely compositional question for its semantic impact. Only based on the word meanings, Span, era leido '3S IMPF IND+PPL, to read' in an expression such as este libro era leido unicamente por especialistas en la materia 'this book was only read by specialists in this subject' cannot be comprehended as an ongoing and/or habitual action in the past applied to the book by a certain class of agents. The passive effect as well as the non-anterior tense reference cannot unambiguously be predicted on the basis of the auxiliary plus a past participle, since the participle here does not attribute any past meaning (this tense being fully contained in era 'imperfect indicative'). It only preserves its old second orientation in Latin as a passive, i.e. inverted action with regard to agent and affected object. On the other hand, the compound tense formation, exhibiting again an auxiliary plus past participle habia dado '3S IMPF + PPL, to give', e.g., la agenda de viajes no me habia dado las informaciones que les pedi 'the travel agency had not given me the information I asked them for', does not necessarily predict the past effect of the entire construction from its form. Here the participle is past, but also active (or at least not passive), while the auxiliary habia only expresses an imperfect tense, but not relative anteriority to a past as the pluperfect implies. If the same participle is sometimes past and non-passive and some-

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times passive and non-past, the relevant constructions must be learned and the overall semantic effect must be established without ambiguity.110 [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] permits the registration of the two constructions as two different open-ended lexical entries, complete with their semantics and any syntactic peculiarities. A still clearer example is the periphrastic definite past in modern standard Catalan, especially when compared to the immediate future expression: ahir vaig treballar massa, perd avui vaig a passar tot el jorn en la platja 'yesterday I worked too much, but today I'm going to spend the entire day on the beach'. The compositional account of lanar (present)+a+ infinitive/ 'to go to (V)' as an immediate future can be understood as relying on the real motion verb 'to go' and extending to an aspectual function of futurity. But there is no chance to proceed in the same way for the periphrastic past definite with lanar (present)+infinitive/, literally 'to go (V)', as a basis. However this special meaning came about historically (see Colon 1975), the synchronic account must take stock of its existence and give the construction a stable form and appropriate function as a telic past tense. The pattern has acquired a stability of construction, and as such it carries a non-lexical, functional meaning of determined nature. After successful learning, this association between meaning and form needs to be recorded in an appropriate place in the memory of these speakers, readily available and instantiated with varying lexical content. For the Catalan periphrastic preterit, [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] would have the approximate form of /[anar, PRES IND, aPS, ßNUM]+[Vi, INF]/ with the associated meaning specification 'past definite of Vj for aperson, ßnumber'. For an example of higher complexity, Spanish shows real conditional utterances with a pattern of protasis plus apodosis [[ίί'+indicative] indicative] (or also inverted [indicative [si'+indicative]]), while potential and contrary-to-fact conditions require special tenses: [[sz'+past subjunctive] conditional], with assorted options for time reference and mixture of types. These patterns cannot be derived from string constitution or compositional semantics alone and are subject to direct learning as a family of related constructions, each subcase imposing specific grammatical features. Some of these patterns do not even reach full internalization in their standard form for all speakers (e.g. contrary-to-fact conditionals). In the set of minimal features for a parsimonious syntax, [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] represents a second tier of complexity compared to [PRECEDENCE], [COHESION], and even [DEPENDENCE], It is a dimension which embodies much of what traditionally is seen as syntax. It relates this syntax to repeating patterns with a more or less direct import for meaning,

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i.e. it establishes constructions (rather than processes yielding constructions through their application and interaction). Outside of firmly established patterns such as passive or compound tense, it will not be meaningful to decree that such and such a construction does belong, or does not belong, to a language at a given point; the decision rests with the practice of linguistic individuals and their specific experience in first-language acquisition. External investigation of the occurring patterns across speakers will only yield an approximate answer due to the double indeterminacy of grammaticality decisions (see 4.1.-4.2.). Actual constructions provide a crucial array of precompiled syntactic chunks, requiring less than full computation in each occurrence: another step in the direction of a parsimonious, and thus practicable, syntax. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] then takes the form of Table 8.111 Table 8.

[CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]

Name

Domain

Function

Applications

[CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]

lexicon

construction

- use of simple con-

meaning

struction - function of complex pattern

6.3.3.6.

[CONCATENATION]

The dimensions controlling the linear sequence of surface elements [PRECEDENCE], degree of contiguous association [COHESION], identity of reference [AGREEMENT], functional impact within a broader aggregate [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], and vertical interrelations [DEPENDENCE] describe the behavior of items in a string context. A sixth dimension, [CONCATENATION] controls the manner in which these elements are gathered as syntactic units, codetermined by their semantic impact. [CONCATENATION] plays the multiple functional/formal roles of (i) predication (i.e., /x=y/), (ii) subordination, (iii) superordination of frame-setting elements over an utterance, and (iv) default paratactic integration of the remaining material. While the effect of [CONCATENATION] is implicitly also incorporated in any [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] description, the generality of the clausal hierarchies, oriented upward and downward, and their semantic import across languages argues for the independence of this trait. [CONCATENA-

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TION] encodes the essential instructions for semantic compositionality: how the pieces fit together, from affirmation of identity (i) to simple linear addition (iv) and hierarchical integration across clause levels (downward (ii) and upward (iii)). The null hypothesis will necessarily be the unqualified aggregation of the elements in the string as they come up in line (iv). The operation of [CONCATENATION] is intimately co-determined by the other dimensions, so that in conjunction they can encompass the necessary distinctions and modalities for aggregating elements into a significant utterance according to functional-semantic criteria.

6.3.3.6.1.

[CONCATENATION:

Subordination]

The most important functional interactions with [CONCATENATION] along pertinent dimensions involve [DEPENDENCE] and [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]. For a DO complement clause with the preset value [CONCATENATION: subordination], the specifications for [DEPENDENCE] (in (15a.(ii), b.(ii))) will designate the argument that contains the clause as lexically subcategorized by the predicate or the head NP in the case of NP complementation. The [DEPENDENCE] information of (15a.(i), b.(i)) specifies the standard subcategorization values for the predicates in question. (15) a. Afirmaba que \ya no tenia contacto con ese grupo]s=m state-3S-IMPF that already not had-3s contact with that group 'She stated that she no longer had contact with that group.' ( i ) I [DEPENDENCE] /afirmar - SU/, /afirmar — DO/I (ii)l [DEPENDENCE] /DO = S/l

b. la idea de que [haya que terminar una cosa antes de the idea of that have-3S-SUBJ that end a thing before of empezar otra nueva]s=C0MP begin-lNF other new 'the idea that one should finish one thing before starting another' ( i ) I [DEPENDENCE] I idea - COMP/I ( i i ) l[DEPENDENCE]/COMP = S/l

adds the specific constructional details of finiteness (e.g. choice of mood) or non-finite clause structure: infinitive, gerund, or participle, with or without a complementizing preposition (16). 112 [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]

The dimensions

(16) a. empieza a llover

of Soft Syntax

185

'it begins to rain'

I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] /empezar

- ac OM p - INF/I

b. seguimos charlando

'we continued chatting/to chat' I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] Iseguir - V(GER)/I c. quede asustado Ί became (lit. remained) frightened' I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] Iquedar - V(PPL)/ [CONCATENATION] provides the information that the propositional con-

tent of the subordinate clause must be incorporated in the main clause as a unit through the subcategorized argument introduced by [DEPENDENCE], This constructional information is attached to the subordinated constituent identified by [DEPENDENCE] as clausal. The connecting element, i.e. the complementizer {a in (17a), que in (17c), or its absence in (17b)) lacks any functional independence and just expresses the connection between the subordinate clause and the main one. In the absence of such an overt complementizer, other subordinating marks assure proper interpretation. (17) a. A las cinco Manuel empezo [a preparar la cena]xw at the five Manuel began-3s COMPL prepare the dinner 'At 5 a'clock Manuel started to prepare dinner.' COMPL = DO = infinitival clause I [DEPENDENCE]: /SU empezar a DO/I I [CONCATENATION] la +subordinate clause/I113 b. Pepe siguio [charlandode mil cosas desconectadas]GER. Pepe followed-3s chatting of 1000 things separate 'Pepe continued chatting away about a thousand things.' COMPL = DO = gerundial clause [[CONCATENATION] la +gerundial clause/I c. Se anuncio que [la candidata participaria el IPS a n n o u n c e d that the candidate

participate[3s-COND the

jueves en un debate] Thursday in a debate 'It was announced that the candidate would participate in a debate on Thursday.' COMPL = DO = finite subordinate clause I [DEPENDENCE]: /SU anunciar

DO/I

I [CONCATENATION] /g«e+subordinate clause/I Similarly, for an adverbial clause (18), the subordinator with its specific lexical content will represent the main clause anchor of the subordinate

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clause as an adjunct (with corresponding [DEPENDENCE] specification (18b)), exercising scope over the clause (18c). The details of finiteness, infinitival, gerundial, or participial subordination belong to the [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entry (18d) responsible for the overall construction. (18) a. La policia controlo el aula [antes, de2]+ [que]3 + [llegaran4 the police checked-3s the hall before of that arrive-3P los congresistas] the participants 'The police checked the hall before the conference participants arrived.' ADV: [ADV 1 +C 2 +COMPL 3 clause (+subjunct. 4 )] b. I [DEPENDENCE]: /predicateb/. Given the clear meaning of [PRECEDENCE], i.e. /a precedes b/ or it does not, an intermediate POWER value p; for /a>b/ automatically installs the solution /b>aJ for the complementary set of cases (1-pj). For the Romance clitic clusters (see 6.3.3.1. above), an ordering imposition /lo>mil '[3S Μ DO -REFL] > [Is]' mellowed with IPOWER = muchl implies that the inverse lmi>lol receives a POWER value of "little", since the two clitics will necessarily co-occur and thus require a sequencing pattern. This situation characterizes e.g. the Tuscan variety of Italian in the 14th c. (Ulleland 1960; Aski 2004). The DISTRIBUTION modifications STRING and REGISTER attach to [PRECEDENCE] in a natural way, as they would to any other of the syntactic dimensions. Thus a special [PRECEDENCE] condition /tout > art+NP/ as a STRING specification referring to the single lexical quantifier Fr. tout 'all, every' (similarly for It. tutto, Sp. todo, etc.) will modify the more general validity of the [PRECEDENCE] entry /art>N, ADJ, quantifier/ for most Romance languages. 118 This linearization condition also forms part of the lexical representation of the quantifier tout itself, providing a redundancy permitting access to these special syntactic conditions from at least two angles. Stylistic limitations play the decisive role in a minor [PRECEDENCE] record for the Spanish clitic sequence Sp. /te>se/ '[2s DO/IO] > [3 REFL/IPS]' with the proviso 'unguarded, spontaneous, uneducated (as perceived by other speakers), typical of Madrid (or other localized) speakers'. This minor modification may not even be present at all in an individual linguistic repertoire. The stylistic qualification modifies the positive constraint Ise >(cl)/ specified in the content line, i.e. the essential ordering constraint. A marked pattern of variable instantiation even within its proper stylistic domain may thus interfere with a more general surface-true generalization. The possible contents of the DISTRIBUTION dimensions STRING and REGISTER are open-ended, meant to adapt the rough specification of CONTENT to the minutiae of actual usage. is a typically scalar dimension in terms of its strength of implementation in a given case. In addition, it has the option of a complementary double interpretation concerning the polar values of separation /a I b/ and cohesion / a + b / . If [COHESION] is modified by non-polar POWER values, the complementary range for a given degree of cohesion could either be of the opposite value or indifferent to [COHESION] altogether. The simpler scenario with automatic complementarity seems in general preferable, but this is an empirical question. [AGREEMENT] represents a different case, since the absence of agreement in an applicable context does not result in predictable disagreement, rather in a simple lack of agreement. Any disagreement of relevance (as in the Classical Arabic nominal number con[COHESION]

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cordance, see note 108, 6.3.3.4.3.) will require a separate statement establishing the terms of the active non-agreement. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] and [DEPENDENCE] as mainly lexical categories belong to the class of dimensions including [AGREEMENT], and so does the remaining trait of [CONCATENATION]. In these instances, POWER represents a strength value independent of repetition, expressing degree of acceptability and normalcy of a construction. The implementational refinements should not detract attention from the main purpose of Soft Syntax, i.e. the description of linguistic reality in the simplest terms available and congruent with the linguistic individual's (likely) experience. The main task of this description lies in the CONTENT line, while the IMPLEMENTATION additions of (22), (23) remain secondary, even though inevitable for a well-rounded picture. Their secondary nature will also become clear in the diachronic considerations, since they enable changes to take place, but they do not constitute the material nor the form being reshaped. Implementation conditions embody once again a null hypothesis, since they represent specific knowledge about a language practice embedded in its envelope directly and without any transcendence. It thereby reflects the claim that this kind of knowledge is acquired in a straightforward fashion by the individual. This simplistic view may be subject to refinement with further analysis, and could thus additionally influence the complexity of the learning task as the human capacity for natural statistics becomes more securely known.

6.5. General considerations on parsimonious syntax representation 6.5.1.

Foundations for syntax

The six syntactic dimensions of Table 10, together with the lexicon, represent a parsimonious network of dimensions within the means available to the linguistic individual for acquisition and practice. To recapitulate, Table 11 (next page) provides a simple attribution of necessary underlying functions, each one belonging to the required cognitive arsenal of a linguistic qua cognitive subject. [PRECEDENCE], [COHESION], and [CONCATENATION] are strictly local since contiguous, while [DEPENDENCE], [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], and [AGREEMENT] are possibly discontinuous. Precedence, contiguity, dominance, identity, and addition are cognitive relations of a basic nature be

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Table 11. Six syntactic dimensions Dimension

Sign

Meaning

Function

[PRECEDENCE]

[AGREEMENT]

a>b c+d ef g~h

a precedes b c coheres with d e dominates f g is (formally) parallel to h

(linear) precedence contiguity/coherence dominance/dependence identity (reference)

[CONSTRUCTIONAL

(>=T)

[COHESION] [DEPENDENCE]

IDENTITY] [CONCATENATION]

identity (symbolization) i means j addition

(k*m) m is added to k

tween objects. Language (here especially syntax) can thus be grounded in independently needed cognitive dimensions, making acquisition possible as a part of the general cognitive development of the individual. The lexicon complements this array of functions through long-term memory storage. It contains usable identifications of forms - words or word elements (lexemes, morphemes) and word derivatives (derivations, compounds), more or less fixed expressions, entire constructions - always including their meanings and standard connotations and ways of using them (phonological and morphological properties, stylistic marks, particularities and exception statements, etc.). The lexicon with its rich information is not an independent entity containing the "real" words, meanings etc. for a language. Rather, it is the individual repository of specific information about forms, etc., acquired individually by each speaker in consonance with their linguistic exposure and experience. Some divergences concerning the individual extent of this repository as well as the details of connotations and refinements of style and register should be expected. On the other hand, the central, i.e. more frequent and more common aspects will be commensurate across a relevant speech community due to functional needs.

6.5.2.

Conclusion

The simple, but open-ended principles of Tables 10 and 11, plus the equally open-ended constitution of the lexicon as organized linguistic memory space provide the procedures for arriving at unlimited new linguistic forms and expressions. At the same time, this doubly open-ended domain also explains the continual flux in language dependent on non-linguistic aspects, i.e. the complex envelope with its communicative needs and contingent external interferences. Language change is thereby a natural outcome of the

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practice of language, which is in turn a consequence of how language acquisition takes place within the envelope, during a general cognitive buildup, and with massive reliance on models provided by the data and practice in the linguistic individual's environment. Language can be comprehended as the individual's success in acquiring knowledge about how others in the community express themselves and how the linguistic individual can effectively participate in the various types of discourse practiced in her/his experience. This immanent perspective is a way to avoid the attribution of object status to language while capturing the phenomenon in its essential dimension as an activity. Grammar description, prescriptive efforts, and linguistics may follow much later as optional reifications of no immediate consequence for linguistic individuals or even language. A concrete description provided in Soft Syntax is a possible, virtual sketch of any given utterance, and not its complete and inalterable analysis. An appropriate representation within Soft Syntax can only be the individual's own representation in the act of uttering (in whatever medium), but not the one and only correct analysis of the sentence to the exclusion of all other options. Being immanent to the linguistic individual, the analysis cannot claim the certainty derived from the more mechanical application of rules and generalized conditions. In Soft Syntax, rules are secondary reorganizations of varying generalization, depending on the constitutive forces of analogy for their aspect and implementation. They are epiphenomena whose characteristic is their local limitation and organic cohesion. Given their secondary status, they do not have the predictive power that their formulation (and original intent) seems to imply. They do not power linguistic behavior, but rather describe an idealized operation (see again the need for an idealized native speaker/hearer in earlier formal contexts). The expanded concept of analogy (Chapter 5) yields the necessary underpinnings for the establishment of concrete generalizations firmly grounded in local effects. Soft Syntax takes the problem of computational resources seriously while still maintaining a view of language as a computational phenomenon. The overlap, convergence, and high level of redundancy (e.g. between lexical information, [DEPENDENCE], and [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]) enable the linguistic individual to function with a partial analysis, exploiting the options for activating domains of relevance differentially as processing might demand. Not all the potentially available information is needed to extract the locally useful information from the linguistic act in its envelope. This level of sufficiency is far below full analysis, and the aspects selected for active analysis by the individual cognitive apparatus cannot be predicted outside of a concrete situation. Redundancy makes access of different kinds

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of information possible and natural. A conception of memory and meaning consisting of massive connectivity between component aspects with highly distributed access to information provides a possible solution. The linguistic individual's search for relevance is steered primarily by the dimensions of the envelope and secondarily by linguistic form. Bridging the discrepancy between form and use, the implementation conditions for the Soft Syntax dimensions, by their nature non-categorical and variable, will be comprehended as the natural vehicle carrying the diachronic shifts in their gradual and frequently incomplete manner (see the following Chapter 7). Driven by the general force of analogy, language acquisition and continued practice provide the necessary foundation for the inherent development of language away from an artificial standard or an externally observed synchronic crosscut.

Chapter 7 Pathways for diachronic shifts

The framework of analyzing language from an immanent point of view should answer the question of how change actually affects language, in particular syntax in its constitution of meaningful utterances. Change can only be perceived by an analytic observer, e.g. a linguist, who compares equivalent expressions at different points in time. As a consequence, change becomes a static notion of the external perspective putting discrepancies in focus. In contrast, the internal perspective highlights the active dimension of life-long first-language acquisition as an operative knowledge domain, conscious and subconscious, available to the linguistic individual. The immanent point of view can only recognize change in process and understands (analytically codified) change as an epiphenomenon, a consequence of the practice of language by individuals in their social environment. The following sections will discuss the potential of the six syntactic dimensions for contributing to change (see 6.3. on Soft Syntax). The focus will be on their operation under Analogical Modeling and probabilistic categorization presented in Chapter 5. Syntactic forces will stand in the foreground (section 7.2.), following a brief look at the phonological, morphological, and lexical conditions (section 7.1.). The final sections will assess the contributions made by more discourse-oriented components (section 7.3.) and end with a brief overview of the positions gained in the course of this discussion (section 7.4.).

7.1. Change in primary components outside of syntax The two traditional domains of systematic change are the [CHAIN] dimensions covering phonetics, phonology, and morphology, i.e. [PHONOLOGY] and [MORPHOLOGY], The lexicon, even though massively subject to alteration, cannot be affected in a similarly systematic way due to its bridge function between language proper and the open-ended social space of linguistic usage as well as individual knowledge about the world.119 At the same time, the lexicon is also the locus for inscribing most of the results of change into the memory of the linguistic individual. Compared to these prominent domains of change, lexicon, phonology, and morphology, the still unsettled

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diachronic potential of the more narrowly form-conditioned dimensions of [SYNTAX] requires careful attention, focusing on [PRECEDENCE], [COHESION], [DEPENDENCE], [AGREEMENT], [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], a n d

(see 6.3.)· Further defining aspects of language from the [OTHER] grouping remain basically inert for the concerns of historical syntax. They are either far removed from dependence on language form, i.e. [REFERENCE], or possess an inherent stability for their proper functioning, i.e. [INTONATION] and [DYNAMICS]. Even more peripherally, the external interface domains grouped around [WORLD] cannot directly drive linguistic alteration, but they certainly form a ubiquitous backdrop with which the structure of language interacts. [SEMANTICS] is the inalterable function interpreting and representing the world mediated by [SYMBOLIZATION] especially for purposes of language. [PRAGMATICS] and [EXTERNAL] stand for anything non-linguistic in the envelope, from the real world to the linguistic individual's beliefs, sensations, intentions, and emotions. Any change in their own configuration will be very far removed from a foreseeable repercussion on linguistic expression, while affecting the cognitive make-up of an individual in other ways. The largely encapsulated modules of the [IN/OUT] connection (articulation, auditory perception) also need to retain their properties under the uniformity hypothesis for the concrete historical period of perhaps 5000 years available for some inspection. This leaves only a narrow band of options where syntactic language change can take place, appropriate for the limited formal dimensions of linguistic phenomenology. [CONCATENATION]

7.1.1.

Phonetics and phonology

The phonetic domain produces the well-known gradualness of change (incremental shift of articulation, contextual and lexical distribution) which is not really reconcilable with formal notions of regularity over the short term. The analogical approach is better adapted for understanding gradual change as a natural condition of language in practice. Possible phonetic changes are in principle unlimited, the range of phonetic phenomena observable in human language giving a rough idea of the breadth of possible phonation types, and thus ultimately also of changes attainable through immediate and mediate developments. Phonetic change is a prime cause for higher-level developments in phonology and also in those morphological aspects depending on phonological expression. An evolution of the details of phonetic

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implementation may interfere with a functionally live relationship between contrasting segments, resulting in merger or split beside the shift itself. The propensity of phonetics for change can be attributed to the specific modus essendi of phonation: a dedicated module of the [ I N / O U T ] domain with a high degree of shielding from conscious interference. The output of such phonation modules is the only immediate input in first language acquisition for imitative reproduction by the infant learner. Since many acoustic events are not uniquely fixed with regard to their articulatory production, the transmission of phonetic detail from linguistic individual to linguistic individual is fraught with many possibilities for minor mismatches. Ultimately, such learning imperfections will yield slow, minimal change due to the difficulty for any such deviation to spread in the linguistic practice of the individual and more so of the social group. Massive continuity of linguistic form across time and speakers is the standard, while the characteristic leakage in the transmission of linguistic form provides for the option of change at unpredictable junctions. Not all evolution is an abductive event typical of language acquisition. New patterns may emerge throughout a linguistic individual's lifetime, e.g. urban American English /ae:/ raising to /ε:/, /e:/, and beyond in the context of a broader ongoing vowel shift (see Labov 1972, 1981, 1994-2001 (1): 177-195). The acquisitional potential of adult language practice makes this kind of change possible. Such novel phonetic renditions must be perceptibly present in the ambient language if they are to be acquired by infant language learners, since they are not only engaged in reproduction of the status quo, but also potential (abductive and/or inductive) reanalysis. Such new variants must have been introduced into previous adult language practice, implying that language learning is ongoing, at least to a limited extent, beyond the infant acquisition phase. Linguistic knowledge may thus develop over time for linguistic individuals, even if only marginally, connecting language learning with the ongoing practice of linguistic use. Since the kind of phonetic adjustments considered here follow the paths of legitimate phonetic options, adult language practice must still be in touch with the natural phonetic tendencies presumably informing infant acquisition. Language practice is thus of one piece with its acquisition, since both depend on the same learning functions and natural trends. An immanent conception of language based on analogical categorization accounts for this continuity of function by recognizing the fundamental force of analogy as pervasive for all language activity. This kind of minimal phonetic alteration underlies the regular phonological developments normally treated in historical investigations as a crucial

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first step. There are two substantive reasons for passing over the description of the subsequent phonological and morphological changes that constitute standard diachronic development. A large number of excellent treatises already cover this domain based on relevant literature for a broad variety of languages and phenomena, e.g. Labov (1994-2001); McMahon (1994); Campbell (1999); and Joseph and Janda (2003).120 Furthermore, for the immanent point of view an inventory or theory of change is immaterial, since such efforts fully belong to an external perspective. An underlying plan of natural phonetic and phonological categorizations need not exist. The phonetic regularities observed across languages are the effect of the physiological and neurological constitution of the apparatus of phonation, complemented by perceptual interferences of the auditory component. These necessarily contain whatever natural phonetic tendencies may exist, e.g. palatalization (consonant-vocoid interaction in the place of articulation), assibilation (consonant-vocoid interaction in degree of aperture with turbulent transition), intervocalic voicing (consonant-vowel interaction with regard to source condition), etc. But in each instantiation in a given language the "natural tendency" needs to assert itself in a language-specific format. The small variations produced by local conditions are the reason for the sometimes difficult identification of what a general tendency really is.121 The simplest formal level of organization in language, the sound system, deprived of meaning in its own right122, is more prone to historical variation than other components with more direct links to function.

7.1.2.

Morphology

Phonetic (as well as phonogical) change affects morphology orthogonally; the results of phonetic change are likely to disrupt an existing morphological stability by altering the shape of the morphological pieces.123 A morphological function affected by phonological change may prove to be stronger than the phonetic accident, or it may succumb to the change. Other phonological developments can cause the disappearance of the category distinction originally built on the basis of the prior phonetic condition. Conjugation and declension classes founded on some basic phonological distinction, but otherwise not possessing functionality beyond their being a morpho-lexical grouping, will not be able to outlive the foundational phonetic distinction, everything else being equal. The constitutive arbitrariness of morphology, as expressed in otherwise unsupported classifications - conjugation classes, declension categories,

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grammatical gender differentiations, etc. - is a fertile ground for change even outside of phonetic interference. The morphological properties of inflection lack direct external anchoring other than their phonetic divergences and distributional asymmetries. Within the morphological horizon, the forces of cohesion are richly structured by the so-called paradigmatic forces connecting items within a set of closely related forms, e.g. a morphological tense, a grammatical person, etc. These are best approached as local relationships of resemblance and interdependence, which render them subject to formal assimilation locally, while making them dissimilar to less closely related forms. The double unreliability of the interaction between phonology and morphology underlines the relevance of an organizing principle less than formal generalization to permit the emergence of local simplifications (analogies) potentially creating more global complications (irregularities). The multidirectionality and non-teleological nature of analogy as discussed in Chapter 5 provides an approach of appropriate characteristics for capturing these systemic instabilities. The other branch of morphology, word formation and derivation, does not fare better in claiming an exclusively coherent formal foundation. The lexical idiosyncrasies of this component require extensive listing of properties, and in particular there is no way around enumerating the forms of actual currency in the language, since this projection is not feasible based on compositional procedures alone. Each item may be licensed or absent from current usage according to unpredictable principles (see e.g. CarstairsMcCarthy 1992: Ch. 2). As much as phonetic change is gradual, hardly noticeable except for a trained observer with special interests in this area, the morphological happenings may catch even the linguistically naive individual's attention. The macroscopic caliber of most morphological doings is apt to be exploited for novel formations: conscious contributions or regulative interference in the word formation component, and partly conscious morphological regularizations on rather crude surface patterns. Morphology is bound to undergo massive reconstruction of different kinds. This may take the form of reutilizing existing building blocks for new creations, e.g. 15th to 16th century Florentine preterit formation. The weak, arhizotonic etymological 3P endings /-'arono, -'erono/, e.g. parldrono 'to speak', temerono 'to fear' from Lt. -'ÄRUNT, -'ERUNT, underwent optional syncope to /-'arno, -'erao/, suffering ending loss in contact with the strong versions to Γ-aro, '-ero/ (from fecero '3P PRET to make'). They also created a new type by adding the special 3P preterit morpheme /+rno/ or the standard /+no/ (the regular pattern in other tenses) to the 3s form, parld 3S » parlönno, parldrno 3P. A whole series of such local formations exists in this

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and related dialects (Nencioni 1954; Rohlfs 1965-1966 (2): §568, 575). On the other hand, abandonment of morphological expression could be wholesale (in its end effect) as in the pre-literary Romance loss of the portmanteau-ridden Latin case inflection in nominal forms (Dardel and Wüest 1993). Finally, morphology interfaces with syntax in a major way through the combination of the changing specifications of [CONCATENATION] from the value "neutral" to "subordinate", and for [DEPENDENCE] from "lexicon" to "morphology". The trigger for downgrading syntactic independence is still external to this constellation, concerning primarily [COHESION] (see 7.2.2.-3., 7.2.6.). In its unpredictable course, morphological evolution avoids global designs, but responds to local forces of analogy. A sustained evolutionary direction must be underpinned by functionality (e.g. continued tense expression). Analogy as the engine of linguistic development has the correct properties, producing the less-than-generalized results observed in language after language: unpredictable, volatile, and possibly oriented in different directions. 124

7.1.3.

Lexicon

The lexicon is traditionally the most unstable of linguistic components. The external content aspects impinging on the lexicon will never conform to fixed principles. For the lexicon to obey domain-specific formal restrictions and patterns of evolution would deprive it of the freedom to adapt to the external and internal pressures abutting on it. The diachronic role of the lexicon is thus primarily relegated to receptivity, appropriate for the lexicon's proper function: to interface linguistic form - constrained by its own regulations - with external content elements - subject to basically nonformal and non-linguistic restrictions. This rich material may then become productive in its own right. Still, [PHONOLOGY], [MORPHOLOGY], and [SYNTAX] store their diachronic product in an adjusted lexicon as the record of the individual's linguistic experience and knowledge deriving from linguistic practice. For syntax, [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] represents the lexically most active dimension, since it basically identifies the constructional principles in need of annotation for form and/or meaning attribution. Frequently, the lexical record consists of the juxtaposition of co-existing alternate forms and expressions. For language understood as an activity, the lexicon can be considered a linguistically adapted space of long-term memory, quite different from the other dimensions of linguistic knowledge.

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This standard summary of the diachronic potential inherent in the nonsyntactic chain properties provides the contextual frame for a detailed consideration of syntax in its diachronic operation. The immanent perspective for understanding language in diachrony reassesses the historical forces that act on the string composed of macroscopic elements and structural relations. The six syntactic dimensions proper will be discussed in sequence in the following section.

7.2. Syntactic dimensions and change 7.2.1.

[PRECEDENCE]

7.2.1.1.

Diachronic

potential

[PRECEDENCE] registers the surface-true linear sequence of two or more elements or categories, schematically /a>b/. A [PRECEDENCE] record requires the affected elements to stand in a significant relationship. This is expressed by a positive value of [COHESION] between the arguments which belong to some [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entry, i.e. they both form part of an identifiable unit. The basic prediction for a [PRECEDENCE] value in diachrony is that the ordering statement may become untrue due to the existence of noticeable counterexamples. This could lead to the disappearance of a [PRECEDENCE] statement /a>b/ if such a restriction fails to be reconstructed in language acquisition because of its inaccuracy. The two elements thereby cease to have a stable linear relationship. The relevant counterexamples are necessarily of the inverted type /b>a/; the less drastic interposition of some elements still maintains an indirect ordering relation /a>x>b/ = /a>...>b/. Sufficiently noticeable contrary sequences could be strong enough to lead to a changed [PRECEDENCE] specification /b>a/ instead of the original ordering. The transition from /a-b/ to /b-a/ should therefore be observably gradual in its formal and social distribution, since it implies both /a-b/ and /b-a/ to be present in linguistic practice. This finds its expression in the observable IMPLEMENTATION conditions (see 6.4.). In spite of the clearly indivisible nature of a linear ordering statement, the secondary dimensions of language in use (i.e. the implementation conditions) allow for a "soft" change, eliminating an unrealistic parametric switch of the ordering between two items or categories in coherent linguistic practice. The individual tokens are a mixture of instances of /a-b/ and /b-a/ within the group, yielding a snapshot of the variation involving the two options,

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even though no intermediate stage of individual linearization is logically available as long as linearity of the chain and integrity of the elements a, b is maintained. 7.2.1.2. Changes of [PRECEDENCE] in diachrony Looking at available evidence, simple order changes without any further adjustments seem to be quite rare and difficult to motivate. Phonological or morphological metathesis as a non-syntactic parallel has been argued to fall outside the range of normal phonological phenomena because of its all-ornothing nature.125 It contrasts with phonetically scalar developments such as word-final devoicing of obstruents, vowel nasalization, or (phonetic or moraic) lengthening of stressed syllables. The same restriction also applies to the syntactic linearizations considered here. If a [PRECEDENCE] statement is applicable at the level of a string made up of two items, an inversion at this level could well be due to a spontaneous mutation able to impose itself on an appreciable portion of the local language practice. The Medieval Florentine clitic cluster lo mi ended up as me lo from the mid 14th c. on. This corresponds to a mini-categorial shift from /[CL, 3, -REFL, DO] > [CL, ls]/ cl to its inverse /[CL, Is] > [CL, 3, -REFL, DO]/ cl : a rather narrow specification. By itself, such a statement does not offer any insight into the mechanics or function of the shift and might just be arbitrary. A more meaningful question can be raised for a [PRECEDENCE] entry covering the sequence of broader categories, e.g. /AR^N/^ in most Romance languages, where NP refers to the [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] implying also internal [COHESION] values (as does CL in the above example). In view of the inertia of received forms (the original sequence of /ab/) and the anchoring of the specific sequence in the broader context, e.g. of the NP, purely mutational order changes should not be expected as frequent diachronic events. The likelihood of an arbitrary [PRECEDENCE] shift is inversely proportional to the size and homogeneity of the analogical set underpinning a given order. The relative insignificance of the principles regulating clitic cluster sequencing in terms of broader linguistic organization very few different string types, minor functional load - predicts that a [PRECEDENCE] switch is relatively more likely to happen here. On the other hand, the constitutive NP structure holding together the prenominal article with the Ν implies greater stability. In fact, the clitic sequence did undergo an order change, while the precedence of the article remained unchanged since its inception as an article.126

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So far then, [PRECEDENCE] may participate in parametric change (leaving the transition aside for the moment), even though this is rather rare and of limited scope in reality due to the arbitrary nature of the choice between one order and another. In addition, any such order change concerns isolated innovations at an individual level that will need to spread and reach a broader compliance in the group. If [PRECEDENCE] is not a predestined avenue for change, this corresponds to the intuitive observation that languages do not change the order of syntactic elements at random and without considerable further motivation.

7.2.1.3.

Implementing

transition

The relationship between an instance of a [PRECEDENCE] value in speech and its possible anchoring in the linguistic individual's knowledge merits further discussion. While a single instance of a sequence has a unique [PRECEDENCE] value, the average over a time span of individual performance may show a variability of sequencing, e.g. much /a-b/ vs. little /b-a/ in the sense of the POWER measure. This distribution as a valid measure of a speaker's production presumably reflects a similar approximate repartition of the two orderings in the practice of the social group, since this is the linguistic individual's source of knowledge about appropriate practice. The proportion of /a-b/ vs. /b-a/ may be further differentiated for specific styles and registers (REGISTER) and specific formal contexts (STRING). These secondary modifications rely on inherently imprecise and summary, but operative estimations by the linguistic individual. As such they are open to diachronic alteration, rather minimal for a speaker's lifetime, but possibly major for a speech community. These IMPLEMENTATION aspects represent the mechanisms by which diachronic shifts can concretely affect linguistic output through formal and social pathways. The standard, but not inevitable outcome of alternation between uneven poles is the virtual elimination of the weak option over time, everything else being equal (see 5.4.5. above). Where all instances of a given construction show a single value, e.g. /a-b/, [PRECEDENCE] receives an unequivocal single valuation. In this context, the absence of any model of type /b-a/ makes it difficult for this logical alternative to surface other than by accident or by analogical attraction. Analogical attraction can only enter into play if there are already some established contrary orderings present in the language, hence the origin of the alternative ordering /b>aI still remains unclear. Alternatively, an /a>b/ order of one construction (/Vnon-nnite>cl0

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might be attracted by the superficially similar, but functionally different ordering /b>a/ of another construction (/cl>Vfmjte/ as frequently happened in the 15th to 16th c. in Spanish and Italian; see 5.4.4.). As soon as there is some variation in the speech community, the model of social spreading predicts that the simple co-presence of the two options, strong /a-b/ vs. weak /b-a/, even for a marginal /b-a/, gives the weak pole a (small) chance to gain on the strong one. This situation captures the oscillating character of change on a small scale, while at the same time producing the overall trend toward closure in the presence of uneven alternants by eliminating the weaker contender (see 5.4.5. and 5.4.7.). In practice, true uniformity of behavior is an extreme situation indicating that further forces are at work (e.g. standardization as in the case of clitic sequencing and linearization with the verb).

7.2.1.4.

Decomposition

An additional dimension of gradualness in order inversion obtains when the algebraically unitary elements a, b slated to change linear precedence are analyzed into component elements, enabling an increasing number of such subparts to change place; consider the schematic progression inverting the components [ a j of /a/ with /b/ in (1). (1) a. /a - b / = / / a , , a2, ... ai5 ... a n /- b/ b . / / a , , a 2 , . . . 2L{, . . . a n / - b / > / / a 2 , . . . a i 5 . . . a n / - b - ΙΆΧΙΙ >

...

c. //a 2 ,... a s , ... an/ - b - /a,// > /an - b - /a, - a2 ... aj // > d. /a n - b - /a, - a2 ... a// > /b - / a,, a2, ... a h ... a„// e. /b - / a,, a 2 , . . . a i 5 ... a„// = /b - a/ An illustration of this complex order switch is the development of object clitic clusters between the medieval and the Renaissance phases of French, Occitan, Catalan, and (Tuscan) Italian (Wanner 1 9 7 4 ) . The change is traditionally understood as an overall pattern characterized by the emblematic Latin pronoun sequences ILLUM MIHI 'DO 3PS NON-REFL - 10 IPS, 2PS' > MIHI ILLUM '10 IPS, 2PS - DO 3PS NON-REFL' (Ramsden 1 9 6 3 ) . Analytically, we observe the components of (i) argument function D 0 > 1 0 and (ii) person reference 3 > 1, 2 for ILLUM MIHI vs. the changed orders (i') IO>DO and (ii') 1, 2 > 3 for MIHI ILLUM. The actual change in (i) or (ii) does not correspond to a single ordering switch, but to a protracted and distributed rearrangement of the individual clusters of pronouns over 300 years. Cata-

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lan ended up with a consistent switch ultimately corresponding to a believable system of type MIHI ILLUM, while French now exhibits an in-between version where I 0 > D 0 does not hold for the cluster of two 3PS clitics (2) (Kok 1985: 131-152,366-395). (2) a. Pourquoi tu la leur as donnee 'Why did you give it to them?' b. Je vais te le dire apres. 'I'll tell you later.'

i.e. '3s F DO - 3P10' i.e. '2S (10) - 3S Μ DO'

In Old French, both clusters had a consistent order D 0 > 1 0 as la lur (unchanged into the modern language (2a)) and le te (changed in (2b)). Italian ended up with a complex overall ordering of its clitics containing many pairings that do not fit into any comprehensive type (Wanner 1977, 2000). Neither of the two ordering solutions ILLUM MIHI and MIHI ILLUM, and even less so any of the component restrictions (e.g. Fr. la me vs. me la) is a priori preferred over the other, but the observed outcome typically admits only one order in a given linguistic phase.127 The [PRECEDENCE] specification one way or the other is not more than a mechanical necessity of linearity, implying that a choice will always be arbitrary, hence also mutable in diachrony. As for any other type of change, the linguistic practice may go through phases of variability, even though this is rarer with clitic clusters. Nevertheless, the transition from ILLUM MIHI to MIHI ILLUM for any given clitic cluster can be observed as alternating. Such a situation obtains e.g. in the mid-14th c. Italian prose of the Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. Here the formal option of lo mi vs. me lo may even be exploited for subtle stylistic marking (Aski 2004).128

7.2.1.5.

Amalgamation

Following the implications of phonological metathesis, the requirement of linearity may be abandoned for exploratory purposes. The two elements of /a-b/ could be superimposed as a transitional step, perhaps even partially, and thus gradually change position. In the simplest case, this yields the schematic development in (3). (3)

a. /a-b/ strict linearity b. /{a, b}/P superimposition at point P, no linearity implied c. /b-a/ linearization with inverted precedence due to reanalysis

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From a phonological perspective, the phonetic content corresponding to two segments /a/ and /b/ competes for the same local point Ρ in the chain. If the normal linearized realization /a-b/ (3a) encounters difficulties for some reason, superimposition resulting in an amalgam preserves the essential elements, /{a, b}/p (3b) and may then also appear in a secondary linearization /b-a/p (3c). This can be illustrated in the Medieval Castilian phonological solutions for CAP'ITULU including cabidlo (/dl/ = /a-b/ = (3a)), cabi[A]o ([A] = {a, b} = (3b)) and cabildo (/Id/ = /b-a/ = (3c)), all with the meaning '(ecclesiastic) chapter; city hall, government' (Wanner 1 9 8 9 ) . The cluster /dl/, resulting from otherwise regular post-tonic non-final syncope and stop voicing, is marginal for Castilian and thus subject to alternate remedies (Penny 2 0 0 2 : 8 9 ) . In this way, the change in linear precedence is a mediate consequence of the amalgamated phonological constellation and subsequent reanalysis. The clitic cluster change discussed in the preceding section does not only contain clear cases of order switch from ILLUM MIHI to MIHI ILLUM, e.g. MedFr. le me (old order) and me le (new order) for 'IS + 3S Μ DO', but also occasional superimpositions. The combination of les me!me les ' 1 S + 3 P DO' also takes on the amalgamated version mes, attested mainly in Old Picard documents (NE France), combining the elements into a monomorphemic item. 129 Similarly, for Medieval Tuscan with the ordering DO>LO, the combination '3 DO+3 10' yields Uli and lele containing (g)li '3 Μ 10' or le '3 F 10', perhaps also li, '3P Μ DO' or le '3P F DO'. These combinations represent morphologically undifferentiated clusters only encoding some masculine or feminine reference for lili and lele respectively. These are clear instances of amalgams (Castellani 1 9 5 2 . 1 : 8 9 ) , later on dissolved into their inverted order IO>DO with fuller morphological marking as glielo, gliela, glieli, gliele for '3 10+3 DO S M/P M/S F/P F'. This happens at the point when the I 0 > D 0 order becomes prevalent in the other clusters (Wanner 1 9 7 4 ) . Superimposition of functions provides an additional means of effecting an order switch under [PRECEDENCE], resulting in an intermediate lexical amalgam that will eventually be relinearized, under preservation of the component meanings, but with an exchanged precedence relation. 7.2.1.6.

Function

The order switch in clitic clusters does not seem to project any broader significance for the language, paralleling the arbitrariness of the original Late Latin variation between ILLUM MIHI and MIHI ILLUM. Instead of simply

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driving out one of the competing variants, a more marked option within the social practice of language can also preserve the two solutions by functionalizing each one in a unique way. Something to this effect may be at the source of the modern French contrast between the preverbal clitic order, e.g. me le vs. its postverbal variant le-moi: tu me le rendras demain le parapluie 'you can give me the umbrella back tomorrow' vs. rends-le-moi ce parapluie, j'en ai besoin maintenant 'return the umbrella to me now (lit. return it to me now the umbrella), I need it now!'. The difference in [PRECEDENCE] value remains confined to an aspect internal to clitic behavior, potentially enhancing the perceptual salience of the two contexts. Other cases of precedence election show a more direct correlation between order and function, where a change in [PRECEDENCE] value is functionalized by other dimensions. The major typological changes in word order, e.g. from a Latin SOVX to Romance SVO, fall on the side of evident functionality, specifically affected by the discourse organization of [DYNAMICS]. If this broad development actually forms a coherent incidence of change, and if the various order types are independently motivated, its mechanism cannot just be attributed to [PRECEDENCE] alone. The crucial change is a switch from /COMPLEMENTS/ (COMPLEMENT = direct, indirect, oblique objects) to its opposite /V>COMPLEMENT/ (see Vennemann 1973). As argued elsewhere (Wanner 1987: Ch. 8), the shift exploits an existing syntactic pattern well established in the non-strict verb-final SOVX syntax of Latin: placing a focused complement to the right of the otherwise final verb under license by a relevant entry of [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]. The ensuing leftward drift of the verb produces the medieval, and later on modern conditions of the initial, verb-second, or post-initial predicate characteristic for the SVO pattern.130 In such a case, the change in [PRECEDENCE] specification is prominently visible across time, yet it only records the development rather than driving it.

7.2.1.7.

The diachrony

of [PRECEDENCE] again

A change in specification of [PRECEDENCE] may be of the apparently metathetic type if the sequenced elements are of reduced significance, as in the clitic clusters. Otherwise, the reordering is predicted to depend on some other independent change provoking a secondary, epiphenomenal alteration of linear order. In spite of the holistic nature of linearity, changes in [PRECEDENCE] specification do occur, and they are gradual and necessarily mediated by implementation conditions. The co-presence of contrasting

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alternants allows the forces of social diffusion to produce patterns of increasing polarization and eventually of a (near-)unique solution. The simple ordering switch, so temptingly showcased by an isolated dimension controlling precedence, is not an option by itself. The observed linear order of a given construction strongly imprints itself by reproduction in the outcome of first-language acquisition. Its unequivocal form and perceptual strength thus pushes it out of the range of willful interference and locks it into straightforward reproduction, unless some other, functional condition licenses the dissolution and free reconstitution of the linear arrangement. [PRECEDENCE] dominates much of the manifest linguistic form, but it is not a historical player of importance. It is heavily conditioned, and only in the metathetic limit cases is it directly involved in defining alternate linearizations. We thus continue looking for the main forces and dimensions producing the commonly observed diachronic changes.

7.2.2.

[COHESION]

7.2.2.1. General properties In contrast to precedence, [COHESION] is by nature a gradual concept, marking degrees of relative cohesion, and thus of complementary separation between two elements or categories a, b. Beyond an individually defined threshold of type "significant", these relations are symbolized by "+" and "I" in the analytic representation: /a+b/ and /a I b/ (see 6.3.3.2.). The fundamental effect of [COHESION] is to establish a chunking that articulates a string into constituents, since [COHESION] defines edges, i.e. non-cohesion, as well as necessary continuity and contiguity in between the edges. Certain word classes, e.g. prepositions, determiners, and complementizers, partake of both effects, possessing pronounced cohesiveness towards the right of the chain, as well as clear left-edge properties defining the beginning of a (functionally, and thus possibly structurally) coherent stretch of the chain. The symbols "+", "I" do no more than express a standard strength of bonding or cleaving (as near-polar values). Cohesiveness, or separation, may not uniformly be assigned to a given word class or specific lexical grouping. The dimension's value is rather a function of the context of a construction (captured by [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]) in which an item is found. From a diachronic perspective, [COHESION] is prone to varying in its specific value along a strength dimension, to reach new "+" or "I" effects for a linguistic individual and potentially for the relevant social group af-

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fected by the usual diffusion mechanisms. The inherent gradualness of [COHESION] as a dimension thus combines with the externally generated variability stemming from implementation conditions. In linguistic reality, the constituent bond operated by [COHESION] is expected to produce less than categorical results as well as sufficiently matured bonds close to full regularity.

7.2.2.2. Constituent creation through

[COHESION]

The prevalent diachronic effect of [COHESION] is innovation through the creation of new constituents, starting out from simple juxtapositions of elements. Due to the automatic contiguity between items in the chain, there is an inexhaustible reservoir of potential bonding through cohesion of forms. The necessary motivation through functionality (constituent or constructional meaning added to the lexical materials) controls the emergence of cohesion bonds that become interpretable for the linguistic individual and thereby may have a chance of social diffusion. Increasing strength of the bond between two items a, b (schematically) gives them over time a potential identity as a unit of type c; see (4). (4)

a. a-b

juxtaposition (linearized)

b. a+b

e f f e c t i v e bond by [COHESION] (potentially /[a]+[b]/ D with another f u n c t i o n D; s e e ( c ) )

c. /[a]+[b]/ c constituent of type C, identified through [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], variably effective; alternating with free /a/-/b/ without [COHESION | (see (a)) and/or bonded /a+b/ with an accidental function D different from systematic C (see (b)) d. [a+b] c categorical constituent formation (relegation of options (a), (b) to this configuration) Analogy plays its crucial role in the consolidation of the constituent nature, leading the tentative arrangement from variability (4c) to eventual regularity (4d). This categorical terminal point need not be reached, producing enduring variability in specific constructions at stage (4c). The transitions between the various stages of (4) are fluid (consider also the vagueness between (b) and (c)). Increased bonding may be perceived by the individual at unpredictable stages of cohesion; if it takes place, it is an individual, subjective form of reanalysis. Due to the gradualness of a [COHESION]

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bond and the variable implementation through the POWER specification characterizing an individual's practice, the less-than-categorical realization of such a (potential) constituent does not amount to an intractable decision problem in the immanent perspective. Over time, the effect of an increase in [COHESION] strength leads to structural innovation, i.e. a new constituent, based on functional criteria (expressing a chunk of meaning coded in a [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] item). The assimilating power of analogy, progressively augmented by its previous operation in a feedback loop, increases the affected domain of bonding in terms of applicable strings, regularity of occurrence, and acceptability in language practice. The frequency effect within the analogical set defines the constant, but resistible trend toward formal closure (i.e. the continually available random-choice option). This vector may bring about an exclusive constituent bond, typically with a stable meaning core, turning it into a case of [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]. The computational simulations discussed above (see 5.3.2., 5.3.3.; Culicover and Nowak 2003) make plausible that this kind of progressive accumulation of structure around a core can take place through realistic computation (limited time, resources, and input), assuming that the linguistic individual has access to at least some part of the meaning. Adult language practice, still based on analogical extension for the determination of forms and constituent classification, will continue to develop in a natural way toward closure without necessarily reaching categorical status. For the novice learner, the observed degree of regularity in adult production regarding [COHESION] for /a-b/ (constant contiguity and correlating meaning effect) provides the model for acquiring identifiable constituent bonds and corresponding items of [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]. The analogical force prominently operative in acquisition may at the same time extend the domain and/or level of such a bond and the lexical inclusiveness of an implicated construction. Since there is no automatic need for completion, the undecided in-between states creating difficulties in non-analogical approaches cannot affect this analysis.

7.2.2.3. A privileged

dimension

The examples to be considered here make it clear that [COHESION] is indeed a dimension of privileged diachronic relevance. It accurately describes some of the major changes characterizing e.g. the (morpho-)syntactic development between Latin and the Romance languages (see Wanner 2001b): complex prepositions (e.g. It. dopo 'after' < DE POST 'of after'), conjunc-

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tions (perche 'why' < PER QUID 'for what'), and adverbs (domani 'tomorrow' < DE MANE 'of early'), compound tenses (/AUX+PPL/V, or [hanno scritto]v. 'they have written' < [HABEUNT]V [SCRIPTUM] N 'they have as a written communication/object)'), future and conditional formations (/INF+AUX/V troverä 's/he will find' < trovar(e)+ha 'to find+s/he has', chiederebbero 'they would ask' < chieder(e)+ebbero 'to ask+they had'), development of articles at the edge of a NP (/a/la/ is complete by the time of the first Romance attestations, while the degree of strict bonding between pronoun and anchor is not (Rivero 1986; Wanner 1996). In Portuguese and medieval Spanish, such "clitic" pronouns occur in two varieties regarding [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], but with the same [COHESION] value / { C L + V } / v · , i.e. verb anchoring, and / X 1 P + C L / x , i.e. Second Position anchoring. 133 Both [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entries originate from simple juxtaposition due to independent forces shaping the string constellation. A considerably hedged Latin [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entry placed prosodically and deictically weak items, including so-called enclitics (referred to here as "CL"), in second position: / X 1 P + C L . . . / , i.e. Wackernagel's law (1892). Downgraded deictics (proto-clitics of Romance) must have approached this position gradually and passively by the shift of full NP arguments to the right of the predicate and their own persistence in a position of low-deixis. Alternatively, they could have fallen under a positive Wackernagel attraction into second position. In either manner, they ended up toward the left periphery of the clause. At the same time, the verb also shifted leftward by the dynamically conditioned extraposition of full non-subject arguments to the right. This resulted in frequent and typical strings / X 1 P - C L - V . . . / and / V 1 P - C L - . . . / , permitting the CL to acquire bonding by juxtaposition with X1P and/or V1P in first position. The ambiguous constellation potentially licensed reanalysis as /CL+V/, and/or /V+CL/, reinforced by the [DEPENDENCE] value from subcategorization, since clitics stand for immediate verbal arguments. 134 Alternatively, the still reconstructible [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] for second position also became relevant /x 1P +CL.../. Most documented medieval Romance languages ended up with the verb-based interpretations only, while minimally medieval Spanish and medieval to modern Portuguese under certain conditions retain the second-position option as a minor alternative. The variability in these two languages corresponds to a classical IMPLEMENTATION specification with 135 POWER and STRING conditioning. In the further historical evolution, the apparently more difficult option of second position as the minority solution was eliminated everywhere (except for remnants in modern European Portuguese) by the base-line mechanism of social competition and marginalization of a minor option by the majority solution (see also 7.2.3.2. below).

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The standard diagnosis of cliticness for the pronouns as representing a different category qua clitics creates considerable difficulties for a systematic account.136 The usual questions are difficult to answer: where the dividing line of category pertinence falls, what the formal content of cliticness could be across languages, and how it relates to different bonding situations (Zwicky 1985). The Soft Syntax approach avoids the obstacle, since the [COHESION] link predicated on the pronoun is scalar in its two dimensions (inherently and by implementation). In addition, the linearization question (relevant for the verb-based anchoring of the clitic pronouns) is regulated by independent specification under [PRECEDENCE]. Beyond the high degree of [COHESION] between a weak object pronoun and its lexically specified syntactic anchor, there is no special clitic status available. The relevant syntactic effect resides in the applicable [DEPENDENCE] links establishing the subcategorization features of these predicates, as well as in the set of [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entries combining weak object pronouns with verbs. The essential insight for the diachronic implications of [COHESION] is the recognition that the scalar increase in bonding derives from a null hypothesis about syntactic chunking, if meaning is available as a guiding principle; this is reflected in part by the contributions of [DEPENDENCE] and [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]). The pervasively observed "transitional" conditions of variability, double options, and incomplete generalizations derive directly from the content and implementation of [COHESION] as the main dimension in question here. In addition to the strong standardization and written elaboration of the modern Romance languages, their advanced chronological state in continuous development since the Middle Ages accounts for the rather strictly regulated modern conditions. Notice however that these do not necessarily correspond to convincing results of formal organization, as illustrated by the Italian and Spanish linearization of object clitic pronouns with the verb dependent on the morphosyntactic identity of the verb form, i.e. a hybrid solution regulating syntax by morphology (Ramsden 1963; see 5.4.4.).

7.2.2.6. Compound tenses A simple case of progressive strength of [COHESION], reaching different levels in different languages, regards the compound tense form. This basically Romance innovation depends on a generalized entry I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]: / V A U X i T N S ( i ) - V P P L / 'V, tense (i-l)VI attributing

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to the constellation a tense reference anterior to the tense of the auxiliary.137 The function of [COHESION] is to bind the two elements AUX and V together without intervening material, or only admitting highly limited materials, depending on the language. This yields a modified I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]: /vAUX+(X,)+VppL/ 'V, tense (i-l)'l, where Xj receives lexical specification (under STRING) as a possible negative lexical element in Italian and French (e.g. Fr. jamais 'never', adverbs, e.g. Fr. bien 'well', toujours 'always'). However, Spanish essentially has X( = 0, i.e. the simpler I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]: / V A U X - V P P L / 'V, tense ( i - l ) ' l . Two separate and limited Latin constructions provide the background for the Romance formation. The perfective passive (5a) was an auxiliated form of the perfect passive participle already with anterior tense reference as in Romance. It applied to transitive predicates in the passive, to reflexive/medial uses, as well as to deponent verbs (all with passive morphology).138 In addition, a participial small clause (5b) as the DO of HABERE interprets the anterior action of a transitive verb as a result. (5) a. interfectus eraiirnpfindact 'he had been killed' b. [litteras scriptas] habeo = / [ Ν Ρ ] ^ V/ letters a c c f p l

written a c c f p i

have-3S-PRES

Ί have a letter (that is) finished' > Ί wrote/have written a letter' 139 The auxiliated construction (5a) continues to expand to intransitive predicates (mediated by the deponentia) abandoning its passive and continuing only the function of anteriority. The [COHESION] factpr increases in parallel with the (proto-)Romance constitution of contiguous main constituents (V', NP, etc.). The small-clause configuration (5b) gains in protoRomance in terms of frequency and normalcy, extending to situations that did not imply physical result alone, e.g. cognitum habere 'to have an understanding, to have knowledge (i.e. from having understood)'. The passive result meaning eventually became secondary to the anterior time reference of the underlying action. Again in this construction, strength of [COHESION] increased between participle and auxiliary in the standard Romance internal contiguity of elements in constituents. In the medieval Romance languages as well as in some modern idioms (French, Italian), two related [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entries coexist with the roughly same meaning of anterior tense (compared to the tense expressed on the auxiliary), divided by their reference to the two auxiliary verbs ESSE 'to be' (6a) vs. HABERE 'to have' (6b). The distribution of the auxiliaries is determined on the basis of semantic traits of the predicates and/or constructions (see 7.2.4.4.).

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(6) a. Italian unaccusative, reflexive/reciprocal V meanings/constructions: es sere 'to be' siamo passati davanti al castello be-lP pass-PPL-M-PL before to-the castle ' W e passed in front of the castle.' ci siamo trovati proprio bene 1P-REFL be-lP find-PPL-M-P really well ' We were really at ease there.' b. Italian transitive, most intransitive (unergative) verbs: avere 'to have' Γ abbiamo trovato con facilitä it have-1Ρ find-PPL-M-S with ease ' W e found it easily.' These originally separate [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] records combined into a single super-construction based on the identity of time reference and the complementarity of applicable semantic verb classes as they form a coherent compound tense pattern with anterior time reference. This yields the current present, past, future, and conditional perfect forms (7) of Italian (trovare 'to f i n d \ p a r t i r e 'to leave', 3S). (7) a. ha trovato e partita b. aveva trovato era partita c. avrä trovato sard partita d. avrebbe trovato sarebbe partita

present perfect (AUX = present; SUBJ: che abbia trovato) id. (SUBJ: che sia partita, both with SU-PPL agreement in F) pluperfect (AUX = imperfect; SUBJ: che avesse trovato) id. (also SUBJ: che fosse partita) future perfect (AUX = future) id. conditional perfect (aux = conditional) id.

Since the construction has a syntactic identity resting on the combination of auxiliary with participle, [COHESION] should become prominent for the constitution of a unified constellation. This is etymologically given for the ESSE-type construction, while it requires reanalysis for the HABERE compounds, from [Vp[sc litteras scriptas] habeo v ] to [ VP litteras [ v scriptas habeo]] (Salvi 1987). At this point, the double entry for the two auxiliaries, with the corresponding syntactic annotations under STRING for subject or

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object agreement of the past participle (ESSE vs. HABERE type), gave way in some languages (e.g. Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese) to a single auxiliary of the HABERE type. This is due to analogical pressure under the pluralitychoice rule; HABERE perfects are lexically much more frequent since the medieval Romance languages. The looser double form of the configuration in French or Italian permits optional lexical material to intervene between the auxiliary and the participle (8a). Significantly, the unified version of e.g. Spanish and Portuguese restricts this option to near-zero (8b). ( 8 ) a. I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]: /V A ux(i)+(Xj + ) V P P L / v 'tense(V) = anterior t o tense A U X ( i ) 'l Xj = ( l i s t o f p e r m i s s i b l e i t e m s , structures) b. I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]:

v PPL / v 'tense(v) = anterior to tense AUX 'l Xj =(list of permissible items)

/vAUX+(Xj+)

o c c u r r e n c e o f X q u a l i f i e d as rare under STRING

The change from ( 8 a ) to ( 8 b ) is a direct expression of increased [COHESION] that seems to go in parallel with the unitary nature of [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] for the constellation, i.e. parallel to the reduction of auxiliary choice. The effect of this tightening is gradual and does not reach a clearly categorical status in Spanish or Portuguese, but much more closely approaches it in French or Italian.140 The example illustrates the interplay between the inherent strength of association expressed by [COHESION] (the kind, weight, and diversity of items admitted in between the two terms, i.e. Xj) and its IMPLEMENTATION aspect of POWER (the normalcy of finding the

two terms in actual contiguity). In one more aspect, the compound tense constructions show differentiation in [COHESION] across languages. The duplex version with operative auxiliary choice retains traces of the small-clause origin of the HABERE type in the form of a number/gender agreement between the participle as the lexical verb and certain direct objects (It. non leD0fpl=i ho piii vistefpi=i Ί did not see them again'). The nearly-regular constituent consisting of an auxiliary and a past participle can more easily be split by extraneous material in French and Italian, implying that these languages have a less than categorical [COHESION] value for the combination, yet still stable [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] specifications, giving the looser string a strict functional definition (8a). Each individual trait of such a construction may be categorically implemented or show some variability; the overall function remains identical.

Syntactic dimensions and change

7.2.2.7.

223

Correlations

These sketchy examples illustrate that Soft Syntax dimensions interact, usually in a cooperative way. [COHESION] and [PRECEDENCE] feed each other, since increased [COHESION] depends on a stably repeated string obeying a [PRECEDENCE] specification for the { V , C L } combination (see 2.2.5 above).141 Through high incidence, accidental juxtapositions can develop into cohesive strings with [COHESION] and [PRECEDENCE] values. The subcategorization aspect [DEPENDENCE] acts as a major reinforcement of the [COHESION] dimension, giving such a string a schematic semantic foundation (e.g. underlying the PPL-DO agreement in compound tenses; see 7.2.2.6 above). The result of this convergence is the emergence of a [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] record as soon as the meaning associated with a coherent given combination and order of elements represents a recurrent event ready to be captured by the linguistic individual. The historical trajectories depend on the free constitution of a [COHESION] bond of some significance that will eventually be licensed through [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]. In this sense, the two dimensions studied here at length are fundamental for diachrony, but in different ways. [COHESION] creates new opportunities, while [PRECEDENCE] encodes a standard linear form for the new bonds. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] has a straightforward role in this picture, since it records what has emerged and makes it available for analogical extension as a construction. [DEPENDENCE] and [CONCATENATION] belong to the diachronically rather stable domain more strongly tied to semantic functionality, while [AGREEMENT] is a more peripheral formal underpinning of the constituency created by [COHESION].

7.2.3. 7.2.3.1.

[DEPENDENCE]

Diachronicpotential

is the third dimension, together with [COHESION] and [PRECEDENCE] for organizing the linear chain into an object appropriate for cognitive representation and manipulation by the linguistic individual (see 6.3.3.3.). Where [COHESION] registers the closeness of two contiguous items /a+b/ and [PRECEDENCE] establishes the linear sequence between two items /a>b/, [DEPENDENCE] gives these related terms a classificatory identity as a word or constituent of functional/semantic import / a ^ b / c . [DEPENDENCE]

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is the basic diachronic charge, with its continual creation of new bonding options from juxtapositions. [ D E P E N D E N C E ] c o m e s into play secondarily by transforming the chance contiguity and raised cohesion into a structured unit, a word, a constituent or a complex head-plus-argument(s) configuration. In this sense, [ D E P E N D E N C E ] f o l l o w s the emerging trends of [ C O H E S I O N ] and gives them a hierarchical interpretation based on their relationship. An article may thus add features of nominal determination (specificity, definiteness, etc.) to a nominal head, depending on the head for its actual content; it represents an overall modification of this head. This configuration came into being as a historical innovation in the Romance languages in the specific form of a definite and indefinite articles, a category that is absent from Latin. But in a broader sense, the same type of dependence already existed in Latin between other determiners (quantifiers, demonstratives, etc.) and a nominal. This kind of dependence was thus not new, but received a significant extension through the analogical incorporation of the downgraded erstwhile deictic as a more neutral determiner, i.e. an article. The ensuing codification I [ C O N S T R U C T I O N A L I D E N T I T Y ] : / A R T < ^ N ( P ) / n p 'low-deixis determination of NP'I was eventually able to associate itself with the preexisting constructions of type I / D E M < = > N ( P ) / n p 'deictic determination of NP'I, L / Q U A N T « ^ ( P ) / ^ 'quantification of NP'I etc. into a broader type L / D E T ^ N I P ) / , ^ 'determination/quantification of N P ' I . The speed of integration for these associations is not set, but by the logic of the analogical forces determining language in synchrony as well as diachrony, the broad [ C O N S T R U C T I O N A L I D E N T I T Y ] entry / D E T < J > N ( P ) / n p is expected to arise over time from the more specific subentries. It is propelled by the constant operation of assimilating analogy running from one token or type to contiguous other tokens or types, regardless of the aleatory success rate of such assimilations. [COHESION]

The nature of [ D E P E N D E N C E ] relations is narrowly limited due to the fact that they all respond to the single model of a head-argument arrangement, where one or more elements are in s o m e sense determined and constrained by a controlling unit. Virtually any language will possess the majority of such categories as active constructions. The types of [ D E P E N D E N C E ] relations represent a set as close to universal status as the material variety of languages will allow. In diachronic terms, change is not expected to affect the relationship as such (its degree and form). The observed developments will rather be found in specific attributions of dependence function to a given constituent, as in the historical development of subcategorization frames (see 6.3.3.3.2. above).

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Diachronically, [DEPENDENCE] cannot be expected to provide much variety. Where a new type manages to implant itself in an evolution, the effect of [DEPENDENCE] can immediately be recognized as secondary, ensuing from a successful new constitutive bond under [COHESION], With its analogical consolidation and social extension, the identification of a [DEPENDENCE] function consecrates the [COHESION] bond and adapts it as a construction, either preexisting or new, recorded through [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]. Since [DEPENDENCE] is reactive (to [COHESION]) and classificatory in its effect based on the severely limited range of available dependence relations, the diachronic contributions of [DEPENDENCE] must be secondary. This dimension is indeed non-scalar, dichotomously distinguishing between the existence and the non-existence of a dependence relation. The implementation conditions may hedge this binarity with the usual POWER slope and variability in DISTRIBUTION, here especially with regard to the standard social dispersion. Since [DEPENDENCE] does not have natural scalarity, it cannot lead the way in historical developments for reasons of formal continuity and appropriate modeling of existing practice. The diachronic mobility associated with the range of constructions of a language rather belongs to [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], a dimension that is largely based on [DEPENDENCE]-defined components. Seen in this way, [DEPENDENCE] is the binary substrate in the establishment of hierarchical syntactic structure, enabling the freer dimension of [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] to subsequently elevate more frequent types to licensed configurations. This is not unlike the two-step relationship between [PRECEDENCE] as the dichotomous substrate for scalar [COHESION] on the level of linear organization. The linear organization provided by the conjunction of [PRECEDENCE] and [COHESION] informs the hierarchical constellation of [DEPENDENCE] plus [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]. The balanced disposition of constituting forces indicates that the interface between the dimensions of Soft Syntax privileges an unconstrained interaction of complementary forces shaping language in consonance with the open-ended cognitive constitution of the linguistic individual.

7.2.3.2.

Formal [DEPENDENCE] or the governance

of clitics

As a case study for the formal aspect of [DEPENDENCE], consider the medieval Castilian object clitic elements. 142 They form a construction with the V of their clause in the majority of all cases (9a), but in certain contexts

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they involve a position rather than a category, i.e. when the clitic appears in so-called Second Position (P2) in (9b). (9) a. que esto es cosa que no uos guardaredes della that this is thing that NEG you protect-2P-FUT of-it 'that this is something which you cannot avoid' (Poridat de Poridades fl4v43, 13th c.) b. q es enuidioso & que uos no teme that be-3S envious and that you NEG fear-3S 'that he is jealous and that he does not fear you' (fl8vl.51) The [DEPENDENCE] specifications for these alternate options (in the given context) require a subcategorization for (9a) in which the clitic is seen as an argument of V in semantic terms and in its string dependence (10a), whereas for (9b), a split argumental dependence on V and a string reliance on the clause may be appropriate (10b). ( 1 0 ) a. I [DEPENDENCE]: {V, ARG*}I and I [DEPENDENCE]: {V, CL} D [COHESION];, [PRECEDENCE]^ I [COHESION];: {V+CL}I

and

I [PRECEDENCE]^ 2 : / V>CL/, /CL>V/I b. I [DEPENDENCE]: {V,ARG*}I and

I [COHESION]: /Pl+CL/I and I [PRECEDENCE]: X>CLl

The first [DEPENDENCE] statement in (10a) generally establishes the dependence between a predicate and its argument(s), while the second one is clitic-specific and declares the V as the head for dependent clitics. Together, the two dependence relations anchor the clitic to the verb for lexical-semantic reasons. The second [DEPENDENCE] statement in (10a) de facto also implies two specific [COHESION] and [PRECEDENCE] determinations, i.e. the [COHESION] of V and clitic typical of (nearly all) Romance languages, and the concomitant linearization conditions expressed as a double option of [PRECEDENCE] for preverbal vs. postverbal instances (not further differentiated here). Specifics about these variants would be found in the structural line STRING of the implementation conditions. They yield an equivalent case of the syntactic Tobler-Mussafia regulation in the medieval language (i.e. no clause-initial clitics, or */[s CL-.../), or of the modern situation depending on the morphosyntactic identity of the verb form. The second option (10b) contains the same basic [DEPENDENCE] for argu-

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111

ment status relative to a head V, but it does not exhibit the second [DEPENDENCE] condition of (10a). Instead, the [COHESION] statement attaches the clitic to some first position (PI) item (however this may be defined in a given language), and [PRECEDENCE] assures enclisis for this clitic. The second [DEPENDENCE] and the [COHESION] link between clitic and ν of (10a) do not hold for this type of clitic arrangement, and in addition, the linearization conditions for this string configuration are much simplified. On the other hand, the set of conditions (10b) is not autonomous, since it always co-occurs in Medieval Spanish with the alternative presence of the verbbased clitic anchoring of (10a). The analogical extension of the array of conditions in (10a) happened at the expense of the alternative (10b). This latter solution was always minoritarian by reason of fewer contexts, presence in fewer individual linguistic repertories, and fewer occurrences in each context except for one specific string type: / C O M P - C L - N E G - X / (9b), where the complementizing element occupies PI. The two options are in point-for-point competition, and the historical trajectory shows a reciprocal relationship. After the initial documented situation (12th and first half of the 13th century) with a very limited occurrence of the P2 version even in the most favored context of (9b), the later 13th century and the first half of the 14th century show an increase of the P2 string to majority status, but only in its few applicable contexts. These contexts form part of the structural implementation conditions STRING for the [COHESION] values under P2, relating the constructions among each other as contextual variants. Analogy then follows the pathway traced in the specifications of (10b). Already in the second half of the 14th century, the pattern of (10a) gains, becomes heavily preponderant, and eventually eliminates the competition by the 15th century (see Wanner 1996). Analogical movement is active first for P2 with regard to increased POWER in the unchanged limited STRING option following a complementizer, thereby necessarily depressing the frequency of verb-based clitics. Later on, the verb-based anchoring of clitics regains vitality even in the preferred contexts for P2 (after complementizer) and causes this secondary principle to decay gradually. This development corresponds to an upward variation in the POWER value for the verb-based STRING conditions under the [DEPENDENCE] specifications shared with P2. What counts are the positive analogical extensions, i.e. the increase in V-based clitic arrangements expanding their regularity to all contexts, while the reductions, here the gradual loss of P2 clitics, are a passive consequence of positive expansion elsewhere.

228

7.2.4. 7.2.4.1.

Chapter

7: Pathways

for diachronic

shifts

[CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]

Interpreting

the string

The central criterion for a [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entry is the stable association of its form with some function or meaning. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] represents a culmination of the subordinate dimensions of [PRECEDENCE], [COHESION], and [DEPENDENCE], As discussed in the preceding, they are progressively more complex and stand in an approximate line of abstraction. [PRECEDENCE] sets linearity (directly displayed); [COHESION] bonds linearly contiguous elements (indirect effect of nonseparability); [DEPENDENCE] puts bonded elements in constructive relationships (indirect functional consequences); and [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] organizes the formal and summarily functional dependencies into configurations with a specific semantic import. Among the string dimensions [PRECEDENCE] and [COHESION], only [COHESION] is naturally scalar, and thus the one to show diachronic movement. Of the two structure-giving devices, [DEPENDENCE] primarily encodes a dichotomous distinction, while [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] records the available constellations and diachronically provides for innovation. A strong characteristic of natural language development is the emergence of new constructions expressing a specific function, i.e. a meaning effect of generalized nature. An example is the creation of compound tenses consisting of /AUX+PPL/, with anterior reference compared to the tense expressed by the auxiliary (see 7.2.2.6.).

7.2.4.2.

Gradualness

and [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]

For [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], the question of its gradualness, i.e. the potential for effective diachronic power, is more complex than for the other three dimensions considered so far. On the one hand, [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] constitutes a dichotomous transition from non-existence to an entry's incorporation into an individual lexicon with a specific effect. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] for compound tenses can have its effect only if it is constituted as such, basically as l/AUX+PPL/ 'anterior tense'l. Before this unpredictable act of reanalysis, the ensuing [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] is not more than a coincidence of contingent [COHESION], [PRECEDENCE], and [DEPENDENCE] effects. While reanalysis necessarily represents an indivisible act, this individual event will also need to find a sufficient social projection to gain acceptance as a feature of the language as prac-

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229

ticed. In this second dimension, [ C O N S T R U C T I O N A L I D E N T I T Y ] is subject to the usual gradualness through social implementation. In a third analogical sense, [ C O N S T R U C T I O N A L I D E N T I T Y ] as a constituted entry with sufficient group diffusion can gain ground by extending its range of S T R I N G relevance (concrete contexts) under I M P L E M E N T A T I O N conditions. Considering this last option for scalarity more closely, the complexity of an entire construction provides multiple opportunities not only through IMP L E M E N T A T I O N constraints, but also due to the gradual display of its constitutive dimensions, i.e. linearization by [ P R E C E D E N C E ] , chunking by [ C O H E S I O N ] , hierarchical dependencies by [ D E P E N D E N C E ] , and beyond syntax, meaning effects. This two-tiered componentiality guarantees a gradual build-up of the construction as a [ C O N S T R U C T I O N A L I D E N T I T Y ] record in spite of the singularity of its constitution. Formal fixation through [ P R E C E D E N C E ] , [ C O H E S I O N ] , and [ D E P E N D E N C E ] is crucial for recognition of its form and thus for its potential acquisition in association with some function or meaning that can be grasped by the learner. The complete [ C O N S T R U C T I O N A L I D E N T I T Y ] entry disposes thus of two form-related domains in which analogy can operate, extensions of string form and of functional classifications. Powered by the fundamental and ubiquitous force of analogy, the progressive integration of similar strings and the broadening of originally restricted meanings amount to a diachronic gradualness in the development of [ C O N S T R U C T I O N A L I D E N T I T Y ] in spite of the punctual nature of reanalysis creating its definitional effect.

7.2.4.3.

Types of development

under [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]

Generally, new constructions coming into prominence in the Romance languages develop from some much more modest original construction by significant extensions rather than representing genuinely new creations. The continuing constructions frequently undergo shifts and redistributions that give them an unexpected new look, e.g. infinitival subordination (causative complementation and predicates of saying), /ART+N'/ n p with regular determination by an article, or the Romance compound tenses. Outright new creation is not a frequent development given the functional binding of form at the core of the dimension of [ C O N S T R U C T I O N A L I D E N T I T Y ] . Central constructions may also remain essentially unchanged, as occurred e.g. with the broad shell for prepositional phrases / P R E P + N P / P P , in spite of several important developments identified with specific prepositions and the projective power of morphosyntactic categories (case agree-

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ment). The [ C O N S T R U C T I O N A L I D E N T I T Y ] dimension of change here concerns mainly the meaning and/or function of a given preposition in its syntactic impact. The use of the directional preposition Lt. AD 'to, toward (destination)' in the function of an 10 marker a starts out from a verb subcategorizing for a beneficiary/recipient usually expressed in the dative case, e.g. nuntiare alicuT 'to tell (to somebody)'. The emerging semantic class equates A D + N P a c c , i.e. nuntiare ad aliquem (for destination/recipient) and NPdat (for beneficiary) with the undifferentiated meaning of 'destination, recipient, beneficiary'. The analogical extension passes through the cases where a destination is no longer relevant, e.g. possession, yielding from Lt. mihi est Ί have (to me is)' the alternant ad me est, then equating A D + N P with a morphological dative (Hofmann and Szantyr 1972: 86, 220). This is pure analogical extension of the meaning impact of a given string based on closely associated meaning effects already present in the language. With the elimination of case inflection, the pan-Romance construction !a+NP/ becomes entrenched as a periphrastic case expression for 10. On the level of a general Latin I [ C O N S T R U C T I O N A L I D E N T I T Y ] : / P R E P + N P / ' P R E P + N P ' I simply adds new instantiations. On the lower level of the construction-specific patterns, la+NP/ as an 10 represents an identifiable innovation, in parallel to other [ C O N S T R U C T I O N A L I D E N T I T Y ] entries for l a + N P / . At the same time, the directional sense remains as a separate entity due to the full transparency of the meaning 'in direction of, to (goal)' for a. In one more variation, [ C O N S T R U C T I O N A L I D E N T I T Y ] also operates at a very concrete level of lexical innovation. A given string, even with fully specific items, may acquire a particular meaning forming an idiomatic expression, e.g. Eng. kick the bucket or Fr. tirer la patte

lit. ' t o pull the paw,

i.e. 'to die (marked in R E G I S T E R ) ' . Diachronically, such frozen items are not important beyond their usually isolated existence once they have come into being. Their origin lies in a lucky constellation of social spread for the (usually single) item, prospering on account of its perceived value (expressivity). Such items typically will not exert any analogical pressure because of their lexical specificity and a noticeable disconnection between meaning and form. No other similar item is likely to exist, so that analogical assimilation rather predictably will fail to expand (a near-empty analogical set).

7.2.4.4.

Autonomous

function

of [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]

[CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] is more than a simple recording device of [PRECEDENCE], [COHESION], and [DEPENDENCE] effects for a given expres-

Syntactic

dimensions

and change

231

sion. It has an independent role through the attribution of function/meaning to these cumulated specifications and the identification of the constellation as an item of higher functionality, e.g. 'compound tense' (see above 7.2.2.6.). Contrasting I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] 'compound anterior tense'I with the independent function I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] 'passive'l, the two very similar form descriptions involving an auxiliary verb and a past participle make it clear that a stabilizing identification for each construction is required; compositional semantics cannot account for their specific identities. The modern string specification for part of the compound tenses, e.g. in French, is !etre+?PLV(X)/, and for the passive !etre+ P P L V ( y ) / , where V x of the compound tenses is an idiosyncratic group of intransitives (unaccusatives) and motion verbs, while V y for the passives refers to transitive predicates. While this discrepancy in applicable predicates seems to be well-founded on independent semantic and constructional grounds, it is not sufficient to differentiate the two functions served by these constructions. The time reference for the compound tenses is anterior to the morphological tense expressed by the auxiliary etre, but for the passive construction, reference time corresponds to the tense expressed by the same auxiliary etre\ ils sont arrives hier 'they arrived yesterday' vs. ils sont eblouis par la soudaine lumiere 'they are (being) blinded by the sudden light'. A third entry I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]: /etre+PPLV(Z) or ADJ W / 'to be in state of PPLV(Z) or ADJW'I may provide the semantic bridge for V z = transitive, inchoative (e.g. eblouir 'to blind') and ADJW = resulting state (e.g. aveugle 'blind', informe 'informed'). In their diachrony, the two constructions for passive and compound tense rest on the single Latin [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] of the anterior passive /PPPL+ESSE/, e.g. interfectus est 'he has been/was murdered', as a perfect or narrative past. The two semantic strains of passive and anteriority separated in their further evolution. In part, deponentia and reflexives led to the elimination of the passive connection (locuta est 'she has spoken/spoke', from loquor Ί speak', only in passive form with active meaning), enabling unaccusatives to join the construction (*venti sunt for venerunt 'they arrived/have arrived'; see Fr. ils sont venus). On the other side, the time reference in the passive underwent a shift away from anteriority connected with the progressive loss of the inflectional passive. 143 This created the modern periphrastic passive with a clearly marked passive form and by default a transparent tense/time reference to the morphological tense of the auxiliary. The minor Latin pattern I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]: /PPPL+ESSE/ 'anterior tense p a s s i v e ' / l experienced extensive shifts in its implementation and organic development of semantic potential. The prominent Romance innovation of the compound

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tenses as a functional category and the formal innovation of a uniform passive expression come from the same preexisting source. This development combines renewal and conservation following associational paths that can be reconstructed after the fact, but that remain unpredictable beforehand.

7.2.4.5. Multiple

solutions for [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]

Differences in linguistic knowledge are a matter of degree. The manner of recording a given construction through [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] may distinguish linguistic individuals according to the economy of representation between a version with multiple [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] items vs. the same information encoded in terms of a single [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] record, but with differentiated CONSTRAINT specifications as part of its IMPLEMENTATION. This is a natural consequence of the fact that linguistic individuals must arrive at their own solutions during acquisition of a factual constellation. Recall the case of the two [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] levels of general /PREP+NP/ and its possible components l/a+NP/ 'ΙΟΊ, Ι/α+ΝΡ/ 'direction, goal'/l, l/a+NP/ 'at (manner)'/!, etc. (section 7.2.4.3. above), or the dual constructions for the compound tenses depending on the identity of the auxiliary verbs and their eventual unification in some languages or individual grammars (see 7.2.2.6. above), but not in others. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] guarantees that any learned aspect in need of recording for the proper interpretation/production of utterances can be a part of an individual's lexicon. The degree of generality is a consideration primarily relevant for the systematizing external perspective. While it seems appropriate to expect the lexical annotation to be as parsimonious as feasible for capturing the phenomenon, nothing more than some marginal savings in memory hinge on this aspect in an analogical approach. The openness of [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] permits multiple representations. The individual [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entries are representations of a diachronic development captured by a linguistic individual through acquisition of environmental language. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] is a crucial aspect of language practice and change, since it permits a tailor-made approach to constructions, from a simple lexical deposit of an idiomatic phrase (tirer la patte) to an incipient construction of broader generality (/as far as+NP/ 'concerning'; see Rickford et al. 1995) and a fully developed string frame (l/AUX+PPL/ 'compound anterior tense'l), always with an assigned functional and/or semantic value. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] represents a pivot of historical development.

Syntactic dimensions and change

233

It is at the center of what can be called syntax in this framework, since macroscopic string form and structure are the consequence of generalized [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] patterns. Together with [COHESION], it is also at the heart of whatever passes for syntactic development. Diachronically, there is not much novelty in emerging constructions given the strong connection between function/meaning and form at this complex level, nor is there unchanged continuity in view of the nondeterministic transmission of linguistic knowledge. The observable conservatism of syntax is the expected result of the conditions under which language is used and learned. The diachronic forces of innovation are located in the strength of association between elements, as captured by [COHESION], and the force combining formal and functional components, i.e. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]. These two dimensions of direct diachronic impact permit analogical forces to shape and reshape the chain and its functions. 144 They account in a natural way for gradual developments, affecting one subgroup after another and extending over measurable, even long periods of time. The many fine-meshed historical descriptions in the literature document such a picture for all (syntactic) dimensions of linguistic activity.

7.2.5.

[AGREEMENT]

The form-related dimension of [AGREEMENT] is ambiguous. On the one hand, it represents a perceptually useful way of marking pertinence or coreference of items belonging to a same constituent or construction, thus reinforcing in linearity the hierarchical bonds of [DEPENDENCE] and [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] (see 6.3.3.3.). In its concrete instantiations, however, [AGREEMENT] is at best a fragmentary support due to the typical inconsistencies of morphophonology denying a straightforward recognition of co-reference. This ideal would require effective processing of all the morpho-lexical idiosyncrasies of the items involved. Instead of a processing simplification to guide more abstract categorizations in acquisition and practice, [AGREEMENT] represents an independent dimension of abstract linguistic properties and reduced significance in the cognitive context.

7.2.5.1.

[AGREEMENT] in diachrony

The prima facie impression of agreement in historical developments is that even a rather systematic version of this marking device has a strong ten-

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shifts

dency to become fragmentary and usually then disappear altogether. Latin case agreement within NPs decayed together with its foundational case category; 145 Romance number agreement is being abandoned in the nominal domain in different languages (essentially complete for French, ongoing for some non-standard forms of Spanish); subject-verb agreement underwent considerable reductions in Northern Italian languages, French and much of its local varieties, spontaneous registers of Brazilian Portuguese, etc.; agreement between the transitive past participle in a compound tense and its direct object has reached a state of fragmentation even in the languages that still observe some form of it (e.g. French, Italian). Such examples indicate that the reason for these reductions stems f r o m conditions independent of [AGREEMENT] itself. Phonological reduction of final f-s/ destroys nominal number agreement in French and Spanish; some verbal number agreement is the victim of a disappearing /-n/ in Spanish and Portuguese local varieties; the Latin case endings in general were reduced by various phonetic processes affecting vowels and consonants (short-vowel lowering, dequantification, loss of /-m/, vocalization/loss of /-s/ in some languages); in addition, much of participle-DO agreement in French is the victim of the disappearance of final /-s/ and /-s/ (or /-0/ in historical times. Other forces are responsible for the reduction of participle-DO agreement in Italian, since the phonetic substrate remains intact in this language (the final vowels expressing gender and number are maintained). The reduction of this agreement pattern to some preceding DOs only (obligatory for 3PS clitic pronouns and relative pronouns, optional or marginal in all other cases) indicates the responsibility of a changed [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] analysis (as in French): only a DO in [COHESION] rapport with the verb stands in the appropriate [AGREEMENT] domain. The essential [COHESION] bond shifts f r o m the pair /participle+DO/ (where DO is a lexical NP in a role subcategorized by the participle) to the unit of /AUX+PPL/ as a verbal constituent excluding the DO. This explains the elimination of this agreement for lexical NPs and its limitation to clitic(-like) elements in an extended [COHESION] relation with the verbal expression: /PRONDO+AUX+PPL/. In addition, the REFERENCE dimension is engaged in the discrimination between 3PS vs. IPS, 2PS in Italian. The confrontation between the Italian and the French reduction in participle-DO agreement indicates that in both languages, syntactic changes in [COHESION] are at work; for French the phonetic reduction of final syllables and in Italian the referential limitations continue chipping away at the validity of [AGREEMENT] for /PPL+DO/. In brief, a number of different forces f r o m phonology and syntax converge (by accident), reducing the options for the effective expression of [AGREEMENT].

Syntactic dimensions and change

235

In language contact resulting in stable creolized languages, [AGREEMENT] is again a dimension that undergoes major reductions if not elimination in its surface manifestation through morphological means. Coreference needs can be fully satisfied by more "analytic" encoding with string-based exposure of functions (pronouns, particles, etc.).

7.2.5.2. Decay

vs. build-up

7.2.5.2.1. Loss of agreement

of

[AGREEMENT]

systems

The surrounding forces indirectly acting on the viability of [AGREEMENT], i.e. phonological erosion and loss of [COHESION], are not sufficient to explain the almost expected reduction and disappearance of visible agreement phenomena across languages. The manifest shape of [AGREEMENT] for the most part accounts for this inherent trait with its widespread irregularities in morphophonology and its syncretic indications of reference and function. The presence of manifestly [AGREEMENT]-marked forms, and others without this property for the same function in a given linguistic phase, subjects these options to spontaneous shifts that will ultimately favor one solution or the other, i.e. full agreement or no agreement. The lack of clear functionality for concordance expressions - due to opacity, redundancy, fragmentation, and arbitrariness - transforms this linguistic device into a burden in the acquisition and processing of language, significantly reducing the likelihood of its functional reconstruction. Languages may maintain less defective and simpler concordance systems over extended periods of time due to the weight of received forms and their partial functionality. While the eventual demise of most agreement patterns appears to reduce available information, this development is not necessarily coupled with any functional loss or, much less, compensation by alternative formal devices. The gradual phonetic elimination of the Spanish nominal plural expression (variable deletion of -s as the designated marker) is not accompanied by any shift in plural projection, 146 not any more so than was the case for the earlier parallel development in French. At the same time, the diachronic trend is not an elimination of number marking in general in these two languages, since other phonetic markers of differential number expression in morphologically irregular pairings (e.g. Sp. el 'DEF ART Μ SG' vs. lo(s) 'DEF ART Μ PL'; pan 'bread Μ SG' vs. pane(s) 'bread Μ PL') may clearly express plurality after the phonetic event.

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As far as the ongoing development of Spanish /-s/ > [-h/0] is concerned, the literature paints an interesting picture of the distribution of the outcomes [s], [h], and [0]: the occurrence of 0 for /s/ tends to harmonize within one NP.147 If the first plural marker of a chain is missing (for whatever reason), the second, third, perhaps even fourth, have a higher chance of also being realized as 0 . In such varieties of Spanish, las casas 'the houses' tends to harmonize as [la0 kasa0] or [lah kasah], rather than [la0 kasah] or [lah kasa0] (Poplack 1980). A similar counter-functional deletion of a presumably crucial morphological marker takes place in Brazilian Portuguese with the loss of final /-n/ in 3P verb forms, more frequently so exactly when the plurality of the subject cannot be derived from subsisting morphological or other information (Naro and Lemle 1976). [AGREEMENT], in spite of its redundancy and minimal informational need, receives here some indirect justification as a dimension. [AGREEMENT] is not really a functional device, rather it may operate as a mechanical process using whatever morphophonological and/or morphosyntactic materials (including defective ones) are at its disposal in the language at a given point. The difficulty of learning fragmentary patterns directly contributes to the additional weakening of the process, where the more frequent outcome is loss of agreement rather than reconstruction of a systematic expression of concordance. Since partially dysfunctional agreement patterns are however steadfastly maintained across innumerable languages, the inertia of received forms may still maintain a local pattern within the immediate rightward scope of a marked form in the chain. This is e.g. the case in the Caribbean Spanish dialects undergoing extensive loss of final /+s/ with unpredictable dispersion of the positive instances of agreement.

7.2.5.2.2. Shoring up a decaying

agreement

system

Such counterfunctional, dysfunctional, and unpredictable agreement patterns help to elucidate the disappearance of [AGREEMENT] expression on a larger scale. Without a counteracting force, languages should all be expected to abandon overt [AGREEMENT] over time. However, the persistence of the phenomenon of concordance is evident, denying the straightforward prediction of inevitable loss. The processes responsible for building up [AGREEMENT] in diachrony can be identified in the same two domains directly involved in its destruction: [COHESION] and morphological constitution dependent on phonological expression. The morphological vector was crucial in the creation of transparent number marking in the majority of

Syntactic dimensions and change

237

Romance languages, i.e. all those that originally preserved Latin final /s/: Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, Sardinian, Occitan, Francoproven$al, French, Rhaeto-Romance. The Spanish data (11) are typical of this language group. (11) a. Ν b. ADJ

FSG(+PL) casa(

Μ SG (+PL) campo(+s)

F/M SG (+PL) F/M SG (+PL) pan(+es) puente(+s)

'house'

'field'

'bridge'

buena(+s)

bueno(+s)

fuerte{+s)

'bread' fdcil(+es)

'easy'

'strong'

'good'

Latin did not mark plural in a consistent way across declensions and case forms. In the elimination of morphological case inflection and its syntactic substitution with prepositional and word-order indications, the surviving forms provided a basis for attributing a plural function to /s/, corresponding to the prevalent case functions of nominative and accusative, with some help from ablative/dative. More marked forms (proparoxytonic -IBUS and heavy genitive endings -ÄRUM/-ÖRUM) fell out of use. In (12), the phonologically compatible forms for Romance derivation are bold-faced. 148 SG NOM ACC ABL

casa+0

SG ACC DAT ABL

campo+0

SG ACC DAT ABL

puente+0

casa casam casä campum campö campö pontem ponti ponte

PL GEN DAT

casae casae

casa+s

ACC casüs

NOM casae

(DAT casts) GEN (ABL casts) PL campo+s

NOM campus GEN campT

ACC campös

NOM pons GEN pontis

NOM pontes ACC pontes

casärum

NOM camp I

(DAT campTs) GEN (ABL campTs) PL puente+s

campörum

GEN pontum DAT ABL

pontibus pontibus

The Romance system of nominal plural marking (11) represents a successful reconstruction in the basic sense of [AGREEMENT]: transparent for form (101 vs. /s/) and function (SG vs. PL), without complications from lexically arbitrary declension classes. The combination of a superior number of applicable forms (in bold) and their core function as subject (nominative), direct object (accusative), and/or object of preposition (accusative, ablative) provided the distributional foundation on which the observed Romance systematization of morphological expression could be accomplished.

238

Chapter 7: Pathways for diachronic shifts

In comparison, the languages where Is/ was lost early in one way or another, Italian and Romanian, developed a surviving system of nominal plural marking, but with many more complications. The morphological materials are vocalic alternations of the endings (e.g. It. singular in -o, -e, > plural in -i; singular in -a > plural in -e if feminine, -i if masculine), special plural morphemes (Rm. prestressed -uri), and gender crossovers (the few Italian and many Romanian epicene nouns Μ SG vs. F PL: It. bracciobraccia 'arm', Rm. timp-timpuri 'time'). In combination with parallel adjectival morphology, the [AGREEMENT] system in these languages (13a) is without any doubt more complex and more expressive (more possible overt gender, number, and class markings) than that of a language like French (13b). This language changed to a prefixal marking of gender and number (mainly with articles), while largely eliminating morphological classes. Modern (European) Portuguese (13c) and (Caribbean) Spanish (13d) represent intermediate steps of morphological complexity. a. Italian

-o F SG-PL -a M/F SG-PL -e Μ SG-F PL -o b. French M/F SG/PL (-0) c. Portuguese M S G - P L -u F SG-PL -3 Μ SG-PL

M/F SG-PL (9)

d. Spanish

-i -e -i -a

-0 F SG-PL -a M/F SG-PL (-e) Μ SG-PL -a

-a

-i)

(-0(2)) -Uj -3/ "β!

Variable Μ SG-PL

(minor:

Caribbean (trend) -o(s/h) -a( s/h ) -e(s/h) -a(s/h)

Μ SG/PL F SG/PL

-o -a

M/F SG/PL (-e) Μ SG/PL

-e

-a

The wide-spread affectation, reduction, possible aspiration, and eventual loss of this final Is/ in French (complete by the 17th c.) and Spanish (ongoing, and only in some varieties) did not and still does not impair precision for number reference in these languages. The fact that all four morphological systems seem to be perfectly operative, from lack of any appreciable [AGREEMENT] effect (French in (13b)) to a full set of non-intuitive ending patterns (Italian in (13a)), classifies [AGREEMENT] as a superficial dimension without crucial function. From the single etymological system of Latin, any one of the four types (13a-d), or even others, could come forth without provoking adaptations in view of the calculable loss of morphosyn-

Syntactic

tactic information. Manifestation of quential. 7.2.5.5. Build-up

of [AGREEMENT]

dimensions

[AGREEMENT]

and change

239

is ultimately inconse-

in syntax

The second pathway for building up a concordance system concerns the creation of constructions involving a functional item expressing morphosyntactic traits of typical [AGREEMENT] relevance: person, number, gender, case, deixis, etc. Concretely, this is what happened in the creation of the Romance articles (14a), in the generalization of prepositions for case relations (14b), in the obligatory subject expression of non-null subject languages (14c), and in the clitic-doubling systems of modern Spanish for DO and 10 (14d). The inherent co-reference of such a functional item with a fuller nominal expression creates an automatic context for the operation of [AGREEMENT]. Minimally, this takes place between the nucleus and the functional item, but may potentially involve all items in the larger nominal constituent. These developments can be understood as the mediate consequence of a positive force connected with [AGREEMENT], thus spelling out a visible rapport of concordance. This is achieved through a functional item of appropriate reference and at the same time through some inherently lexical and/or externally marked morphological indication of the concordance in question. In addition to its referential effect, the development of a Romance article externalizes the number and gender features, originally also case, and it abstracts away from the morphological vagaries of conjugation class (typically not referenced in the determiners). The "new" element is an existing deictic term bound by [COHESION] and [DEPENDENCE]. Its regularized exposition will eventually find a record in [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]. [AGREEMENT] operates originally on the basis of referential identity, later on guided by the constructional property of the NP now including an article. From the historical evidence, it is not unlikely that the article function grew out of a resumptive deictic term referring to an NP and adding to it some kind of determination (definiteness, specificity, etc.) or further description through a secondary relative predication. The emblematic Late Latin example is abbate Macario illo maiore 'from abbot Macarius, that/the old(er) one' (Gamillscheg 1937; Hofmann and Szantyr 1972: 192; Selig 1992). The trajectory thus goes through the steps of: an independent co-referential item (14a), an element bound by [COHESION] (14b), adding a [DEPENDENCE] value and with it a [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] recogni-

240

Chapter 7: Pathways for diachronic

shifts

tion in a stabilized NP structure (14c), all the time under the control of [REFERENCE] for its expression of concordance under [AGREEMENT] (14d). (14) a. [pontem]NHi) bridge

I [ilium]NP(j) that-one 'this bridge'

/[REFERENCE]: i = j/ /[COHESION]: ' T V [REFERENCE]), ο

b. [\pontem]m)

[AGREEMENT],,

+ [i//wm]N(j) ]NP(i) > [{[pontem]m)

+ [illum]m

}]NP(i)

/[REFERENCE]: i = j/ /[COHESION]: " + " /

(no [PRECEDENCE] specification)

/[REFERENCE],, [AGREEMENT] h

c. [[i7/wm]DET(i) + [pontem]m

]NP(i)

I [PRECEDENCE]: /dem > Ν/1

I [dependence]: Ν · « · determination/ ( b y DEM, ART, DET depending on state of development) I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]: /DET + { ( A D J ) + N } / 'NP situated' I d. [[i//Mm]DET(i) + [tertium]AdKi) [[i7/Mra]DET(i) + [pontem]n{i) I [AGREEMENT]:

+ [pontem]^,)]^

'this third bridge'

+ [rtOKKm]Adj(j)]NP(j) 'this new bridge'

[ [ X j + Y j ]COHESION/DEPENDENCE ICONSTR. IDENT. ^

ΦΪ =

ΦΊ'

(φ = features with agreement projection) The sequence of stages in (14) provides a perspective on the vagueness of the so-called definite article regarding actual determination of the NP it modifies. A t least in its origin, this element is added to the NP not for referential purposes, but under the guidance of [AGREEMENT], i.e. as a constructive contribution to the consolidation of the dispersed Latin NP structure. Stylistically, the Gelenkspartikel (Gamillscheg 1937) or articloi'd (Aebischer 1948) belongs to more spontaneous registers and has been postulated for the proto-Romance phase (Hofmann and Szantyr 1972: 191-193) when NP scrambling no longer found broad application, as exemplified in the Peregrinatio ad loca sancta (end of 4th c.; Väänänen 1987). The (pseudo-)demonstrative as a visible anchor corresponds well with typical oral strategies of resumption and raised deixis. If [AGREEMENT] is one of the basic and persistent form dimensions of language as postulated in Soft Syntax (in spite of its apparent dysfunctionality), this dimension finds significant motivation in such an overtly syntactic move that spells out the referential properties. Inflectional morphology is only one option under [AGREEMENT]. Due to the highly historicized condition of inflectional systems, such concordance patterns are perforated by orthogonal phonological

Syntactic dimensions

and change

241

surface distortions, reducing morphological agreement to a less than effective formal option. While the [AGREEMENT]-sponsored syntactic element is dependent for its content on a superordinate nucleus with lexical specification of the φ feature values, the functional element nevertheless appears to anchor the entire construction, e.g. of an NP. In languages with heavily reduced morphological concordance expression, the functional features may still be visible on a determiner. In a final stage, however, no motivation at all will subsist for recognizing an [AGREEMENT] phenomenon, as when in modern English or Classical Arabic the definite article has a single form for all φ values {the, (a)l-). The abstract proposal of the DP structure (first in Abney 1987) concentrates the functional features on a dominating head which is different from the lexical nucleus Ν and which controls the entire NP for morphosyntactic (φ) and referential properties. This hypothesis finds an interesting diachronic parallel in those cases where the determiner is left to express all the φ functions overtly all by itself (e.g. modern French). [AGREEMENT] can thus be comprehended as nothing more than an embarrassment for functionality and efficiency, at least for some privileged period of its emergence. Still, [AGREEMENT] does not have a robust structure necessarily able to maintain transparent conditions of marked co-reference. The inconsequentiality of [AGREEMENT] for the proper functioning of a given language phase must be recognized, pushing this dimension closer to the camp of evolutionary remnants as described in biological evolution.

7.2.5.4. Indirect object clitic reduplication in Spanish Another difficult development receives a natural interpretation in this context. Modern Spanish clitic reduplication can be interpreted as an [AGREEMENT] phenomenon akin to the emergence of a definite article (Heger 1967 on objective conjugation, a topic taken up in many subsequent studies). While the article concerned a formally non-determined NP of basically any syntactic function, clitic reduplication in Spanish only targets IOs and some DOs, and it preferentially applies to determined NPs (see 3.8.2. for a brief synchronic description). It consists of the exposure of a clitic pronoun copy with the relevant φ features of a lexical NP or pronoun within the same simplex clause. This syntacticization of [AGREEMENT] is much more constrained than for the article, since it only marks certain internal arguments of the verb. The status of this [AGREEMENT] process is (as yet?) noncategorical; it differentiates between (a) obligatory reduplication for pronominal IOs and personal pronoun DOs, (b) high frequency of reduplication

242

Chapter 7: Pathways for diachronic shifts

for most other IOs, (c) variable application for definite animate DOs, and (d) typical blockage for other objects. Certain local versions and registers of Spanish (e.g. Rio de la Plata, rural Mexico, child language) know further extensions of the [AGREEMENT] domain, at most even reaching nonanimate specific DO NPs without any echo-effect (of the type lo quiero el caramelo Ί want (lit. [it]) the piece of candy'). Looking beyond Spanish among the Romance languages, Romanian has a standardized [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] for definite DO reduplication without differentiation for animateness (Beyrer et al. 1987). The Spanish development is known to have started slowly in the medieval language, lingering on in the classical period of the 16th and 17th centuries, and accelerating in the most recent historical phase of the 19th and 20th centuries. Modern clitic reduplication expresses an indirect object twice in the clause, once as a syntactically independent lexical or deictic element, and then also in the form of a clitic pronoun on the verb. Its highest incidence pertains to the deictic 10 pronouns, e.g. a el, (15a), usually described as a categorical condition. The lowest rate occurs with inanimate NPs (15c), yet still frequent in an absolute sense. Human referents usually draw a high incidence of such reduplication (15b), but less so than the pronouns (which typically refer to humans).149 Non-deictic pronominal IOs or DOs appear in the sole form of the 10 or DO clitic (15d). The coreferential forms are underlined in the examples. (15) a. *(Le\)

debo

hablar a

el[\ los otros

no

cuentan

CL-IO must-IS speak prep-ΙΟ him the others not count-3P Ί must talk to HIM; the others do not count.'

b. ??(Lej) debo hablar a Maria[; lo sabe ella CL-IO must-Is speak prep-ΙΟ Maria it -know-3s she Ί must talk to Maria; SHE knows (about) it.' c. Deberia hablar-(lei) (L In agenda de viajesj must-lS-COND speak-CL-10 PREP-lothe agency

of

trips

Ί should talk to the travel agency.' d. *(Lei) debo hablar ahora mis mo CL-IO must-Is speak now same Ί must talk to her/him right now.' (16) contains correspondingly numbered illustrations for DO reduplication, with considerably less favorable grammaticality judgments except for the pronoun (16a).

Syntactic dimensions and change

243

(16) a. No *(lot) quiero visitar a me cae muy mal not CL-DO want-Is visit to him me 3s-fall very bad Ί do not want to visit him; I can't stand him.' b. No (?/

Syntactic dimensions

and change

251

*ECCU-ILLA, *ACCU-ILLA for It. quella, Sp. aquella

'that one (F S)'), and placed in left-edge (focus?) position of the NP rather than in internal P2. The mechanical installation of these changes involves variation in direct competition between two formally independent constructions. While -que, -ue enjoyed considerable strength in the classical period, the more explicit alternatives et 'and', ac, atque 'and, but', auf or', siue 'or else' existed alongside the clitics -que and -ue. Example (22a) could also have been expressed as [Ianiculum hostes occupauere]^ et {[obsessa]PPPL [i/rfo]^ fom] S2 ] S 3. They eventually gained the upper hand in the null hypothesis of social diffusion. Preference for the word-level variant (ET, AUT) was due to increased harmony between [CONCATENATION] and

[CONSTRUCTIONAL

IDENTITY], yielding transparency between the syntactic and functional lev-

els. The clitics (21a-c) are known to have receded into marked registers (formal, conservative, etc.) in later Latinity, thereby dropping out of the range of attainable reconstruction in spontaneous first-language acquisition. The diachronic role of [CONCATENATION] in these cases lies in the application of analogical pressure on other aspects of the string constitution to conform to an unmarked transparency between form and function.

7.2.6.4.

Downshifting

If the diachronic potential of [CONCATENATION] includes level shifting, from (pseudo-)subordinate to neutral (coordination) and from neutral to superior (sentence adverbs), the counteracting trend must also be present, since not all language change is exclusively toward elevation of [CONCATENATION] functions. Romance subordination contains an entire series of subordinating elements that transparently consist of an adverb or preposition plus a generic subordinator: Sp. bien que, aun(+)que 'even though', asi que 'so that', desde que 'since'; porque 'because', sin que 'without that'; antes de que 'before', en vez de que 'instead of', etc., and similarly in the other Romance languages. 154 These items function with a [CONCATENATION] value of subordinate, and they coexist in the modern language with their foundational lexical items (adverbs and/or prepositions) in neutral [CONCATENATION] specification. They consequently maintain their formal transparency and semantic compositionality. The origin of these subordinating conjunctions falls within the immediate pre-literary or even early literary phase of the Romance languages. The original Latin conjunctions of equivalent function disappeared as lexical items in the transition to Romance: ut 'that (general complementizer)', cum 'that, because, since, when,

252

Chapter

7: Pathways for diachronic

shifts

although (broad general adverbial conjunction)', quia/quod 'because', postquam 'after', etc., and the new compositions eventually replaced the discarded items. From prepositional/adverbial function with neutral [CONC A T E N A T I O N ] , the new conjunctions shifted downward to subordinating [ C O N C A T E N A T I O N ] operation; see (23). (23)

Spanish

Latin PREP/ADV

a. ante 'before' b. postPREP, P O S T ( E A ) A D V 'after( wards)'

ADV

PREP

antes

antes de antes de+queCOM? +NP, INF +clause pos/despues de despues de+que +NP, INF +clause

pues

CONJ

This kind of Romance conjunction (last column C O N J in (23)) contains two subordinating elements, first a complementizing preposition de connecting the adverb to a complement (typically an NP) and thus creating a preposition (third column P R E P in (23)). The sentential complement of this preposition requires the overt complementizer que generally expressing subordination. The two connectors, antes de, antes de que, are lexically related to antes by way of two [ D E P E N D E N C E ] conditions, each reinforced by [ C O H E S I O N ] . The subordinating I [ C O N S T R U C T I O N A L I D E N T I T Y ] : /S, A D V C O N J J [ . . . [ V , asubjunctive]...] S 2 /'S,+ adjunct S 2 'l may contain clear indications of subordination (e.g. verbal mood). The downshifted [ C O N C A T E N A T I O N ] value occurs in parallel with the form change from preposition to conjunction. It may expand across lexical items by analogy, creating transparent additions to clausal adjunction, i.e. an enrichment in complex description. The history of Romance subordination is directly contained in this broad subordinating shift, since only a generic complementizer, adverbial conjunction, relative marker, and comparative particle /ke/ (a confluence of Q U I D , Q U O D , Q U I A , Q U I ) and the marked adverbial conjunction si 'if, (later also: whether)' were etymologically retained in Romance (Herman 1963; Raible 1991; see 7.2.6.8. below).

7.2.6.5. Relations with morphology and

'analyticity'

Diachronic developments are frequently found in the transition from some function expressed by inflection in the morphological domain to a construction of syntactically more individual items in the chain, i.e. the well-known trend from synthetic to analytic expression. This happened in various in-

Syntactic dimensions

and change

253

stances during the development of Latin itself and further into Romance with regard to articles (N - » /ART+N/), prepositions (N-CASE - * PREP+N/, compound tenses (V /AUX+VPPL/, adjectival/adverbial comparison (ADJCOMP

/ADV C 0 M P +ADJ/), etc. [CONCATENATION: s u b o r d i n a t i o n ] , b r o a d l y

understood as a hierarchical difference between items in a construction, provides a principled account for these changes involving an "externalization" of function. The hierarchical difference concerns not only clausal subordination (its emblematic domain), but also other contexts of modification, primarily inflectional morphology. The relationship between a stem and its inflectional portions effectively subordinates the content of the inflectional portion (the modifier) under the lexical element being modified. This relationship represents the intersection of the existing value [CONCATENATION: subordination] with the setting [DEPENDENCE: modification], together yielding the (syntactic) foundation for inflectional morphology. Diachronically, a Latin form LEG-IBUS (ablative plural) 'because of the laws' contains the features (i) [CONCATENATION: subordination], and (ii) word-internal [DEPENDENCE: modification]: case, number, gender, classl, together engaging [COHESION: morphology]. In addition, an external value (iii) I [DEPENDENCE]: ADJUNCT(cause)l ( l o o s e l y ) c o n n e c t s t h e a r g u m e n t t o

the predicate. The development toward the Romance type with a preposition, e.g. Sp. por (las) leyes, reduces the morphological portion selectively, in the first place affecting the external [DEPENDENCE] bond (the case value) due to its opaque commingling with local NP morphology. This change takes the external [DEPENDENCE] specification of case out of the scope of [CONCATENATION: subordination] and replaces it with the default [CONCATENATION: neutral], since the newly added preposition only requires a non-clausal syntactic complement. This results in the externalization of a morphological specification and its redeployment as an independent syntactic unit, in this case a preposition. In the intermediate phase where both the preposition and a case ending are displayed, the case value of the NP is due to a subsisting lexical case specification on the preposition, both in its individual form and in the shape of a surviving pattern I [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]: /[PREP, aCASE]+[NP, aCASE]/ 'PREP+NP'I. In the transition, the [DEPENDENCE] specification will also become more transparent and make I [DEPENDENCE: complement]: /PREPCOMP/l central for a prepositional phrase. The case portion of the [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entry with a marked, i.e. vacuous [AGREEMENT] link of /aCASE/ will progressively lose currency and relevance. This is an effect of the potential erosion of endings

254

Chapter 7: Pathways for diachronic

shifts

and the systematic use of the preposition, so that case finally fails to be reconstructed in acquisition. The [CONCATENATION] value of subordination, even in the morphological integration of stem plus endings, requires more complex processing compared to flat default structure. With the availability of alternate expressions at a default [CONCATENATION] level, free analogical interaction can be expected to reduce the proportion of more involved morphological processing in favor of syntactically transparent options. The other examples showing syntactic externalization of morphologically expressed functions follow a comparable line of explanation. The newly systematized Romance compound tenses carry the syntactic projection of anteriority to its conclusion when the external [DEPENDENCE] relation between (proto-)auxiliary and participle constitutes its own [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] with a dedicated function. This represents a progressive line (in an external perspective), reducing reliance on inflectional morphology deriving from the complex interaction of [DEPENDENCE: modification] and [CONCATENATION: subordination]. In fact, the morphological model, especially through its basic condition [COHESION: morphology], remains available for many other cases. It must therefore be expected to also find application in innovative contexts, convincingly demonstrated by the formation of the new Romance future and conditional tenses that became ending-inflected verb forms through effective amalgamation.

7.2.6.6.

Creation of a Romance future

While shifting from a syntactic relationship of [CONCATENATION: subordination], a Latin obligative construction l/VINF-HABEO/ 'to have to V, to be ready to V'l progressively froze to yield new future and conditional tenses of an inflectional type in some languages (24).155 In Medieval Spanish and modern European Portuguese, the amalgamation, mediated by a high level of [COHESION] between elements, did not reach closure as a stable specification of [COHESION: morphology], and the two etymological parts remained optionally separable (25a, b). As argued in Company (1985-1986), rather than direct variation, the two options represent two variant and separate constructions that coexisted in these languages. 156 Furthermore, in Rhaeto-Romance, Sardinian, Rumanian, and some Southern Italian dialects such a word-like future and conditional tenses failed to constitute themselves at all and these languages maintain a syntactically transparent con-

Syntactic dimensions

and change

255

stellation for the expression of the corresponding meanings (25c, d) (Lausberg 1965-1966 (2): §837-846). (24) a. VLt. respondere to-answer b. VLt. ridere to-laugh

+at have-3S-PRES +(av)evant

risponder-ά answer-3s-FUT > Fr. /rir-V

have-3P-IMPF

laugh-3P-COND

(25) a. OSp. dir-emos b.

dezir t(e) e'mos

c. Sd. app a/appu dikere d. Rm. am a/voi zice

> It.

'we will say' (with reduced infinitive dezir > dir) 'we will tell you (lit. say to you we have)' (full infinitive only) Ί-have (to)/will say' Ί-have (to)/will say' (Eng. I will say)

The fully amalgamated forms of (24) have single word stress, and it falls on the (now integrated) ending deriving from a functional verb. The absence of an independent word accent on the infinitive portion is visible in the optional deletion of the originally stressed theme vowel: MedSp. fazer 'INF, to do' > far+e 'Is FUT', poner 'INF, to put' > pon0r+e > porr+e, pondr+e, porn+e 'Is FUT', and many more for the languages of (24) and (25) (Lloyd 1987: 311-313; Penny 2002: 211-214). This tense formation represents a regular morphological inflection, contrary to the trend toward non-morphological solutions described above, and contrary to the general direction of modification in the Romance languages, where the new compound tenses have the conjugated verb (here the auxiliary as modifier) in non-final position /AUX+ V PPL /. The exceptional [PRECEDENCE] value of the integrated future/conditional tenses (24) in a proto-Romance phase only records the simple fact that the modifier follows the lexical base in parallel with the other major tense forms in Romance (present, imperfect indicative and subjunctive, as well as preterit and the non-finite forms). The shared adaptable specification of [DEPENDENCE: modification] supports both a morphological realization as [COHESION: morphology] for a firm univerbation, as well as a syntactic configuration under [COHESION: strong], controlled by a value under [CONCATENATION: subordination]. In the emergence of the amalgamated future (24), the morphophonological reduction of the full verb habere (26a) to a Spoken ("Vulgar") Latin auxiliary (26b) indicates a progressive downgrading of the function word, parallel to what happened in the formation of the definite article or the weak object pronouns. The modern Spanish future (and conditional)

256

Chapter 7: Pathways for diachronic

shifts

endings (26c), representative also of the other languages, further derive from the reduced functional verb (26b) by concentration on the sole demarcating aspects of these forms through loss of an explicit stem portion. The forms of the modern auxiliary verb (26d), occurring in the compound tenses and rarely as a main verb,157 are very close, obviously deriving in parallel to (26c) from (26b). The split Iberoromance forms (25b) represent a marginally syntactic construct that has not yet progressed to a maximal [COHESION: modification] value, the only freedom left for the components being the interposition of weak object pronouns. From the evidence of the strong infinitive form (no reduction of the stressed theme vowel, e.g. dezir, not dir-), the constellation /INF-CL-AUX/ (25b) manifests word accents minimally on the infinitive, possibly also on the auxiliary. Any accent associated with the auxiliary must be secondarily acquired after the phonological reductions between (26a) and (26b, d). ( 2 6 ) a. Lt.

HABEÖ

HABES

b. VLt. (ajo) aj, ο as c. FUT dir-e dir-ds d. AUX (h)e (h)as

HABET

HABEMUS

HABETIS

HABENT

at dir-d (h)a

(av)emus dir-emos (h)emos

(av)etis dir-eis (h)abeis

ant dir-dn (h)an

For the truly amalgamated forms (24) = (26c), final stress is problematic, since it must have developed secondarily. In contrast to the optional realization of auxiliary stress in the split form (25a), the obligatory and sole stress on the ending in (24), (26c) requires a robust model, operating late in the development to Romance and going against the trend toward premodification as in the compound tenses. The establishment of stress on the secondary ending cannot derive from a [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] background of this tense, where the obligative verb HABEÖ would carry the meaning focus, hence a tone. The amalgamated future is not an obligative construction, neither in syntax nor in semantics, rather, it is a true univerbated regular tense. Stress on the eventual ending corresponding to the destressed auxiliary cannot be original and must be acquired anew after the reduction of the forms to the level of (26b). According to Lausberg (19651966 (2): §846), the final stress on amalgamated futures is a secondary analogical extension of IS, IP, 2P accent placement (bisyllabic reduction forms ajo, emos, etes) that went against the standard pattern of the normally rhizotonic IS, 2S, 3S, 3P. However, the Is form ajo alternated with ao, aj, o, and if the IS form is not bisyllabic and hence not able to be stressed, the argument does not hold for this form, since IP and 2P do not differ from the other tenses (e.g. present, imperfect). In terms of guiding analogy, in an

Syntactic dimensions

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alternative solution, all forms would be destressed due to the typical stress retraction for IP, 2P especially in Iberoromance (e.g. Lt. CANTA'BÄMUS » Sp. cantdbamos, yielding columnar stress on the thematic vowel for the tense) and that could easily yield *diremos, *diredes, parallel to equally hypothetical solutions *diras, *dira, *diran. The result would produce only weakly differentiated new forms with regular verbs: *saltdr-e, *saltdremos, *saltdr-edes Is, lP, 2P coinciding with the future subjunctives, and *saltdr-as, *saltdr-a, *saltar-an 2s, 3s, 3P identical to the past subjunctive forms in -ra. The threatening homophony is not a sufficient hindrance for these formations according to the analogical model; however, the positive direction leading to the eventual result of (24) remains vague. Three analogical factors converge in this situation: (i) regular morphological expression of tense maintained throughout the Romance development for the majority of tense paradigms, (ii) verb-final order of Latin, maintained longest in subordinate clauses and in /V+AUX/ combinations, and (iii) the continued presence of an "inverted conjugation" in the medieval languages, i.e. the frequent practice of auxiliary-final verbal expressions in root and subordinate clauses.158 Together, these conditions alternatively license the amalgamated as well as the split future/conditional formations. Competitive co-presence of [COHESION: morphology] and the more neutral [COHESION: strong] affect the two components of the emerging tense forms and subject them to aleatory social triage. They yield a majority and a minority solution still present in the marginal modern European Portuguese remnant of the split construction (25b). The analogical approach helps understand this marked result, including the non-categorical condition of Portuguese, in a principled way.

7.2.6.7. Morphology and syntax Morphological inflection distinguishes itself from syntactic configurations through idiosyncratic complications of morphophonology, arbitrary lexical classifications, and a tight [COHESION] bonding between lexical element and ending (the word character of the result). This is a stable configuration. Productive syntactic constellations easily freeze into less free arrangements and fixed patterns: phrasal constructions, bound words, clitics, rarely inflectional morphemes (see Givön 1971, and a large part of the literature on grammaticalization, e.g. Hopper and Traugott 1993). The dimension of such shifts is [DEPENDENCE], reaching a value of [DEPENDENCE: MODIFICATION] for clitics and morphemes. The essential switch in [CONCATENA-

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TION] concerns the cleavage between clitics with a [CONCATENATION: neu-

tral] instruction and morphemes obeying a designation of [CONCATENATION: subordination] to produce special morphological bonding. The prediction of this double determination between [CONCATENATION] and [DEPENDENCE] is that the incorporation of independent syntactic elements into a morphological configuration is comparatively rare, since it requires a change in the abstract, hence more resistant dimension, [CONCATENATION]. Good examples of such agglutinations are not abundant; 159 cases of less involved reduction to some clitic-like status are much more common given that debasing only affects [DEPENDENCE] without touching the [CONCATENATION] status for this phenomenon. On the other hand, the exchange of [CONCATENATION: subordination] for [CONCATENATION: neutral] is a frequent event to judge from the history of the Romance languages and many others, where the shift from an inflectional (i.e. morphological) expression of standardized functions to a syntactic constellation occurs broadly. This type of level switch for [CONCATENATION] represents the transition to a computationally and cognitively more transparent expression that linearizes functions by factoring them out over the string. This is the linguistic mechanism responsible for the impression of progressive analyticity that has been proposed as a general direction for the evolution from Latin to the Romance languages. However, this holistic upshifting in [CONCATENATION] is only virtual and does not have a well-defined meaning in the immanent perspective and within Soft Syntax. Upshifting crucially involves non-identical materials; i.e. the change does not rearrange and reevaluate input elements and readjust them within the established scalar positions of the two dimensions [DEPENDENCE] and [CONCATENATION]. The non-null subject status of French ( e l l e s courrent 'they are running) is not the output of a reinterpreted verb stem with subject-agreement endings [currunt]v - * [[curr-u] v -[nt] su ] v - * *[[nt] su -[curre] v ] v , where [nt] su acquires changed specifications [DEPENDENCE: subcategorized] and [CONCATENATION: neutral]. The shift rather consists of the continuation of the complex verbal expression currunt and the addition of an independent subject pronoun \YLASfelles. This is a discontinuous development in terms of its material substrate. The relevant change thus takes place in syntax with the progressive normalization of a freely composed syntactic string, leaving the morphological aspect to undergo the changes imposed on it by other forces. The rather schematic example of the future is sufficient to provide a solution for the difficulty that has always plagued approaches relying on the contrast between synthetic and analytic expression of functions (see Bauer

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1993). The concept of analyticity is abstract, it belongs to the external perspective, and it does not describe what happens with the form elements of language. Consummated change depends on alterations in the values of the dimensions responsible for constituting the functionality and shape of language in acquisition, life-long adjustment, and common use. In this perspective, changes from synthetic to analytic are constitutionally discontinuous in terms of their materials (subject agreement endings on the verb vs. syntactically independent subject pronouns). This is not to deny the possibility of an abstract direction from the synthetic to the analytic pole, but relegates it to an optional interpretive tier. Rather, the linguistically effective domain deals with the concrete forms, i.e. a construct projecting a syntactic configuration into morphology vs. an openly constituted syntactic chain. A synthetic development may thus take place concomitantly with a strong analytic trend in the language, because the increase in a [COHESION: morphology] value for juxtaposed elements is always present. It can therefore gain currency for a given construction, e.g. the amalgamated Romance future, while another construction does not engage this same path, e.g. the compound tenses.160 The only aspect which concerns the linguistic individual and thus the realistic diachrony of language is the material domain of forms determined by the dimensions of Soft Syntax that are continually subject to analogical pressures and social assimilation.

7.2.6.8.

[CONCATENATION: subordination ] as a unified

function

The history of Latin is frequently presented as involving a progressive integration of subordination, i.e. a shift from [CONCATENATION: neutral] to [CONCATENATION: subordination] (Hofmann and Szantyr 1972: 569-572). This change is however pre-literary, leaving at best scattered traces in the documented phases of the language. So-called relative connection, f o r instance, uses a deictically weak relative pronoun in initial position in root clauses involving a referent in the previous utterance instead of a definite pronoun, QUI 'who (REL)' = IS 'this one, he (just mentioned, low deixis)'. 161 In general, the emergence of subordination tends to be perceived as a prehistoric development. It would originate in parataxis through emerging [DEPENDENCE] between the second clause and an argument of the preceding one, i.e. a prospective governing clause that then yields the motivation for reinterpreting [CONCATENATION] as subordination. A n apposite [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] will stabilize the construction with a subordinating marker (e.g. complementizing element, verbal form). This may be a

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phylogenetic scenario for subordination necessary for explaining the recursive options in language; but generally, it cannot be observed and is only assumed as preceding the historical documentation. Even though it may not be elaborate, 162 subordination is being acquired in all known languages; its expansion to elaborate detail is then a question belonging to the individual language histories and their register options. The discrepancies between orally oriented discourse and formal written registers may codetermine the complexity of the subordinating varieties and procedures. Yet [CONCATENATION: subordination] is a basic syntactic procedure and needs to be assumed for any pre-literary phase, regardless of documentation, to safeguard the uniformity postulate for language. The internal development of [CONCATENATION: subordination] may however consist of simplifications, either by reducing processing in the more complex subordination mode due to simplified clause combinations as VP complementation (reduction of free arguments) or by way of assimilating the various subordinating constructions. VP complementation (infinitival clauses, gerunds, participial constructions) predetermines some specifications of the subordinated clause. Typically, it is the subordinate subject that is given through root clause materials, as well as tense and mood. For modal and aspectual verbs, the frame of the lexical verb in the subordinate clause is basically the only information to be processed. The main clause predicate only contributes its semantic-functional core while projecting a subcategorization frame of its own that specifies appropriate insertion points for the external subcategorization values. Instead of a need to compute the embedding of two full clauses one into the other, this reduction in syntactic freedom (based on semantic considerations) simplifies syntax considerably. It shifts the burden to a class of lexically delimited [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entries of reduced freedom (no independent subject, tense, and/or open objects) without thereby eliminating the need for a [CONCATENATION: subordination] value. Much of the Romance developments in subordination rely on the stabilization of such simplified nonfinite clause combinations. The creation of compound tenses and the amalgamated future/conditional are cases of advanced syntactic freezing (compound tenses), even dropping to the morphological level of an inflected verb (future, conditional). The many infinitival and gerundial constructions belong to the standard features of all styles and registers in these languages, most strongly entrenched for the semantically least specific, function-like governing verbs (e.g. modal, aspectual, causative, and perception verbs). The assimilation of various different subordination patterns into a generic one again maintains [CONCATENATION: subordination], but provides a

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superficial simplification of expression. The semantic impact of a given subordinate construction is only summarily indicated with a generic subordinator, the exact function deriving from discourse context and/or some adverbial specifications. The history of subordination from Latin to Romance exhibits a narrowing of overt complementizing elements (see above 7.2.6.4). The general Romance /ke/ 'that, default complementizer' derives from a coalescence of relatives (qui 'who, which', quod 'what (that which)'), adverbials (quia, quod 'because', quomodo 'how, in which way'), interrogative (quid 'what?'), and a comparative function continuing an earlier quam (see Herman 1963; Raible 1992).163 In classical Latin, the originally relative quod, having passed early on to a causal conjunction 'because' and separately to a factitive complementizer 'that', competed marginally with the standard complementizer ut 'that'. The changes in the system of subordinating conjunctions are not just phonological and lexical; in their leveling of subordination types - relative, complement, adverbial, and comparative functions - , they centrally reduced the overt marking of [CONCATENATION: subordination] options available in the spontaneous language. Beyond complementation, the stripped-down subordinating element /ke/ also retained its basic adverbial, relative, and comparative functions as a generic item of no special import beyond subordination.164 Convergence on a straightforward value for [CONCATENATION: subordination] without extensive refinements in [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] represents another simplification in processing. In this way, the subordinate clause is a complete proposition connected to the main clause by a generic indication of pertinence as a complement of ν , Ν or NP, or adjunct of VP, according to the context and as indicated by proximity. Even the prominent simplification of discourse options in oral Proto-Romance between Late Latinity and early Romance manifestations did not affect subordination in a basic way, but only its explicit elaboration of different types, presumably conditioned by communicational needs. The subsequent renewed enrichment of this sector in the Romance languages follows the lines of development sketched above for the subordinating conjunctions (see 7.2.6.4). This renovation seems to be connected to the expanding variety of discourse types practiced in the newly written Romance languages. [CONCATENATION] is the expression of the hierarchical dimension of a string. Due to this more abstract character and its necessary interaction and intersection with other dimensions, essentially [DEPENDENCE] and [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], its diachronic pathways are less intuitive. While both superordination and subordination are marked options, they do not therefore tend to reduce to the default value. Where there is change, a major

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direction of change occurs upward (from subordination to neutral) in the gradual lightening of the load of inflectional morphology, i.e. with a concomitant change in [DEPENDENCE: morphology] to [DEPENDENCY: neutral]. It always involves a complex reorganization of the contributing dimensions, adding explicit syntactic elements. This change in [CONCATENATION] value maintains identity of function, but modifies form, frequently with a true innovation. The major inverse movement toward subordination corresponds to a refinement of semantic flexibility through more explicit logical connection between clauses (propositions). To maintain the cycle of options, the shift from syntactic to morphological expression is a third possible direction of change, typically involving continuity of form (even though reductive) and narrow specialization of function. With these properties, [CONCATENATION] forms the descriptive bridge between the domains of morphology and syntax and thereby explains the exchanges between the two contiguous components consistently observed in diachrony.

7.3. More on change The six dimensions discussed in the preceding sections represent the core innovations of Soft Syntax aimed at a better understanding of language change from an immanent perspective. With its focus on (morpho)syntax, the discussion responds to the less comprehensive historical elucidation of this component to date when compared to the other active dimensions of diachrony. Yet there remain further important extensions to be considered for a more complete picture.

7.3.1.

Core concerns for the formal-social model

The strength of the model is the understanding of change from the inside of linguistic activity. This model predicts broad possibilities for change due to pervasive variation in the practice of any linguistic community and the influence exercised on linguistic individuals by occurring forms. At the same time, it drastically limits the likelihood of change through the inertia stemming from accumulated experience that guarantees a functional continuation in form and use of language. Any linguistic individual operating within such a field has gone through a first-language learning process that necessarily, even though perhaps only roughly, reproduces the conditions existing in the linguistic community. Still, the linguistic individual is set up to

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experience very slow change through continued exposure to ongoing input which may also vary independently among individuals. Such change is by definition locally controlled as a reflection of environmental conditions. The potential for change does not affect all aspects of linguistic constitution evenly. The more securely entrenched features can probably not be reached by novel variation in the adult phase of linguistic activity, while more transparent and accessible portions will undergo alterations much more readily. Adult-phase linguistic change is a function of envelope conditions and cannot normally converge on a formal goal, since it emanates from open-ended individual variation.

7.3.2.

Margins of the formal-social model

The effects of bilingualism and diglossic conditions as another dimension of socially mediated change will remain on the side awaiting a fuller elaboration of the framework. The various constellations of bilingualism in the linguistic individual, and secondarily in the speech community, recur with frequency, but with little reliability in their eventual outcome. Without entering into the complex question, the fundamental condition is the existence of operative language contact between speakers practicing the second language with a level of minimal communication and leading to the emergence of individuals using both languages with some degree of competence. The non-discrete constellations of bilingualism defy linear enumeration and require a systematic reconstruction of the field with its relevant dimensions. 165 Each one of the now observable forms of diglossia and bilingualism originated and developed under different historical and socio-economic conditions that may not meaningfully correspond to systematic linguistic options. Given that these conditions externally configure linguistic input for the members of the bilingual speech community, language patterns acquired in this way must also reproduce the envelope conditions. At the same time, the functionality of the two domains in which such diglossia occurs is not expected to be fundamentally affected. 166 Whatever the cognitive solution to the operation of envelope-induced forms of bilingualism may be, correspondingly endowed linguistic individuals have at their disposition two different codes that they have learned to use in the contexts and conditions provided by observed practice within the speech community. This question goes far beyond the narrow domain of primarily formal issues appropriate for the immanent approach pursued here.

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Long-range targets of change

The frequently noted systematic nature of change in the form of long-term drift (Sapir 1921), spanning many generations and following a rather consistent line, finds its natural explanation in this secure environmental dependency on linguistic knowledge. 167 The inertia of essentially unchanging linguistic practice in the community and the extensive context-sensitivity of linguistic apprenticeship force the approximate reproduction of these same conditions over generations. The individual contributions to any ongoing changes, i.e. what may be or become a prevalent drift, consist of minor, cumulative changes during first language acquisition and minimal modifications in adult linguistic practice, further tempered by secondary variation across linguistic individuals in the linguistic community and overlapping generations of learners. Analogical extension as a driving mechanism for change does not pose a problem for this formal direction transcending the individual time span, since it does not imply a necessary directedness or completion within any definable period. It is sufficient for the trend (an external percept identified by the linguist with hindsight) to be inscribed in the speech patterns and variability with which the language learner is confronted. The approximately self-reproducing conditions of language during acquisition and practice provide an account of this continuity without having recourse to some ad-hoc construct guaranteeing the continuity of evolution across virtual generations of linguistic individuals. If it is possible to understand change in its long-term formation, the essential mechanism for linguistic variation and shift resides in the short-term local conditions of language practice by linguistic individuals, from firstlanguage acquisition to regular and expanding practice, including continual readjustments to contextual pressures (new trends being embraced by groups of participants) and communicational needs (operating in varying situations and different registers). Eventual change is the fall-out of such micro-variation, enhanced through formal and social spread to reach some degree of perceptibility for an observer. The timeframe for such a result is indeterminate, since there is no requirement to complete a shift, either from the point of view of the linguistic individual or the neutral observer. Given the uncontrollable interference of external conditions on the practice of a language in its historical frame and the concomitant accelerating and retarding factors for linguistic shift, the phenomenology of how fully and how fast a given change is implemented must be divergent. What remains is that languages in actual practice do change, regardless of any specifics of realization.

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7.4. Conclusion A central locus of syntactic change is the rich, detailed, and open-ended inventory of constructional identities and semantic attributions captured by [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], a dimension of change which is located in the middle of the field of tension between the lexicon, string constitution, and representation of external conditions. This is however not the moving force of diachrony, only its repository as an individual and societal memory. The mechanical condition actually inducing syntactic change is [COHESION] due to its power to create new associations and/or weaken existing connections that involve contiguous items. In the wake of changes in cohesiveness between elements, the more hierarchical [DEPENDENCE] assigns a relational constitution to the newly connected string portions, while [PRECEDENCE] records and codifies the existing linear arrangements. [AGREEMENT] underlines selective standardized connections dependent on [COHESION] and [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] to the extent that appropriate morpho-lexical material is available. The most formally syntactic dimension, [CONCATENATION], exploits the attributions of [DEPENDENCE] at the lexical, phrasal, and clausal levels by establishing the hierarchical integration of the so specified elements. Regardless of the intrinsic potential for diachronic change characteristic of the six syntactic dimensions, the chronological alteration of language derives from the ubiquitous and anarchical effect of analogical pressure that can affect each and every form in any of its instantiations. The potential for association between two forms, proportional to their similarity, provides the material substrate on which the historical movement of linguistic form depends. The intrinsic tendencies of the specific dimensions and the inevitable vacillations of fortuitous association in practice (the effect of the random-choice rule and the aleatory actuation of any instance of change) constitute at the same time the justification for change and for its conservative restraints. Both take advantage of the mass of similar forms to calculate an appropriate form for an underdetermined instance. Given the assumed imperfect memory of linguistic individuals, the para-deterministic analogy theorized in Analogical Modeling is not an inevitable outcome at each concrete juncture, but rather a cumulative and statistically normative outcome over a larger number of instances and speakers. The singleton speech act may not involve anything near a representative and exhaustive list for the analogical set, thus opening the way for imbalanced analogical associations. To the extent that innovative solutions represent repeatable events in time and across individuals, they can insert themselves in the set of realiza-

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tions that will be taken into consideration for representative analogical sets. This inclusion will meaningfully shift the balance in favor of the innovation, since the new form is not just one of the many similar but potentially unrelated forms of the broad analogical set, but a constitutive instance of the form in question, i.e. a primary variant with considerably increased weight. Once established with a certain degree of independence in the speech practice as a minor variant, such an innovation also takes potential advantage of its interaction with the other consecrated variant(s) for the specific function, since it receives exposure in the speech community and thereby has potential for expansion in the social null hypothesis of spread by contact. How far this will lead a given innovation with regard to the further development of a language remains undetermined from a purely linguistic point of view.

Chapter 8 Conclusions

8.1. Reaching a higher level The discussion has aimed at laying a more systematic foundation for conducting diachronic investigations that go beyond enumeration and description, pursuing at the same time a framework that can guarantee relevance for historical purposes. The advances of the formal linguistic program of the last half century had the unintended effect of marginalizing historical concerns, necessarily attuned to contingent forces, through positions imposed by the logic of formal argumentation. Overcoming some of these obstacles while getting closer to the subject matter under investigation, i.e. the nature and uses of language in time, space, and society, required a broader survey at the beginning of this essay. Viewed through the properties of human cognition, the existential aspects of the individual, and the social embedding of language, diachrony is here recast as an integral portion of linguistic practice. Beyond the need to maintain the analytic achievements and insights of the historical tradition, contemporary diachronic practice must have at its disposal a theoretical arsenal adequate to understand historical developments in terms of their linguistic impact. The goal of this essay was to discuss central issues and propose a specific platform for the constructive investigation of linguistic diachrony.

8.2. The essential ingredients The means to achieve the above goal consists of the reevaluation of a number of foundational concepts of current formal thinking. In its various instantiations, such theoretical positions do not necessarily encompass variation and alteration of linguistic form and usage as constitutive dimensions, doubling the difficulty set up by the heuristic dichotomy of synchrony vs. diachrony with a cross-cutting polarity of competence vs. performance. The standard theoretical choice privileges the linguistic event, i.e. a cognitive representation, as an object of which the speaker/hearer is a passive producer or experiencer. The required change of perspective reinstates the lin-

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guistic individual as a (partly) responsible actor and agent in the construction, use, and transmission of language and understands change in language as a necessary corollary of this constellation. The combination of components argued to promise success in this quest can be identified as follows. The immanent perspective takes as its point of departure the linguistic individuals' foremost task of making sense of an outside world impacting on them, specifically by acquiring language with the help of significant predispositions (innate, universal properties of major cognitive architecture) not only for learning as such, but for language specifically. In this autopoietic stance (Maturana and Varela 1972), the individual is crucially assisted by a learning mechanism able to operate meaningful judgments of similarity (including identity in the limit case) that will emerge as classifications eventually leading to the linguistic categories found in adult language. The approach of Concrete Minimalism demonstrates through its computational simulations that the bootstrapping task is feasible on these terms with finite computational resources (Culicover and Nowak 2003). The programs Aqui and Clagen indicate that categorization can be achieved based on exposure to symbol strings (the phonetic chain of natural language) provided the learner narrowly focuses on material relevant to his/her current situation and has access to corresponding meanings. Taking the output of these analogical assimilations as its input, the further learning simulation CAMiLLe performs credible associations between form and function and generalizes them to broader classifications. The results are comparable to the learning of structured lexical material, especially also simpler items of [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]. Such simulations are indicative of how the basic assumptions made in constructing this program interact under varying conditions of implementation. The strong postulates are the initially very narrow focus of processing relevance and the principled access to meaning, both of which may tentatively be granted given the conditions of the individual during firstlanguage acquisition and the prime status of meaning. Beyond these requirements, the simulations only assume that contact with a datum is able to leave an impression in the cognitive apparatus: an aleatory effect of standard magnitude on contact (yes/no), guided by relevant similarity as judged by the learner, and with cumulative potential (the more, the likelier). This much could correspond to a basic learning algorithm characterizing the linguistic individual. A much more explicit elaboration of the assimilatory process stems from Analogical Modeling (Skousen 1989, 2002) giving substance to the notion of assimilatory analogy, since it bases this act on a quantifiable

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comparison of similar forms (the analogical set) that are organized in a hierarchy of closeness (the homogeneous superset) with respect to the target. With its two responses to the pressure of the surrounding forms (a "rational" plurality choice following the homogeneous solutions and a random choice among the non-homogeneous members of the set), this approach also models the unpredictability of any concrete effect in the face of multiple choices and a certain freedom of reaction by the linguistic individual. The infant learner/adult speaker depends on an imperfect memory record of their experiences that is relevant and thus true for the individual's subjective condition. Analogical Modeling is a specification of how the agnostic null-hypothesis of aleatory contact induction can operate in a linguistic environment and at the same time be responsive to the distribution of forms in the determining envelope.

8.3. Computational resources A strong motivation for the immanent approach derives from the recognition that the postulate of full analysis cannot be maintained due to excessive computational complexity, and does not need to be maintained to account for the linguistic individual's condition (see Ristad 1993). This opens up the way for a new approach to language as a cognitive application. The analytic depth is significantly reduced in the immanent perspective, as e.g. implemented in Soft Syntax, since the cognitive reconstruction only needs to cover what the linguistic individual can be assumed to reach for analysis in her/his language acquisition and ensuing practice. What remains still is a highly complex endeavor for the linguistic individual in the form of an ultimately computational task, both for acquisition and ongoing practice. A clear appreciation of this remaining challenge, for individual speakers as language users as well as linguists observing language, finds an interesting synthesis in Jackendoff (2002).

8.4. Modeling historical change The combined assumptions of Concrete Minimalism and Analogical Modeling under an immanent perspective provide a sketch of language learning for the individual that integrates with social interaction. With the same assumptions as above, the CAMiLLe program also models diachronic processes in their social diffusion. For variation between two or more options,

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the null-hypothesis of uniform, but random contact assimilation between cells in the social grid results in highly variable distribution patterns through simulated time (proportional to cycles of activation). They all eventually yield a concentration on fewer variants occurring in more circumscribed areas of a two-dimensional grid. In the end, and given enough time, all variation between two or more options for a single function/slot is predicted to reach uniqueness: one option for the entire field. The random pathways of concentration make it unpredictable which option will actually win out. The possible developments include nonlinear, oscillating progressions before reaching the predestined uniqueness in one of the original options. The trend toward generalization can however only come to fruition if there is no interference from cross-cutting analogical constellations. The simulated meaning-guided categorizations, assimilatory generalizations of categories, and social diffusion effects (concentration of options) have the right properties for modeling historical changes with their known characteristics. They are unpredictable in actuation and determined by local models; they progress through the linguistic categories at any level of complexity in a step-by-step fashion. They spread through the linguistic community in a similarly undetermined way, and slowly but insecurely, they move toward an idealized closure that most of the time will not be reached due to interference by new trends. The possibility of eventual closure if nothing else intervenes (e.g. an independent analogical episode) finds some empirical support in the observation of (nearly) complete linguistic changes in an extended time frame (frequently in the order of several centuries). With shorter time spans between initial and final points, the phenomena registered by the observer rather resemble the in-between states of ongoing diffusion and incomplete concentration produced by computational applications relying on point-to-point, local, and random analogical induction. This contrasts with the prediction of standard formal generalization feeding a learning algorithm capable of abductive closure, e.g. the transparency principle (Lightfoot 1979).

8.5. Time and society The environmentally co-conditioned acquisition of a functioning language capacity introduces time into the equation in two forms, first, the overlapping "generations" of social interactants modeling the language to be learned, and second, the considerable time span of the acquisition process and the following adult phase of still dynamic language practice. The indi-

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vidual's experience of time also brings the social dimension to the fore with its interactive forces of communication, cooperation, and competition. If the socially experienced linguistic environment determines first-language learning, the same environmental pressures continue throughout an individual's life time and thus induce - perhaps light, but still concrete - changes in individual practice over time, in tune with the surrounding social practices and norms and the individual's specific experiences and contacts. The fundamental condition of additive, cumulative, and continual learning by exposure and corresponding memory traces makes the reduced linguistic program possible (e.g. Soft Syntax), and at the same time also captures the unity of linguistic practice and eventual diachronic change. Time and society provide the material substrate giving an individual's cognitive constitution for (language) learning its informational support. The result of this ongoing process is a reflection of the forces that gave rise to it. A significant linguistic diachrony can only be true for the individual, while language change in the externalized sense of observable difference only holds in the social dimension following diffusion of the individual practice. In the same way, a synchronic cross section can only have relevance for a social group practicing a "language" together. Diachrony and synchrony as separate domains of knowledge derive from a heuristic move that attempts to explore the form-related aspects of language in isolation as a faculty of the "idealized native speaker" (Chomsky 1965), unaffected by the contaminating intrusions of time and society. The impressive store of knowledge accumulated in this way about linguistic form made this a fruitful move. Given its self-imposed limitations, the broader investigation of language in terms of its constitutive dimensions promises to complement this formal focus and finally yield an image of language in the round.

8.6. Soft Syntax The proposal of Soft Syntax elaborated in Chapter 6 offers a concrete indication of the type of linguistic universal that the immanent perspective requires: based on general cognitive properties, minimally adapted for linguistic concerns, and flexible for the requirements of a constructivist implementation during first-language acquisition. The six centrally syntactic dimensions focus on three areas: (i) linear and manifest form of the utterance: [PRECEDENCE], [COHESION], [AGREEMENT], (ii) hierarchical rapport between elements: [DEPENDENCE], [CONCATENATION], and (iii) lexical re-

cord for the integration of form with function: [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDEN-

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They are sufficient to capture the properties of occurring strings and their organization in a single-level flat model of the organization of language akin to HPSG and other single-level grammars, thus replacing the potentially complex derivations of surface order of elements in the Principles-and-Parameters or Minimalist programs. The more elaborate relationships between constructions focused on by previous models are not of primary relevance for Soft Syntax with its focus on the given shape of an expression and its direct semantic or functional import. In privileged cases, the lexical dimension of syntax, [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], will establish some connections, but these relationships do not occupy center stage. The historical role of the different dimensions is unequal due to the nature of the aspect that they control and the modalities of change predicted by the contact-induced analogical model. [COHESION] is inherently scalar and provides transitional gradations that do not directly appear as surface reflections, i.e. an effective degree of [COHESION] requires reconstruction by the communicational partner. This produces the opportunity that intersubjective variation may directly create historical movement: consistent contiguity may be perceived as cohesion and thus become fixed in this format. Continued fixedness will increasingly anchor the juxtaposition in more rigid dimensions ([DEPENDENCE], [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]). [COHESION] has a central diachronic role; it can act as a bridge between more discrete states because it is pervasive in the linear chain: it turns juxtaposition into a chain. The operation of [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] is binary in effect (lexical record, yes or no), but still dependent on an underdetermined appreciation of connectedness between the component elements as a consequence of scalar [COHESION]. 168 In effect, [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] will represent different degrees of rigidity as evidenced by variations at pivotal breaking points in the construction and may receive different reconstruction across individuals. From a historical perspective, [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] records changes as they occur and fix them in the individual lexica. This dimension is subject to the effect of cumulative practice, so that single entries under [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] over time will respond to minor variation, typically with gradual elaboration and fixation of the pattern in question. Similarly, [DEPENDENCE] represents an effective link of connectedness as a binary value independent of contiguity. The bond may be strong, as in morphology between stem and ending or syntactically tying a DO to an unquestionably transitive predicate (e.g. It. /dare DO/ 'to give DO'). Or the bond can be semantically natural, but less constant, as for some oblique arguments (e.g. It. larrivare (goal) (time)/ 'to arrive (goal) (time)'). Change in this dimension presupposes scalar adjust-

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ments through [COHESION] and [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] that will yield the reason for perceiving the association as given and as fixed in a sense compatible with [DEPENDENCE]. More dramatic developments concern the strong amalgamation of a declining syntactic element as a morphological component (e.g. the innovative Romance future tenses). The remaining dimensions do not possess a predestined diachronic potential, since they are more strictly categorical in perception. [PRECEDENCE] does not admit direct scalarity and transitions; it will easily show change across time, but always depending on a more scalar development among the first group of dimensions. [CONCATENATION] hardly admits in-between values, in spite of "relative connection" or Lt. QUA RE > Fr. car 'since (Gm. denn)'. It counts on the trailblazing effect of [DEPENDENCE] for switching from one level to another, strongly assisted by semantic guidance (e.g. in the elevation to superordination) or phonological and prosodic reduction of forms that subordinates material into morphology. Finally [AGREEMENT] cannot be regarded as scalar in view of its need to exhibit some concrete concordance effect in manifest forms, i.e. a binary relation. The inherent ability of a dimension to exhibit scalar values is not alone in regulating the diachronic potential of a dimension in the immanent framework, since IMPLEMENTATION conditions introduce a superimposed effect of gradualness through the incremental analogical extension of a domain for a given construction, dependence, or agreement phenomenon. The parameters of the IMPLEMENTATION model collude to make all linguistic form subject to a gradualness of circumstance, possibly even in combination with an inherent scalarity of the dimension in question. The indeterminacy of "language" at an abstract level referring to the comprehensive linguistic practice of a broader speech community derives from the individuallevel variability of knowledge, practice, and experience extrapolated to the group level. The typical pathway of change beyond the individual level requires time to let a phenomenon stabilize in the community. It crucially depends on the double constraint imposed by the requirement to maintain a level of communication in the community as well as the restrictions on free variation represented by the inertia of language form as practiced in the envelope. Overall, these forces are sufficient to produce para-regular change (the near-1 solutions) given enough time, and they are expected to pass through in-between phases characterized by some degree of irregularity: the ubiquitous transition stages of the observer's perspective. The immediate relevance of syntax to meaning gives syntactic form a strong anchor on the functional side, since syntax carries the responsibility for giving semantic material a format appropriate to the chain. Syntactic

274

Chapter 8: Conclusions

form thus serves the operative standard practiced in the speech community by this functional postulate. Far from supporting the vision of an autonomous syntax, the surprisingly incomplete character of much syntactic organization, e.g. the retardation in the evolution of Spanish clitic reduplication, indicates that such a phenomenon is not primarily organized around syntactic postulates. The slowness of syntactic change is a contingent effect of other more primary domains, so that syntax will only secondarily be organized in the long analogical assimilation of formal and social diffusion. In addition, externally (co-)determined effects, e.g. standardization, social upheavals, etc., further crosscut the ideal trajectory toward formal closure, without thereby affecting the viability of linguistic practice. Change, especially in the linguistic sense, is then the result of the adoption of a given analogical extension by an observable group of individuals. At this point, historical linguistics can begin to explain and understand what has taken place.

8.7. Concentrating on broader forms: Languages Language must primarily serve a communicative function (whatever else its offices may be) to remain learnable and worth learning. This is a strong force of conservatism with regard to existing practice. Even in the many cases of divergence of form for the same expression, the inevitable social contact in language practice will provide the mechanism for streamlining the options (contact assimilation as modeled in computational simulations). The assimilation of linguistic group behavior to contiguous linguistic individuals contributes to the concentration on progressively fewer isofunctional options for ever larger groups. Ultimately, this power of concentration, taking place step-by-local-step, may lead from micro-social practice (multiple options, multiple dialects) to the big blocks of linguistic behavior known as languages (restrained choices, a single language). The inter-group contact between different language domains (dialects, regional standards, etc.) will lead to eventual convergence, everything else being equal, following the same model applying to individual variations in linguistic expression, i.e. contact-induced, step-by-step assimilation in diglossic or bilingual practice. On the other hand, insistence on intra-group contact rather than interaction across groups practicing commensurate versions of a language will easily lead to a divergence. Centripetal practice produces a set of characteristic features for a group of somewhat segregated linguistic individuals, setting it apart from another group with different

Envoi

275

bundled choices and equally self-centered interactions. The two groups, each one turned toward its own center, grow apart by the passive effect of lack of contact. The innovations gaining ground inside one group will not be shared by the other one with sufficient strength and will thus become further traits of differentiation. The discrepancy between the emergence of linguistic boundaries as opposed to the development of supraregional convergences through dialect bleaching receives a natural interpretation in this model of contact-induced assimilation. Convergence is due to significant contacts with assimilation of values and the formation of broader speech communities with less local identification. Divergence results from lack of inter-group contact with progressive differentiation of the two communities. In general, competition of forms brings about change due to the continuing realignment of forces in society, extending to the participants' practice and thus their knowledge of language.

8.8. Envoi A balanced combination of form-oriented analysis and appropriate consideration of the myriad contingent external factors guarantee a fertile base for the continued practice of historical linguistics as an inseparable branch of the science of language. The complementation between different concerns, from cognitive to formal and from historical to social and more participating disciplines will construct a picture of language as a comprehensible phenomenon in its ubiquitous connection with cognition. Making this goal reachable through a critique of some formal assumptions which tended to stand in the way of a productive practice, has been the aim of this essay.

Notes

Introduction 1. 2.

3.

"Textsorten" in text linguistics; see Koch and Oesterreicher (1985); also Ong (1982); Biber (1989); Biber and Finnegan (1989); Raible (1995). With this fourth term, not foreseen in Weinreich (1968), Coseriu (1973) designates the medial differentiations also recognized as necessary in the light of Koch and Oesterreicher (1985). It is quite evident that this all-encompassing "system" is in need of some constraints, lest it be able to explain just about everything. - A multi-systemic approach is already strongly advocated in the pioneering essay by Weinreich, Labov and Herzog (1968). However, this programmatic start was never followed by concrete elaborations, so that it did not have a broader effect. The comparatively one-sided sociolinguistic direction of the work by Labov (e.g. 1972) and others proved to be a niche phenomenon from the perspective of historical linguistics, in spite of the broad canvas of diachronic phenomena and forces painted in Labov (1994-2001). The "linguistic individual" is a terminological proposal to take the place of the erstwhile "native speaker/listener". "Linguistic individual" tries to capture the complexity of an individual's participation in the linguistic exchanges within their community and beyond in other linguistic activities. The concept encompasses human beings as cognitively autonomous, understanding and producing language phenomena within their broad context, the "envelope".

Chapter 1 4.

5.

The distinction between direct genetic derivation as the normal situation of linguistic diachrony and the celebrated break in the origin of pidgin and Creole languages should not be lost from sight. For insightful discussion of the general diachronic problems in pidginization and creolization, see Thomason and Kaufman (1988). In the present study, the focus will be retained on the genetic strain of language development. A different perspective on creolization more in line with this essay's concerns about the continuity between regular change and creolization is found in deGraff (1999), following Winford (1997). Overshadowing these aspects is a double empirical challenge in the practice of historical linguistics. Irrespective of theoretical position, data generally cannot be fully controlled, since they usually represent contingent and highly fragmentary selections from extant documents. Second, the historical scenarios are necessarily contingent, i.e. not fully or not at all formalizable. This unstable foundation will simply be assumed as a conditio sine qua non.

Notes

277

6.

Mainly studied for Spanish, Portuguese, Occitan, and Italian; e.g. MeyerLübke (1897); Ramsden (1963); Meriz (1978); Rivero (1986); Wanner (1987); Fontana (1993); Martins (1994); Fischer (2002); Salvi (2004), and many more. 7. What may then have been, and later on became, a clitic pronoun. Using the term "clitic" here does not make a claim about the status of these elements (see Rivero 1986 for a non-clitic analysis in medieval Spanish). 8. To distinguish the holistic, shape-related meaning from the strictly linguistic one, "morphologistic" will be used in the first sense, and standard "morphology/morphological" in the second acceptation. 9. See Wanner (1979) for pertinent discussion and a canonical formulation of the rule. 10. With regard to the right word edge, always counting the last syllable as extrametrical. 11. For a summary, see Sorace et al. (1998); an encyclopedic view is found in Fletcher and MacWhinney (1995).

Chapter 2 12. For a useful discussion of these issues and related matters centering on Spanish, see the special section in Romance Philology (1991:45 (1)) on the topic of philological practice and textual (re)constitution, especially Speer (1991); Orduna (1991); Faulhaber (1991), in addition to Blecua (1991); Marcos Marin (1991); Segre and Speroni (1991). 13. The so-called "new philology" (see e.g. the discussion in Speculum (1990: 65 (1)), i.e. Bloch 1990; Fleischman 1990; Nichols 1990; Wenzel 1990, in addition to Cerquiglini 1989) focuses on new aspects to be derived from fresh consideration of the myriad variants, deviations, modifications, inconsistencies, faux-entendres, and other accidents of texts under an emblematic eloge de la Variante 'praise of the variant' (so the title of Cerquiglini 1989). 14. See Faulhaber (1999): MANID 1231 and the references cited there; primarily Menendez Pidal (1944; early date, 1140?), Smith (1972; late date, late 13th c.), and Vina Liste (1991: summary and middle position, ca. 1250). 15. Some important contributions to Romance linguistics that command our attention, even if sometimes only for the data collections, comprise the comparative syntax of Meyer-Ltibke (1890-1904.3); the single language works by Menard (1977); Moignet (1977); Marchello-Nizia (1995, 1999); Martin (1971, 1978) for Old and Middle French; for Castilian Menendez Pidal (1944 (1)) and Keniston (1937a); for Occitan Lafont (1967); Rohlfs (1966-1969 (3)) for Italian, to mention only a few. The pace of publishing in this field has been accelerating, in particular when driven by theoretical concerns of the formal syntactic enterprise.

278

Notes

16. See e.g. Benincä (1994) for an attempt at a broader description across related languages, and Chomsky (1995a) for the overall framework. Black and Motapanyane (1996) offer a good selection of parametric studies. 17. Beyond a standard diachronic presentation in McMahon (1994), relevant titles include Anttila (1974, fundamental considerations in a standard framework; also his recent 2003 synthesis); Phillips (1998, distinguishing analogy from lexical diffusion); Rini (2001, a special application to Spanish verbs with hiatus between stem and ending); Vincent (1980, on It. -iamo\ see 5.4.7.). The recent survey of analogical research in Lahiri (2000) brings up-to-date exemplars and considerations, but in principle follows a traditional framework of analogy functioning as a corrective to general processes, as does Elvira (1998) for Spanish. The extension of correspondence theory to analogical situations (McCarthy and Prince 1999; Myers 2002) reverts to the concept of transderivational calibration from the early 70s (e.g. Wanner 1972). 18. From a Late Latin parabolaba(r/m) with morphological loss of its passive person marker Irl (as a deponent) or a reconstructed */m/ (as an active verb) > 0 by phonetic elision. 19 ">" designates the direction of historical change of any type; " » " refers to analogical developments only. For this example, see also the discussion in 5.4.5.2. below. 20. See Kroch (1989); for the adaptation in Harris and Campbell (1995), see below in 2.3.3. The proposal originally referred to syntax, so that the prominence of constructional analysis over categorization (e.g. phonemic attribution) or form (especially in lexical and morphological changes) is expected. 21. The conceptualization is based on a logarithmic scale for frequency progression, while the progression of distribution predicts a strong parallelism across formal contexts. Both are empirical issues for which there is not much good evidence available yet. This is in part due to the paucity of relevant analyses conducted in this framework. - A more complex constellation with three or more competing variants can always be accommodated under the heading of double analysis through the reduction of three variants to a hierarchically structured pair of polar oppositions. 22. This is not to deny that there may be legitimate dialect mixture taking place in actual linguistic communities. Massive migrations, in the past as in the present, the melting-pot effect of urban agglomerations for speakers from diverse dialectal provenience, and the medial importation of non-local varieties across a physical and/or social distance, all contribute to the presence of heterogeneous solutions and options within reach of any linguistic individual. The historical theme of "dialect mixture/borrowing" may be discredited only because this turn has been invoked too frequently and with too little evidence to retain much force. It represents one of the main correctives of the neogrammarian reliance on general and near-mechanical regularity. The skepticism applies not only to the older, more philological tradition; the strategy cannot be reintro-

Notes

23.

24. 25. 26.

27.

28.

279

duced at convenience here where it would be an ad-hoc solution to the problem of emergence in the double-analysis approach. See also discussion of the borrowing factor in the neo-neogrammarian views of Harris and Campbell (1995; below in 2.3.3.). Another name of this process is analogy; see Skousen (1989), and the extended discussion below in Chapter 5 detailing the central claim of this essay that analogy is the driving force of linguistic organization and change. See Hawkins (1983), especially Chapter 5 for an elaborate example involving the order of adpositions and nominal modifiers. Even though this is potentially controversial for Spanish given a claim that it has a VSO foundation due to its post-verbal subject options (Westphal 1983). In this context, consider the typologies of phonological inventories which cannot account for the hard questions of marginal deviations. The lack of a phoneme /p/ in Classical Arabic is quite surprising given the presence of /b/, Iii, /vv/, /m/ among labials and the complete series of (inter)dentals/alveolars: IM, Id/, Is/, /ζ/, /Θ/, /a/ and emphatic (pharyngeal) /t./, /d./, Is./, Iz.l, /θ./, /ö./; see Harder-Paret (1962: 1-2). Grammaticalization in Bybee, Perkins, and Pagliuca (1994) is the result of parallel coding of data from many unrelated languages taken from reference materials (xv-xix). The standard vocabulary of categories (316-325) shows considerable refinement and full breadth to deal with tense, aspect and mood. As is natural, many such categories require decisions by the analyst beyond direct evidence in the data. Since the analyses are dependent on pre-existing reference materials, the multiple treatments do not guarantee full compatibility of classification across languages. However, there seems to be no other way to do this kind of research efficiently and effectively. Joseph (2001) distinguishes for the attested uses of grammaticalization the acceptations 'process', 'processes', and 'result', mainly due to ambiguity in the sources. Unidirectionality can only be attributed to a process; grammaticalization as a result therefore is an epiphenomenon. Joseph also argues that a gram may originate ex nihilo, as with Modern Greek subject clitics on the presentative particle na\ and in the origin of θα as a future marker from fuller Oelo sa χ Ί want that x'). Here, analogy in its proportional model could be sufficient for understanding the specific changes; an alternate explanation can be found in the non-proportional proximity model discussed below (see 5.1., 5.2., 5.5.2.).

29. The 2PS forms are lost due to an sociolinguistic reorganization concerning the forms of address, i.e. substitution of originally formal 3PS forms for 2PS reference, with consequent replacement of the pronouns of address by nominal expressions: tu with 2S verbal agreement only in European Portuguese for address of solidarity/familiarity; voce (from an original vossa merced 'your mercy') as formal address with 3s verb forms in European Portuguese, in Brazilian Portuguese however used for familiar address. The formal level thus re-

280

30. 31.

32.

33.

Notes quired another mark, commonly a senhora, ο senhor 'the lady, the gentleman'. As in Spanish, the loss of the 2PS forms is not a grammatical topic, and the sociolinguistic conditions of these developments are sufficiently well known and documented in historical period (15th to 18th century, with eventual standardization); see Vazquez Cuesta and Mendes da Luz (1970 (2): 152-162). Or are the clitic forms being lost because the null-referential expression has become more acceptable? The question will not be pursued here. This is also a strong suspicion in Brazilian Portuguese where creolization may have played a contributing role due to limited contact with the standard language. The effective degree of bilingual influence is a matter of debate; the concrete historical situation can count on a strong Germanic presence since the 13th century, especially for all matters of writing and culture. The written standards of the 19th century revival crucially depend on the model provided by the Bible translation of the 16th century (generally the first recorded texts of RhaetoRomance) following the earlier German efforts. Catastrophic adjustments could be added as a different category. These are unlimited and unclassifiable changes taking place in non-organic diachrony (pidgins, Creoles, language shift, etc.). This type falls outside the boundaries of standard diachronic developments according to the received view (e.g. Thomason and Kaufman 1988). Newer approaches have been arguing forcefully that creolization is a continuum extending from the everyday kind of diachronic change under socio-cultural continuity to the more extreme instances of broken linguistic filiation. In this view, the Brazilian Portuguese or Surselvan developments, as well as many episodes in the history of the Romance languages, could profitably be viewed as the result of a limited degree of creolization. Creolization then becomes a label for language development under varying degrees of social stress depending on essential language contact; see Winford (1997); deGraaf (1999).

Chapter 3 34. The immanent perspective is based on the biological vision of Maturana and Varela (1972) and Maturana (1978). The communicational, and thus cultural, pessimism of Maturana and Varela (1972) is a product of the strong hypothesis of biological autopoiesis, i.e. foremost concentration of every living being on its own survival, regardless of other circumstances, and its uncertain reception of external information and expression of its own internal states. 35. See also Joseph (1992) on the importance of taking the native speaker into full consideration in the construction of a solution. Taylor (1995) highlights the need for construal in language learning (categorization). This point will become central in the discussion of Concrete Minimalism (Chapter 5).

Notes

281

36. At least for the very finite human mind, the four-thousand-plus languages currently registered as existing or having existed are a vast domain (see Comrie 1987; Grimes et al. 1988). A limited number of binary parameters, minimally 12, would mathematically be sufficient to capture this kind of variety (yielding 212 or 8,192 combinations), but this presupposes that the differentiations all follow well-defined parameters with full exploitation of all different combinations. No such set of parameters has ever been proposed, and it is not very likely that anything even approaching such a maximally economic framework can be construed based on the clustered distribution of linguistic shapes. It remains doubtful that trying to decipher a "linguistic genome" represents a useful project given the differences between a living organism and the social activity of language. 37. One such area concerns so-called Spanish clitic doubling which in the 18th century did not find much written expression even for IOs as the then most developed context. The 18th century practice (as derived from the Corpus del espanol, Davies 2003) corresponds more to the weak patterns of the 16th c. (Keniston 1937a: §8.6-9) than the broad presence of doubling in the 21st. c. 38. "Obligatoriness" should be taken with a considerable amount of relativization. There are many construction types that permit a finite French verb to appear without a subject in its immediate scope (VP coordination, imperatives, etc.). The intent of the parametrization covers primarily the standard unmarked case of assertions (see Fonseca-Greber and Waugh 2003). The discrepancies between the simple norm of non-null status and the phenotypes are much greater in German and English. 39. For discussion of the more developed classical stages of the null-subject questions, see Jaeggli and Safir (1989b). 40. See also Lasnik and Saito (1984); Aoun (1987); Schütze (1996: 38-41, 2 0 9 210). Its binding into the null-subject phenomenology is only stipulative and, as an unstable effect, it cannot save the hypothesis of the overall parameter. 41. The recognition of languages with contextually differentiated null-subject valuation would appear to require splitting the original single parameter into a series of sub-parameters with questionable universal validity; see (3) in the text. At a minimum, two such dimensions: null-subject(root) and nullsubject(non-root) are necessary for Palestinian Arabic and Hebrew (Kenstowicz 1989; Borer 1989). The localized differentiation does not stop here, since the development of the Romance non-null-subject varieties clearly shows a dependency also on grammatical person, and possibly other such nonstructural factors (Heap 2000). A comprehensive null-subject parameter is then reduced to irrelevance beyond its use as a convenient tag (Wanner 1993a). 42. As is the case for German optional null-subject occurrence, especially also dialectal, e.g. Swiss Gm. ['vas has/ 'ksaejtj? what have-2s-PRES-iND say-PPL 'What id you say?'.

282

Notes

43. In the sense of Piaget (1975); see also Chomsky and Fodor in their interventions in Palmarini-Piattelli (1979). 44. In this case subsuming under P2 only the interpretation where first position comprises an entire constituent, not only the first lexical word (see Progovac 1996; Radanovic-Kodic 1996). 45. A specific agent may be in the speaker's mind, thus favoring clitic doubling; but in this case the expression is more likely to reflect this internal reference with a choice such as a mi agente 'to my agent', yielding invariable clitic doubling through its (expressed) specificity as in (4a). Besides, this supposition only is a petitio principii. 46. Postulating a δΜ in (4b) results in arbitrary attributions to the speaker's cognitive state. Any intended nuance to motivate the use of clitic doubling, from relevance to thematic status to emotive involvement, may be usable, but it solely relies on a projection on the part of the observer as well as of the language learner interpreting the minimally contrasting strings. See also 7.2.5.4. for more discussion. 47. Only real conditions in present/future after si 'if'. This perhaps surprising exclusion of the subjunctive is a rather recent acquisition of the language (after 1700), due to some secondary regulation/standardization in replacement of the earlier future subjunctive in this context. The systematically ambiguous verbs of communication belong to both subclasses of (6) so that their major 6M directly correlates with the choice of subordinating verb forms. 48. See Marcus (2001) for a constructive critique of connectionism in this respect. 49. See Labov (1972, 1981, 1992, 1994-2001 (2): passim); Cedergren and Sankoff (1974); Poplack (1980); Trudgill (1986).

Chapter 4 50. The consideration of grammaticality and its role in linguistic theory (Schütze 1996) provides a rich documentation and discussion of these issues in much more breadth than can be achieved here. The concerns and conclusions are similar to the selection of problems addressed in this essay. While the thoughts of the present chapter found their basic formulation independently, Schütze's study is a major contribution to critiquing grammaticality as a concept and a practice. For a more sanguine view of the role of grammaticality judgments, see e.g. Sorace (1996), including a review of the literature. 51. The examples and valuations are taken from Demonte (1991). 52. The reason for the relative (un)grammaticality of the examples is not important in this context, only the judgments expressed, illustrating the richness of possible gradations. 53. In Optimality Theory, the grammaticality judgments refer to a relative ranking of constructional violations. Each component principle would contribute an

Notes

283

independent judgment, and a pre-established hierarchy of constructional weight would determine the eventual goodness or failure of the utterance. This scenario, akin to an optimality approach, implies the possibility of imperfect grammaticality scores for subordinate principles. The problem remaining in this interpretation is still the variability of judgments between linguistic individuals, since these would require crucially differential weighting of principles. If weighting of the otherwise parametric and universal principles is now the essential acquisition task by the linguistic individual, the problem of indeterminacy has only been shifted from one formal domain to another. 54. See also Schütze (1996: 38-41) for a succinct presentation of the grammaticality argument, on which this discussion is based. 55. The potential structural differentiation between that and whether, a COMP vs. a full WH element, is immaterial in this context. 56. Cognitive, communicative, and social conditions, i.e. the envelope, can modify the judgment on a linguistic event, but they cannot elevate arbitrarily deviant strings to acceptable linguistic events. The idealistic view of language as an open field of invention (Croce 1912) is an unrealistic exaggeration of individual freedom in this realm. The opposite extreme of a rigid mold, as fought for in prescriptive endeavors and occasionally implied in formal approaches, falls short of the reality of open-ended expression and inventiveness. What remains is an intermediate position where the given language in its materiality exists as form, corresponding in part to a formalizable core. However, form is inevitably constrained by its conditions for realization, i.e. the envelope. 57. The combination SUBJECT(oth), REFER(subj) in types (e) and (f) is not a very likely constellation, since the observer typically investigates the linguistic practice of others, rather than her/himself in a detached mode. 58. The extreme type (h) can potentially be relevant if the input data of type (a) are appropriately classified in the analysis. 59. See Perry (2002) for an insightful discussion of the Piercean nature of such signs as applied to the phoneme. 60. A problem is NP-hard if it is at least as complex as a well-described problem of known complexity falling into the NP class. The same problem is NP-complete if it is also (partially) known to be included in this class of computational complexity (Ristad 1993: 134-135). 61. The "efficient witness" is a locally prominent solution to the referential task at hand, accepted as a potentially relevant answer on the basis of its local pertinence (Ristad 1993: 121) 62. Another aspect of regularity has been discussed in 3.8. from the point of view of frequency of occurrence and variability. 63. See also the broader discussion in Chapter 5 and its application to diachronic concerns in Chapter 7.

284

Notes

Chapter 5 64. Recall that the proposed categories for realistic gauging by the linguistic individual are at most five: "(close to) 1/completion" - "much" - "variable" - "little" - "(close to) 0/absence" (see 3.8. for a discussion of frequency gauging). 65. Excluding most supervised and tutored learning. 66. This could be the superposition of two binary functions (i) "identical yes/no?" and, if (i) is "no", (ii) "similar yes/no?". 67. The two approaches were developed independently of each other, and to my knowledge have not entered into effective contact other than in the present study. The motivating idea of immanence underlying this essay on historical linguistics again represents an originally unconnected project that only in its later phases was associated with developments in Concrete Minimalism and Analogical Modeling. As inspirational sources of the essay, Maturana and Varela (1972) provide an account of the need for an immanent perspective, Ristad (1993) demonstrates the excessive computational resource needs of current linguistic frameworks, and Harris and Campbell (1995) make the case for a realistic approach to historical syntax. 68. Selective application and variable rules violate the foundations of the formal framework in ad hoc ways and cannot remedy the difficulties. 69. CAMiLLe, as well as Aqui and Clagen, was tested on a realistic child-language corpus drawn from the CHILDES data base (MacWhinney 2000). 70. Analogy is the force that underlies the concept of extension in Harris and Campbell (1995: 48-60), and it is a generalized version of the Lexical Diffusion hypothesis (Wang 1969; Chen and Wang 1975) applicable to all linguistic domains. 71. A succinct survey of the approach is provided in Skousen (1995) as well as (2002a). The foundations are laid in Skousen (1989) for the analogical aspects, and Skousen (1992) for the mathematical foundations of natural statistics. The collection of papers in Skousen et al. (2002) contains among other contributions a more extensive presentation of the code for the computational implementation and a tutorial for the operation of analogical modeling. 72. Analogical Modeling consciously measures itself against the extensive investigations concerning the English verbal inflection, e.g. Rumelhart and McClelland (1986); Rumelhart (1989); Pinker and Prince (1994). 73. I.e. excluding clitic shift to the left: (i) vuoi saper-lol 'Do you want to know it?' is a valid example, whereas the alternative lo vuoi sapere? 'id.' does not apply, since the clitic is linearized with regard to the finite part vuoi of the verbal expression. Note that vuoi lo sapere? is in principle ambiguous (vuoi-lo or lo-sapere) in a Tobler-Mussafia context that requires/permits enclisis (see Ramsden 1963: 112-133; Wanner 1987: Ch. 7). 74. The sources are the ADMYTE files (1992-1999), adapted for close control of the time of copy, and searched with BBEdit® for the chunks between 1200 and

Notes

75.

76.

77.

78. 79.

80.

81. 82.

83.

84. 85.

285

1550, while the portions between 1550 and 1700 stem from the Corpus del espafiol (Davies 2003). The sharp break between the periods 1500 to 1550 vs. 1550 to 1600 is not due to the change of data base, since both corpora yield comparable results for 1500 to 1550 and pervious periods; the dramatic development concerns the linguistic evolution in a concrete way. The simulations produced by CAMiLLe (Culicover and Nowak 2003: 2 0 1 205) show such patterns regularly and with always changing outcomes. Still, the dramatic reversal observed in the later phases (last two columns of Table 2) represents an exceptional development in this framework; see 5.5.4.2. According to Milroy and Milroy (1985), the role of individuals weakly connected to more than one social group is central to the successful crossover between networks. To the extent that they carry an innovation, they guarantee the spread of an originally very limited phenomenon to a broader community involving multiple networks. The number of competing options in (7a) is not of much significance for a simple model; the simplest case of two such options will be sufficient at present. I.e. an analogical adjustment affecting language practice with an appreciable degree of change in the external perspective of the linguistic observer. Sufficient not in the sense of effecting a change in fact, but of being the only event that has the potential of starting the process, even though it remains indeterminate whether any reaction will set in. This happens only passively, in the same way that analogical influence only operates constructively in direction of increased similarity, potentially producing collateral dissimilarities; see 5.4.6. below. See 5.4.4. above for discussion of a non-linear, even oscillating development regarding the linearization of clitics with the infinitive in Italian and Spanish. The massive increase in analogical and innovative Florentine 3P preterit endings in the 15th and 16th centuries provides a good illustration of this twophase process (see 7.1.2. below). In the literature on Textsorten and language history, the discussion focuses on the so-called Ausbau 'elaboration' giving the originally oral vernacular language the richness and flexibility expected of a versatile written language (Raible 1991). See Eberenz (2000: 12-18) and Penny (2000: 118-128) on the actual social conditions determining this development. The distinction between p['e]sca 'fishing' vs. p['t\sca 'peach', c['o]lto 'taken, harvested (PPL of cogliere) vs. v['i]lta 'time (occurrence)' is no longer observed with any certainty in standard Italian, thus eliminating a Florentine or Tuscan foundational feature of the language as a result of later demographic shifts.

286

Notes

Chapter 6 86.

87.

88. 89.

90.

91.

92.

93. 94.

The dimensions of Soft Syntax will be marked by square brackets and capitals, be they individual traits such as [PRECEDENCE] or superordinate groupings such as [SYNTAX]. The role of this lexicon somewhat resembles the conceptualization of Jackendoff (1997, 2002). This lexicon is a vastly extended densely crossconnected component of most of the learned linguistic knowledge about a language. A strongly emerging trend of exemplar-based phonology (e.g. Pierrehumbert 2001) constitutes a significant development in this direction. A significantly broadened conception of the lexicon is also defended in Bybee (2001). We will return to the question of constructional identity below (see section 3.3.5). The two form-oriented domains of [PHONOLOGY] (2c) and [MORPHOLOGY] (2d) will not be further specified here, leaving them for a more deliberate approach to the question. The phonological dimension offers options for simultaneity, from the coextension of articulatory/classificatory traits to the co-presence of prosodic material with segmental articulations. This kind of overlap is physiologically accommodated. In morphology, the frequent coalescence of analytically distinct morphosyntactic functions to an amalgamated or portmanteau morph indicates that linearity is not a condition regulating concepts; it rather constrains physically concrete elements of linguistic activity, in particular words. For clarity, the graphic symbolization /a>b/ will be employed to signal absolute precedence, mediate and contiguous, while /a-b/ stands for the immediate precedence with contiguity of terms. If only mediate precedence is crucial, this will be indicated by an intermediate term, /a>c>b/or/a>...>b/. Note that this is a case of productive redundancy permitting alternative and concomitant ways of capturing a given constellation. The example is only illustrative without necessarily representing a finished analysis. Abstracting away from the question of whether clitic clusters justify any principles beyond the most immediate fixation of surface patterns, the French post-verbal arrangement V-le-moi might not even be a clitic sequence. It could as well represent a / V + C L / string with an attached final strong pronoun moi, in which case the postverbal imperative ordering statement would not be required at all. V+CL dis-le plus a context-specific pronominal construction and form /[V, +imper]-mo/7 leaves the true clitic ordering statement /I > [III, -REFL]/ C | unaffected by contextual modification. The status of the postverbal pronominal forms in modern French is controversial, and the exclusive solution admitted in the standard language does not correspond to variants found in the less guarded spoken language, from impeccable dis-moi

Notes

95. 96.

98.

99. 100.

101.

102. 103.

287

with zero reference for the direct object to non-standard dis-moi-le, dis-me-le, and others more (Morin 1979a, 1979b). The specific restriction involving IP person applies equally well to 2P, so that a more generalized version of the [PRECEDENCE] specification could be /{IP, 2P} > [3P, -REFL]/ or more abstract, /-3P>[3P, -REFL]/, without changing anything crucial in the argument. The difference between these formulations regards the degree of abstraction achieved in an individual's linguistic knowledge. The formulation requires adjustment for the behavior of command forms. This formulation leads again to a productive redundancy, this time with [COHESION] and [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY], to produce appropriate linearization. In a concrete formulation, the statement would then become equivalent to the association {V, cl} valid for most of the modern Romance languages. It is interesting that the right edge of constituents (other than noncoordinated clauses) also turns out to be largely irrelevant in a mechanical exercise of segmenting text. In the process of preparing a syntactic data base for medieval Castilian, the search programs did not increase accuracy of selection for a given string pattern based on the presence or absence of end marks for (small or large) constituents; the crucial information was the beginning, the left edge. The stringing up of NPs and PPs is normative. In the same sense, the coordinated subordinate clauses cannot always be uniquely delimited as to whether they still depend on a preceding root clause or not. This is a practical observation concerning written texts, but it comes as a good confirmation of the potential correctness for the approach to [COHESION] (see Wanner 1991a for some discussion of the syntactic mark-up for automatic processing). The actual probability of occurrence on the other hand belongs to the IMPLEMENTATION conditions for each dimension which will be discussed in 6.4. below. " a " symbolizes the combined specifications of [PRECEDENCE] and [COHESION]: /a>b/ 'a precedes b and a and b show significant cohesion'. The shorthand notation XP only expresses the inclusion of a nuclear element X in the constituent; there is no claim as to a specific projection level in the sense of x-bar theory (e.g. no distinction between X' and XP). The alternative analysis with a head element "ART", i.e. determiner, is more current in formal context under the heading of the DP hypothesis (originally in Abney 1987). The difference is immaterial for present purposes, given the flat interpretation of [AGREEMENT]; see 3.3.4. below. Still valid for the modern language in this sense. The mode of subordination is however controlled by the separate dimension [CONCATENATION] defining the hierarchical relationship between two elements; see 6.3.3.6. below.

288 104.

105.

106.

107.

108.

109.

Notes [DEPENDENCE] is not a variant of so-called Dependence Grammar (see Panevova and Sgall 1990; Kakouriotis 1989). [DEPENDENCE] only attempts to characterize the observable relations between various elements and attribute to them a certain amount of order, essentially of the head-argument type. The deeper relationship between various related semantic notions - experiencer/subject, etc. - does not find accommodation in this dimension, since such labels refer to levels of semantic and situational analysis much more abstract than what Soft Syntax attempts to characterize; see Dowty (1991) for fundamental discussion of this semantic field. [AGREEMENT] is to be distinguished from the AGR functional projection used in Principles and Parameters and Minimalist frameworks. With a zero nucleus but otherwise expressed material, the referential charge passes to the element representing the nucleus, e.g. in nominalizations: [la νieja^Jjjp es ([la]NP) de mi primo (sc. casa) 'the old one is (the one) of my cousin (sc. house)'. Persistent reference to F SG stems from the adjective which in turn is determined by a contextually identifiable noun of feminine gender and singular reference, e.g. la casa. There is however no marked null presence of this noun in the syntactic string that could determine the F SG form of la (twice). A Soft-Syntax analysis is fully parallel to the basic cases of (14a, b).

The predicative structure represents another [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]; here gender reference would be added for correct agreement. For Classical Arabic, the (non-)agreement between a masculine noun and a quantifying number adjective between 3 and 10 yields a F SG form for the number word and GEN PL for the Ν: θα Ία: θα tuf sg ri 'dja:linm sg gen three ofman 'three men'; between the numbers of 11 and 99, the numeral is Μ and the noun shows ACC SG 'ahada 'ajara 'radjulan.dCC sg one ten man 'eleven men'. From 101 on the noun is in GEN SG as a complement to the numeral noun 'alfu 'lajlatin6m sg Ί 0 0 0 nights' (Harder-Paret 1962: 112). [AGREEMENT] consists in the marking and the declaration of correlation, rather than an overt parallelism. It is curious to note that all morphological systems, and much more so the agreement patterns, always seem to require a retrojection into an idealized, undocumented past in order to bring out the perceived regularities in the morphological markings and syntactic connections (similar to an abstract analysis). The ravages of phonological evolution constantly erode these systems, and the regularity of effective agreement is always compromised. The most difficult feature of these systems is the fact that the overt markings usually exhibit a high degree of phonological diversity due to the existence of arbitrary inflectional classes and the extensive syncretism of functions. The two reductions obfuscate the [AGREEMENT] effect, almost to the point of being unrecoverable; see the simple Latin example (14). What is such a leaky device really accomplishing? Further investigation of this question

Notes

289

might yield reasons for reassessing the putative independence of [AGREEMENT] separate from and above [MORPHOLOGY].

110.

111.

112.

113.

114.

115.

116.

117.

118.

The difference between the two auxiliaries ser 'to be' and haber 'to have' is ultimately only accidental, since the compound tense in Medieval Spanish used both auxiliaries in part depending on the lexico-syntactic classification of the predicate. A pattern akin to the conditions of modern auxiliary selection found e.g. in French, Italian, and German also applied to Old Spanish. The ESSE auxiliary applies to a subgroup of intransitives (typically motion and unaccusative verbs), as well as to reflexives; HABERE comes to represent a default for remaining intransitives and all transitive predicates. The implementation is to a certain degree language specific. In its effect, [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] is a naive version of Construction Grammar (e.g. Goldberg 1995) focusing on certain morphologistic properties of the linguistic chain with recurrent properties and restrictions. The specific verbs in the entries of [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] in (15) may well be expanded to small homogeneous subclasses, depending on the linguistic individual's cognitive status. Alternatively, the complementizing preposition a could also be treated as an integral portion of the aspectual verb empezar so that it would only be displayed in the presence of a concrete complement. This analysis combines more easily with the items not specifying an overt complementizing morpheme. The difference between a restrictive relative clause and a non-restrictive one derives from the fact that the restrictive one instantiates a [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] of attribution. The non-restrictive construction is not a predication, but an apposition depending on default concatenation by addition under referential identity: l[ CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] /NPJ [ s ...RELj...] 'NPJ and 'S about NPJ''I (i). (i) [ese concierto]NPi [[el cualJ ya no quiero criticar ]REL_S 'that concert, which I no longer wish to critique' If processing direction is assumed to be left-to-right, i.e. progressive by default, the single two-valued pair "coordinate vs. subordinate" could be sufficient. [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] will contribute a frame identifying this kind of utterance structure. The individual adaptations to this coercive situation vary accordingly. While dropping the weakest component, the prohibition against splitting the infinitive, is one of them, not all speakers feel comfortable with the transgression of the socially imposed rule. For these individuals, each instance may thus give rise to some functionally appropriate, but ad hoc circumlocution. Again, this will need a correction for the (different?) situation of le tout Paris 'the entire good society of Paris', where an idiomatic construction /tout + (social group)/ could preempt the ordering problem by constituting a

290

Notes closer bond between the (here: pseudo-)quantifier and the nominal element. The two precedence patterns could constitute an argument for splitting the lexical item tout into two based on a primary syntactic property of its string behavior paralleled by a semantic differentiation.

Chapter 7 119.

120. 121.

This is not to deny the lexicon any structure at all; its structure is, however, mainly dictated by its memory function, i.e. presumably parallel to how memory stores, itemizes, connects, and retrieves its informational load. The lexicon receives its linguistic properties from the components determining its content items: [PHONOLOGY], [MORPHOLOGY], [SYNTAX]. On the other hand, the Lexicon must follow intricate organizational principles of connection, association, and categorization separate from the requirements of [CHAIN]. These provide for alternate semantic and formal focus, associational flexibility, and great access speed, making real-time retrieval efficient and effective. For language-specific surveys, see e.g. Posner (1996) for the Romance group, or Penny (2002) and Lloyd (1987) for Spanish. This can be appreciated in the variable fate of "palatalization" (sometimes called "velar softening" due to the following problem) in the development of the Romance languages. The chains [velar] to °[(pre)palatal] to [assibilated prepalatal], or [velar] to °[(pre)palatal] to [palatalized dento-alveolar] to [assibilated dento-alveolar] use two developmental paths leading to rather distinct phonetic outcomes: palatal vs. dento-alveolar, but both depending on the same local, minimal step assimilating the place of articulation of a consonant to a following vowel. Only one of these outcomes can properly be called a palatalization (Aski 1998). If an early (pre)palatal stage without assibilation is postulated, both versions of the process deserve the name of palatalization. The long-distance view of macroscopic change is rather challenged to make sense of this double evolution. Another good example of narrow variation is found in Romance intervocalic voicing, especially concerning the divergent types between Central Italy, Northern Italy, Occitan, Catalan, Aragonese-Castilian, and the sporadic lack of such voicing in High Aragonese/Bearn; see Cravens (2000, 2002) for a systematic reconstruction of the question. Recent developments in exemplar-based studies (see e.g. Pierrehumbert 2001 with relevant bibliography) provide an account of the properties of an immanent phonological diachrony: strictly phonetic in incipience, based on variable realizations in the surrounding practice, socially driven in actual practice, progressing in small local and contiguous steps motivated by articulatory production and/or auditory perception and reproduction.

Notes

291

122. This broad observation is not meant to exclude phonosymbolism and similar phenomena of secondary meaning attribution to phonetic form; see Malkiel (1990). 123. For broader appreciations of morphological approaches, see the standard introductions of Carstairs-McCarthy (1992); Bauer (1988); a more specialized framework in Stump (1991); naturalness in Wurzel (1989); Dressier (1985a, 1985b); Bybee (1985). In the Romance domain, the historical and comparative concerns are addressed in the classical Lausberg volume (1965-1966 (2)), while single languages count with dedicated morphological treatises, e.g. Fouche (1967) for French; Alvar and Pottier (1983) for Spanish. Again as for phonology, a survey of the acquired positions is not in the purview of this essay; a minimal consideration of salient results in the immanent perspective will suffice. 124. It is not clear that there is much evidence for convincing morphological naturalness observed across specific morphological implementations, in spite of the extensive research on such morphological systems with global implications (Wurzel 1989; Bybee 1985). 125. See in this sense Timberlake (1985); Wanner (1989). A highly differentiated consideration of phonological metathesis is found in Hume (2004), integrating it as a genuine phonological change while maintaining its status of exceptionality due to the contradiction between linearity and transition. 126. However, the inverse option /n>ART/np surfaces as a categorical choice at least in Romanian among the Romance languages. The two ordering options, /ART> n/ and /N>ART/, represent legitimate solutions based on the free Late Latin syntactic pattern /deictic>N/ and /N>deictic/ paralleling the nonexpressive variation between /N>ADJ/ and /ADJ>N/. Both orders are attested, even though in an unbalanced distribution favoring the prenominal occurrence of the determiner. 127. Note that the ordering of the clitics has nothing to do with the syntactic functions expressed by these elements, e.g. DO or 10. The chosen order /a>b/ serves for both functional sequences /lO>DO/ and /D0>I0/ (semantically more difficult) as long as the clitic forms admit both 10 and do interpretations, e.g. It. mi, ti, but not lo, la, li, le which are marked as do only. Consider mi ti raccomando Ί ask you for your consideration of my point of view/my interest (lit. I recommend myself to you)' with DO>lO vs. mi ti penso senza cambio, como sempre Ί am thinking of you unchanged, as always (lit. I think you for me without change))'; see Evans et al. (1978); Wanner (1977). 128. The case is particularly interesting, since the textual transmission preserves a master copy with corrections by the author himself (Branca and Ricci 1962). 129. Menard (1973: 67); Moignet (1973: 140). See also the contraction between preposition and article de+les > des 'of+ART PL'. The clitic combination

292

130.

131.

132. 133.

134.

135.

136.

Notes mes, tes belong to a linguistic phase with otherwise clear order le(s)ila > melte, i.e. /[3, DO] > [1, 2 10]/. T h e initial V is frequently the mechanical result of an unexpressed, nonprominent or non-novel subject in null-subject languages. In Spanish, the multiple possibilities for postverbal subjects, non-prominent in /Χ Ν SU Y/ or focused in /Χ V Y SU/, represent an additional condition modifying the SVO character, without negating it overall, in spite of the earlier discussions around this trait; see e.g. Greenberg (1966); Hawkins (1983); Westphal (1983). This right-oriented construction represents a minor option in the Romance developments, seemingly going against the general trend of leftward orientation of an abstract linearization under [PRECEDENCE]: /function (e.g. inflection) > lexical head/. The inverted order is however not truly exceptional considering other Romance innovations such as the Romanian article in postposition: cal+ul 'horse-the', a result of another intersection of [COHESION] and [PRECEDENCE]. For another innovative postposed inflection, consider the partial agreement of the past participle in the compound tenses of French, Italian and older Romance varieties: letp, ho visteff, ieri Ί have seen them yesterday'. As with other [PRECEDENCE] regulated phenomena, the emergence of the opposite value (here /X-function/ compared to a more frequent order /function-X/ is expected, since the binary choice is not predetermined. Fr. depuis 'since' < *DE+POSTEA ' f r o m afterwards' is similar to dopo, despues, but shifted in meaning. T h e representation /{CL+V}/ expresses the lack of linearization in this bond; directionality follows a separate specification in [PRECEDENCE]. In /x 1P +CL/, the two independent [COHESION] and [PRECEDENCE] specifications are conflated based on the facts, so that the string should be read as linearly ordered. Not so the adverbial/oblique pronouns f r o m INDE ' f r o m there', IBI/HIC 'there/here' representing adjuncts. Their fragmentary distribution across the Romance languages and their frequently less integrated clitic behavior mark them as later and less developed phenomena; the standard clitic behavior is rather defined by the personal pronouns (Badia Margarit 1947; Ramsden 1963; Wanner 2001a). It is not possible to go into any detail of this question here. Relevant literature of different persuasions includes: Meyer-LUbke (1897); Ramsden (1963) mainly for factual background and a survey of previous positions; Rivero (1986); Wanner (1987, 1996); Fontana (1996); Salvi (2004) for interpretation in more formal frameworks. For the article with the same formal reductions in the same time f r a m e , the [COHESION] effect is different, taking place between the article and whatever element follows to the right in the ΝΡ: //ART+x/.../ NP , as discussed above.

Notes

137.

138.

139.

140.

141.

142.

143.

293

The very schematic meaning indication does not intend to reflect the finer semantic divergences and implications as investigated e.g. in Harris (1982); Squartini and Bertinetto (2000). There are at least two semantic types of compound-tense instantiations (mainly regarding the present perfect): simple anteriority vs. relevant recency or manifest result (e.g. French and Italian vs. Portuguese and Latin American Spanish). This information belongs to the semantic domain proper and in part to pragmatic embedding of usage that will also inform the diachronic developments between Latin and modern Romance. Similar patterns of AUX+participial form are standard formations for future (active) participle (laudaturus esse 'INF FUT to praise', laudaturus iri 'INF FUT PASS'), gerundive laudandus esse 'INF PRES PASS, obligative (to be in need of being praised)', both constructed with ESSE and reinforcing the strain of /ESSE+PPL/ as a grammaticalized Latin compound verb form with variable tense and voice reference. See regular litteras tibi misi Ί sent you a letter' or scripsi Ί wrote you a letter'; all three e.g. in Cicero (Lindsay 1897: 494-496, 510-511, 519-522; Hofmann and Szantyr 1972: 318-321, 391-393). - This participial smallclause construction slowly extends its lexical/semantic range from activities with tangible, even though intellectual result (cognitum, persuasum, perspectum, exploratum, statutum habeo Ί knew, persuaded, realized, found out, arranged') to other transitive predicates. Only from the late 6th century on are there more secure cases of simple perfect meaning: episcopum ... invitatum habes (Greg. Tur. v. pair.) 'you invited/have invited the bishop'. An instance of categorical cohesiveness in a similar configuration is the English requirement of adjacency between predicate and DO, barring special constructions involving Heavy NP Shift. The more abstract ambidirectional cohesion, e.g. {V+CL}, is a secondary development based on the directional components /CL+V/ and /V+CL/. Even though [COHESION] and [PRECEDENCE] are independent, the simplest configurations combine the two features in mutually reinforcing ways. If they really were such and if it makes sense to talk of clitics as a recognizable phenomenon; see the discussion in the literature, e.g. Zwicky (1985) in general, Rivero (1986) and Fontana (1996) on Spanish. See also the above discussion in 7.2.2.5. Sporadically, the compound passive of Latin already had non-anterior tense reference and the perfect passive occasionally showed perfect tense in the auxiliary, e.g. laudatus fui Ί have been/was praised' (Hofmann and Szantyr 1972: 306, 394). This presumably illustrates the analogical potential of the present tense auxiliary form (later to become prevalent in Romance) as well as the alternative harmonization of the auxiliary with perfect reference.

294 144.

145.

146.

147.

148.

Notes The other four dimensions provide the linear ([PRECEDENCE]) and hierarchical means ([DEPENDENCE], [CONCATENATION]) for capturing the constructional variations or reinforcing a given chunking ([AGREEMENT]). The Romance varieties with remnants of inflectional nominal case need to be mentioned here: Medieval French and Occitan (a subject vs. non-subject two-case system), modern Romanian (a SUBJ/OBJ vs. ΙΟ/GEN two-case system), vestiges in Surselvan with a predicative case for some adjectives vs. unique case form for other nominals. The pronominal forms retain some etymological case functions in all Romance languages, but the set of forms generally does not amount to a cohesive pattern. In Italian, ACC vs. DAT clitics are distinct in 3 SG/PL non-reflexive (DO lo/la/li/le vs. 10 gli/le), but conflated in 1, 2 PS and 3 reflexive (DO = 10 mi, ci, ti, vi, si), while Romanian still distinguishes case on an etymological base, e.g. mä DO vs. (i)mi 10. The strong pronouns continue isolated Latin forms with inherent case reference: EGÖ nominative > Sp. yo, It. io (both strong), Fr. je (weak or clitic), etc. vs. ME accusative/ablative or M(IH)I dative > Sp. mi, It. me, Fr. moi. Already in Latin, these forms did not express case in a systematic way and they did not follow the nominal patterns. These irregularities are already of PIE origin. In this sense, the Latin case system can be said to have been eliminated overall in the transition to Romance with small pockets of fragmentary conservation; see Lausberg (1965-1966 (2): §705-737); Dardel and Wtiest (1993) among others. The phenomenon of vocalic harmony registered in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects of Spanish is a potentially compensatory development related to the aspiration and loss of coda-/s/ that can translate the number feature of plural by manifestly lowering non-low vowels and fronting /a/; see Lipski (1994); Mondejar (1991). This indirect expression of the original /+s/ plural morpheme is in no way a necessary condition for the loss of /-s/; a majority of dialects experiencing reduction or elision Of /-s/ do not exhibit any functional compensation for this event. See mainly Poplack (1980); Labov (1994-2001 (1): Ch. 19) and summary presentations of applicable research, e.g. Terrell (1987). Research first concentrated on formal, functional, and sociolinguistic criteria for describing the surface patterns of Is/ aspiration/deletion. This became obsolete with the emergence of strongly contradictory data to any such trend in Poplack (1980). The momentary consensus seems to be that the phenomenon transcends the boundaries of a standard formal constitution. The analogical perspective is well positioned to shed light on such a distribution, especially through the assimilation to a local pattern of preference for Is/ or 0 (inertial repetition due to strictly local assimilation of the outcome guided by the logic of the plurality-choice rule applied in the micro-environment). The left-hand column contains forms directly derivable by historical phonetic correspondences.

Notes 149.

295

According to Suner (1988) there is also a crucial involvement of specificity in determining reduplication, accounting among other things for a crucial difference in reference between the two questions (i) and (ii). Clitic reduplication of a DO occurs with the specific reference in (ii) picking out one or more items from a pre-established, specific group, while the nonreduplication in (i) is the normal case of asking about general identity without prior knowledge about the group or its members. See also GutierrezRexach (1999). (i) ΙΑ quien\ condecoraron los generates? PRP-IO w h o

cite-3P-PRET

the

generals

'To whom did the generals award a medal?' (ii) ^A quienes [de los soldados][ les\ condecoraron los generates? PRP-IO w h o - P L of

the s o l d i e r s

CL-IO cite-3P-PRET

the generals

'To which ones of the soldiers did the generals award a medal?' 150. Not always in form, since the clitic may lack plural agreement, thereby becoming just an IO case mark on the V: le\ [=10 SG] pegaron duro a todos\ [=10 PL] 'they hit them all hard'. 151. Recall that the change between different types of subordination does not engage [CONCATENATION], since it all takes place within the constant subordination tier. The Latin accusativus cum infinitivo (A.C.I.) may change to a finite subordinate clause (in most cases of A.C.I.); alternatively, a Latin finite clause becomes a Romance infinitival construction (e.g. for causatives), or there may be a shift in the type and identity of the complementizing morphemes and/or the dependent modality. Such changes translate into developments affecting [DEPENDENCE] and the many [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entries dealing with subordination in its concrete details, but not [CONCATENATION] as such. 152. Intonation provides a central clue for identifying such superordinate expressions. In the present framework, the parallelism and redundancy with [INTONATION] is productive and appropriate; the two aspects are mutually determining, rather than reductive from [INTONATION] to [CONCATENATION], or vice versa. [INTONATION] gives the abstract [CONCATENATION] value a surface expression, while [CONCATENATION] interprets the intonational specificity of the adverbial phrase as an item located at the sentence level. 153. (21e) contains in the higher-order expression re quidem vera another discourse marker with superordinate [CONCATENATION] value, yielding a double application of this upshifting: internal P2 to phrase scope, and initial position of the complex expression to clause scope. 154. For non-finite (infinitival) complementation, where the shift consists in [CONCATENATION] without a dedicated complementizing element, the only concrete difference to default serial [CONCATENATION] is stated as a lexical [DEPENDENCE] of the head element on which the non-finite subordination depends. Adverbial subordination of infinitive and gerund (VP level) does

296

155.

156.

157. 158.

159.

160.

161. 162.

Notes not require a complementizer {que) and the formal difference with the adverb or preposition is eliminated: por, sin, desde; antes de, en vez de, ... +INF, GER, as well as +NP. Only an appropriate instruction for [CONCATENATION] can account for the role of this non-finite subordination, even though it is marked by the manifest sign of a non-finite verb form lacking a subject expression. The original Latin inflectional futures were becoming weaker in usage and eventually disappeared mainly due to phonological erosion and coincidence with other tense forms. The [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entry given for the Romance innovation is only one of several such constructions; it is the simplest one in form due to the direct juxtaposition of the lexical with the functional verb. The phonological difference between the stem in (24a) vs. (24b) is emblematic. The infinitival reduction will take place in the de-stressed amalgamated version (for the few verbs having such an alternate stem), not in the separable construction maintaining two word accents. Other options are also available to express the future, with variable admixture of obligative traits: Pg. hei-de dizer 'I have to say'. In an obligative construction haber de V 'to have to V' and impersonal presentative haber 'there is/are'. This inverted order /V>AUX/ affects all types of verbal subordination: compound tenses for V=past participle, circumstantial expressions for V=gerund, and more closely woven subordination for V=infinitive. The standard PrincipIes-and-Parameters analysis sees this phenomenon as a raising of the lexical V above the iNFL-related position of the auxiliary (see Rivero and Lema 1992). Nevertheless, many claims for incorporation of pronouns in the verbal morphology have been made, usually concerning situations with minimal textual control of the development of such an agglutination. The agglutination of original subject pronouns as verbal endings in Northern Italian dialects can be mentioned here: Lomb. -i in Is from EGO, -t in 2s from τ£, etc. (Spiess 1956; Rohlfs 1965-1966 (2): §527, 528). A rather secure case is the combination of Sp. ha+y > hay lit. have-3s there > 'there is/are'; its deployment since the 13th c. can be traced in the contemporary documentation (Wanner 2001a). This is also argued in Schwegler (1990: 190), where the dichotomous concepts are shown to be simultaneously present in languages, depending on specific conditions of application and levels of analysis. Compare again the example Lt. QUÄ RE > Fr. car going from subordination to default coordination (7.2.6.2.). Typically including some complementing, basic adverbial, and much relative subordination.

Notes

163.

164. 165.

166. 167.

168.

297

In Romanian and Southern Italian varieties, the confluence of forms was less dramatic with the maintenance of two default subordinators, typically /ku/, /ko/ (also /mu/) with subjunctive, vs. /ka/ with indicative for the etyma QUOD (perhaps also CUM, and MODÖ for /mu/) vs. QUIA. Romanian maintains /sä/ from SI ' i f for subjunctive contexts (Rohlfs 1966-1969 (3): §786-789). The finite subordinating system preserved also SI 'if (later also: whether)' as another basic conjunction in its original function. This implies taking into consideration, among others, the degree of symmetry (Ferguson 1991), the social localization of the applicable normative code (Laforge and Peronnet 1989), and any special conditions leading to jargon creation, pidginization and/or creolization (see Bickerton 1981; Thomason and Kaufman 1988; Winford 1997; de Graaff 1999). The special situation of jargon, pidgin, and more extreme Creole formations must be excluded from this generalization. It is essential that drift only be expected under reasonably stable historical continuity, barring any catastrophic developments, as e.g. in more radical creolization, which would interrupt the indispensable social line of transmission. It .far paura 'to frighten (lit. make fear)' is characterized by a high degree of cohesion, e.g. due to the absence of a determiner; it may constitute a [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY] entry in the lexicon (together with other such partially fixed bare DO expressions). But then there is also a quantified variant, e.g. fare a qualcuno una paura da morire 'to frighten somebody badly (lit. make a fear to die)'. It relativizes the specialized construction, since it permits the modification with a second entry L[ CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY]: /N da V(INF)/ 'N so that one could v'l countering the absence of quantification/modification in the first construction. This construction thus represents a scalar instantiation of [CONSTRUCTIONAL IDENTITY].

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Index of names Abney, Steven, 241 Adams, Marianne, 5 ADMYTE, 132 Aebischer, Paul, 240 Alarcos Llorach, Emilio, 39,40 Andersen, Henning, 8 Anttila, Raimo, 30 Aski, Janice, 194, 209 Austin, Jennifer, 42 Ayers, Gayle M., 158 Bauer, Brigitte L.M., 259 Beckman, Mary E., 158 Bedier, Joseph, 29 Benincä, Paola, 5 Benjamin, John, 244 Beyrer, Arthur, 242 Bhatia, Tej K., 74 Biber, Douglas, 31 Bley-Vroman, Robert W., 89, 90, 93 Bloomfield, Leonard, 39 Boster, Carole T., 74 Brandl, Luciana, 72 Butt, John, 244 By bee, Joan L., 19, 54, 190 Campbell, Lyle, 8, 25, 38,47^*9, 60,149, 202 Carstairs-McCarthy, Andrew, 203 Castellani, Arrigo, 29, 210 Chandler, Steve, 126 Chen, Matthew Y., 70 Chomsky, Noam Α., 7, 9, 3 9 , 6 2 , 8 6 , 271 Clahsen, Harald, 74 Clark, Eve V., 145 Clark, Robin, 43, 4 7 , 6 0 Claudi, Ulrike, 55 Cordin, Patrizia, 72 Coseriu, Eugenio, 7, 38 Croft, William, 25, 5 8 , 5 9 , 6 0

Culicover, Peter W., 2, 10, 26,66, 114-117, 119, 120, 139, 140, 143, 146, 157,214, 268 Dahlgren, Kathleen, 3 Danford, Richard, 244 Dardel, Robert de, 204 de Mauro, Tullio, 150 Delbrück, Bertold, 39 Demonte, Violeta, 87 Durante, Marcello, 150 Eberenz, Rolf, 133, 149, 244 Ebneter, Theodor, 161 Edelman, Shimon, 167 Elman, Jeffrey L., 26, 114, 117 Felix, Sascha W., 89, 90 Fernändez Ramirez, Salvador, 244 Fischer, Susan, 5 Fodor, Janet Dean, 152 Fodor, Jerry Α., 62 Fontana, Josep Ma., 30 Franzen, Torsten, 5 Frazier, Lyn, 4 Gadamer, Hans Georg, 2 Gamillscheg, Ernst, 239, 240 Gillette, Jane, 74 Givon, Talmy, 258 Gleitman, Lila R., 74 Greenberg, Joseph H., 50 Grice, H. P., 64,103 Gutierrez-Rexach, Javier, 244 Haegeman, Liliane, 4 , 4 1 Halle, Morris, 39 Halpern, Aaron L., 76 Harris, Alice C., 8, 25, 38,47-49, 60, 149 Harris, James W., 21 Hawkins, John Α., 50-52 Heger, Klaus, 241 Heine, Bernd, 5, 25, 55

Index of names Herman, Jozsef, 252,261 Herzog, Marvin I., 38 Hirschbühler, Jean, 5,43 Hock, Hans H., 38, 39, 52 Hoenigsvvald, Η. M., 39,40 Hofmann, Justus B., 230,239, 240, 259 Höhle, Barbara, 66, 69 Hopper, Paul J., 5, 8, 19, 25, 38, 55, 190,258 Horcajada Diezma, Bautista, 31 Hualde, Jos6 Ignacio, 182 Hiinnemeyer, Friederike, 55 Hyams, Nina, 42,74 Ioup, Georgette L., 89, 90 Jaberg, Karl, 161 Jackendoff, Ray S., 155,157,269 Jaeggli, Osvaldo, 5, 26,42 Janda, Richard D., 4, 38, 202 Joos, Martin, 40 Joseph, Brian D„ 4, 29, 38,55, 202 Jud,Jakob, 161 Kato, Mary Α., 5 Kaufman, Terrence, 38,278 Kayne, Richard S., 42, 55,71, 72 Keller, Hans-Erich, 5, 38 Keniston, Hayward, 133, 149, 244 Kenstowicz, Michael J., 42 King, Robert D„ 38, 39 Koch, Peter, 33, 278 Kok, Ans de, 209 Kroch, Anthony, 46, 60, 149 Kuhn, Thomas S., 5 Labov, William, 16, 38,70,201, 202,278 Langacker, Ronald W., 115 Lass, Roger, 38,47 Latane, Bibb, 140 Lausberg, Heinrich, 16, 255,256 Lehmann, Winfred P., 38 Lemle, Miriam, 236 Lightfoot, David, 4, 8, 3 8 ^ 0 , 4 2 , 48,51,74, 152, 270 Lloyd, Paul, 255

323

MacWhinney, Brian, 278 Manczak, Witold, 39, 134 Marchello-Nizia, Christiane, 150 Marcus, Gary F., 26 Martinet, Andr6,40 Martins, Ana M., 278 McMahon, April M. S„ 38, 52,202 Menendez Pidal, Ramon, 30, 32, 39 Meriz, Diana T., 278 Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm, 5, 39 Migliorini, Bruno, 36, 150 Milroy, James and Lesley, 59, 139, 143 Mourelatos, Alexander, 168 Naro, Anthony, 236 Nebrija, Antonio de, 37,149 Nencioni, Giovanni, 204 Nevis, Joel, 5 Nowak, Andrzej, 2, 10,26, 66, 114117, 119, 120, 139, 140, 143, 146,214, 268 Oesterreicher, Wulf, 33,278 Ong, Walter J„ 278 Pagliuca, William, 54 Paris, Gaston, 29 Parker, Geoffrey, 149 Parodi, Teresa, 74 Paul, Hermann, 4, 38, 39 Penke, Marina, 74 Penny, Ralph, 210, 255 Perez Saldanya, Manuel, 182 Perkins, Revere, 54 Perlmutter, David M., 73 Piaget, Jean, 66 Piattelli-Palmarini, Massimo, 152 Picoche, Jacqueline, 150 Poletto, Cecilia, 5 Pollard, Carl, 157 Poplack, Shana, 236 Popper, Karl R., 62, 68 Prince, Ellen F., 155, 157 Quirk, Randolph, 69 Raible, Wolfgang, 31, 83,252, 261, 278

324

Index of names

Ramsden, Herbert Α., 5, 19,131, 208,219, 278 Renzi, Lorenzo, 5 Rickford, John R., 232 Riiho, Timo, 244 Ristad, Eric S„ 2, 9, 99, 101, 103, 269 Ritchie, William C„ 74 Rivero, Maria Luisa, 5,218 Rizzi, Luigi, 42 Roberts, Ian, 5 , 4 3 , 4 7 , 6 0 Roeper, Thomas, 66 Rohlfs, Gerhard, 44, 122, 204 Safir, Kenneth J., 5, 26,42 Sag, Ivan Α., 157 Salvi, Giampaolo, 5, 131, 222 Sänchez-Prieto Borja, Pedro, 31 Sapir, Edward, 264 Saussure, Ferdinand de, 159 Schütze, Carson Τ., 23, 88, 89 Schwenter, Scott Α., 57 Selig, Maria, 218, 239 Silva, Gläucia V., 57 Skousen, Royal, 2, 10, 26, 80, 105, 116, 124, 125, 126, 268 Sobin, Nicholas, 42,72, 89,90,93 Sorace, Antonella, 278 Sperber, Dan, 64, 65, 100, 103, 157 Spiess, Federico, 5, 26 Streitfeld, Barbara, 74 Suner, Margarita, 146,244 Szantyr, Anton, 230, 239, 240, 259 Taylor, John R„ 35, 64, 67

Thomason, Sarah G., 38, 278 Tobler, Adolf, 5, 131 Traugott, Elizabeth C., 5, 8, 25, 38, 55,258 Trudgill, Peter, 142 Turley, Jeffrey S., 157 Ulleland, Magnus, 194 Uriagereka, Juan, 177 Väänänen, Veikko, 240 Valin, Virginia, 152 Vallduvi, Enric, 35, 157 Vanelli, Laura, 5 , 2 6 Varela J., Francisco, 2, 126, 268 Vendler, Zeno, 168 Vennemann, Theo, 52, 211 Wackernagel, Jacob, 218 Wald, Benji, 9 Wang, William S.-Y., 70 Wanner, Dieter, 5,19, 21,23, 26, 52, 72, 135, 146, 208-211,214,218, 227 Weinreich, Uriel, 7, 38 Weinrich, Harald, 40 Weissenborn, Jürgen, 66, 69 Wexler, Kenneth, 74 Williams, Edwin, 66 Wilson, Deirdre, 64, 66, 74, 100, 103,157 Winford, Donald, 278 Woode, Henning, 74 Wüest, Jakob, 204 Zribi-Hertz, Anne, 157 Zwicky, Arnold M., 76, 219

Subject index

abduction, 8, 4 1 , 4 6 , 60, 118 accent, 20, 2 1 , 4 4 , 55, 56, 216, 2 5 5 257 actuation, 15, 16, 2 3 , 5 2 , 139, 265, 270 agreement, 10, 4 4 , 5 7 , 60, 134, 153, 158-160, 165, 168, 174-180, 183, 189, 191, 194-196, 200, 2 1 6 , 2 2 1 - 2 2 3 , 230, 2 3 3 - 2 4 2 , 244-246, 254, 259, 265, 271, 273 Analogical Modeling, 2, 10, 81, 114, 116,119, 120, 123-127, 141144, 151, 199, 2 6 6 - 2 6 9 choice rules, 126, 127, 146, 269 analogy, 2, 3, 10, 2 5 , 2 6 , 2 8 , 35, 39, 4 4 , 4 5 , 4 9 , 5 9 - 6 1 , 7 6 , 8 0 , 81, 83, 105-107, 116, 118-130, 133141, 144-148, 150-152, 162, 190, 197, 198,200, 2 0 1 , 2 0 3 207,214, 222-225,227, 229233,245,246,249,251,252, 254, 256, 257, 259, 265, 266, 268-274 proportional, 4 4 , 4 5 , 121, 143, 206, 265, 270 analysis double, 3 8 , 4 5 , 4 6 , 59, 149 full, 9, 197, 269 partial, 99, 152, 197 assimilation, 2, 106, 107, 120, 121, 123, 127-129, 134, 136, 137, 139, 141, 144, 147, 150, 151, 203, 230, 245, 259, 261, 274, 275 dissimilation, 136 association, 3, 35, 67, 76, 99, 119, 120, 151, 155,166, 182, 183, 189,217, 222, 2 2 8 , 2 2 9 , 233, 265,273 autopoiesis, 2, 268

auxiliary, 38, 70, 7 5 - 77, 96, 146, 1 8 1 , 2 1 6 , 2 1 7 , 220-222, 228, 231,232, 254-256 bilingualism, 49, 58, 263, 274 Binding Theory, 9 , 4 1 , 8 3 , 103, 163, 166, 229 borrowing, 25,46-^49 categorical, 5, 8, 3 9 , 4 3 , 55, 6 9 - 7 1 , 7 3 - 7 5 , 8 1 , 8 2 , 8 7 - 8 9 , 105, 118, 134, 135, 144, 145, 147, 2 1 3 215, 222, 2 4 2 - 2 4 5 , 273 categorization, 2, 2 6 , 4 0 , 85, 86, 111, 116-119, 121, 123, 127, 136, 137, 140, 150, 151, 165, 169, 181, 1 9 9 , 2 0 1 , 2 6 8 category, 28, 71, 72, 77, 78, 82, 93, 112, 114, 116, 119, 121, 127, 152, 156, 169, 187, 191,202, 219, 224, 226, 232, 234 change gradual, 40, 46, 54, 66, 75, 104, 1 3 3 , 1 3 7 , 1 3 8 , 1 4 9 , 1 9 0 , 193, 198,200, 2 0 3 , 2 0 5 , 2 0 8 , 2 1 1 , 2 1 2 , 2 1 3 , 2 1 7 , 222, 227, 228, 229, 233, 235, 245, 247, 262, 272,273 incomplete, 18 loss, 21, 34, 42, 5 4 - 5 8 , 9 2 , 99, 1 0 1 , 2 0 3 , 2 0 4 , 2 1 6 , 227, 231, 2 3 4 - 2 3 9 , 2 4 5 , 246, 256 choice rules, 125-127, 139, 145 pluralistic, 125, 126, 129, 140, 145, 146, 222, 269 random, 81, 88, 125-127, 129, 130, 133, 134, 139, 140, 145, 146, 178,214, 224, 257, 265, 268, 269

326

Subject index

clause subordination, 4, 8, 10, 23,24, 30, 3 4 , 4 3 , 5 0 , 6 1 , 6 5 , 7 3 , 8 4 , 94, 144,147, 148, 153, 158, 160, 171-173, 183,184,186, 187, 189, 190, 192, 229, 246255,258-262,267 adverbial, 43,79, 172, 185 clause type complementation, 25,43, 171, 172, 184,229,260, 261,275 root clause, 19,43, 51, 73, 172, 259,260 clitic, 5, 18,19, 2 5 , 5 3 - 5 8 , 6 9 , 7 6 , 78, 130-133, 145, 146, 148, 150, 160-162, 170, 173, 180, 194, 206, 208-211,215,217-219, 225-227, 234, 241-245, 249251,258,274 clusters, 160, 161, 194,206-211 doubling, 78, 180, 241-245, 274 linearization, 130-133, 146 Tobler-Mussafia generalization, 5,131,226 closure, 3, 118, 124, 135, 138,214, 274 communication, 31, 6 4 , 6 6 , 7 9 , 97, 101, 102, 147-150,215,263, 271.273 competence, 7, 15,41,46, 68,71, 81,82, 8 8 , 2 6 3 , 2 6 7 complementizer, 90, 132, 165, 185— 187, 227, 252,261 completion, 3, 18, 3 9 , 4 0 , 7 1 , 105, 134-136, 147,214,245,264 compound tense, 146, 156, 181, 183, 215,217,219, 2 2 1 - 2 2 3 , 2 2 8 234, 253, 254—256, 259, 260 computation, 2, 9, 62, 63,72, 73, 81, 84, 98,99-103, 106, 115, 117, 118, 120, 121, 124, 126, 139, 140, 144, 146, 152, 176, 177, 183, 189, 197,214,268,269, 270.274

Concrete Minimalism, 2, 3, 10,115, 116, 119, 121, 126, 127, 141, 142, 151,268,269 conjunction, 55,57, 172, 184, 186, 225,250, 252, 261 constraints, 3 4 , 4 1 , 4 3 , 4 5 , 5 7 , 7 8 , 87, 98, 147, 160-162, 170, 190, 192,194, 229, 232, 273 contact, 270,274 contiguity, 18, 19, 49, 105, 137, 159, 163,166, 167,169,175, 195, 196,212-214,217, 220, 222, 224, 272 contingency, 2, 3, 5 , 6 , 16, 22, 25, 2 8 , 3 7 , 6 1 , 6 3 , 126,138, 148, 149, 156, 196, 228, 267, 274, 275 control, 6, 3 4 , 4 1 , 4 3 , 6 0 , 68,80, 81, 84, 89, 93, 100, 140, 144, 172, 240, 272 corpus, 20,23, 50,93 default, 1 6 , 2 0 , 3 3 , 9 9 , 140, 153, 158, 161, 183, 186-189, 231, 246-249, 253, 254, 261, 262 deixis, 32, 3 4 , 5 3 - 5 7 , 1 5 7 , 215,217, 218, 224, 239-242, 247, 249, 251,259 determinism, 2, 17, 64, 85, 101, 124, 134, 136, 146,217, 264 directionality, 56, 57, 164, 165, 187, 216 discourse marker, 187, 188, 247, 248, 250 drift, 3 , 2 5 , 5 5 , 2 1 1 , 2 6 4 dynamic force, 2, 105, 118, 120 economy, 3, 81, 99, 101, 124, 150, 152, 156, 160, 167, 177, 182, 183, 195,232 enclisis, 130-133, 147, 149, 161, 162, 227 envelope, 24, 26, 28, 30, 33, 37, 84, 86,89-95, 98, 192, 263 environment, 2, 3, 24, 66, 74, 105,

Subject index 111, 116, 141, 142, 191, 197, 199,269, 271 exception, 2 5 , 4 4 , 7 1 , 1 2 6 , 134,136, 150, 154, 158, 196, 255 expansion, 46,48, 65,71,73,105, 118, 121, 123, 136, 140, 148, 150, 227, 245, 249, 260, 266 first position, 132, 218, 226, 227, 250 formalization, 5 , 4 6 , 6 1 , 106 frequency, 10, 18, 19, 39,45,46,50, 5 5 , 7 4 , 7 5 , 7 7 - 8 3 , 90, 91, 94, 95, 106, 113, 115, 122, 124, 125, 129, 132, 134, 135, 139, 141146, 174, 190, 191,214, 220, 227,242, 247, 263 scaling, 43, 82, 134,212 functionalism, 63, 119 functionality, 4, 19, 33, 37, 84,99, 100,112, 113, 158, 181,202, 204,211,213,223,231,235, 241,259, 263 future, 41, 49, 141, 173, 182,215, 216, 221,254-260,273 generalization, 5, 8, 25,41,46, 55, 60,71,76, 90, 105, 106, 118, 124, 128-131, 135, 136,144, 194, 197, 203, 239, 270 generative, 24, 25, 27, 38,60, 63,97 genetic, 17,47,66, 71,96, 114,115, 118,277 grammaticality, 6, 10,22-24,47, 49, 61,85-98,103, 120, 135,182, 183,203,243 grammaticalization, 5,25, 38,48, 53-57, 258 heterogeneous, 6, 9, 20, 24, 28, 62 hierarchy, 64, 72, 153, 158, 160, 167, 168, 170, 171, 173, 184, 187-192, 224, 225, 229,233, 253,262, 265,269, 271

327

implementation conditions, 127, 190, 192, 193, 198,205,211, 213, 217, 225-229, 247, 273 imprinting, 80, 113, 141 induction, 22, 71,74, 75, 77, 118, 125,269,270 infinitive, 44, 130-133,148, 160, 182, 184, 192,216, 255,256 interaction, 3, 4, 15, 27, 56, 62, 64, 66,107,138, 147, 180, 183, 186, 202,203,225,245,254, 262, 266,274 intonation, 34, 153, 158, 159, 165, 187, 200, 243, 248 language acquisition, 4 , 7 , 8 , 9, 24, 6 8 , 7 1 , 7 3 , 8 3 , 9 6 , 114, 118, 127129, 141, 145, 150, 162, 183, 199, 201, 212, 251, 264, 268, 271 language contact, 49, 235, 263 language development, 1 , 4 - 6 , 1 7 , 145, 228, 277 Languages Arabic, 116, 194,241 Catalan, 161, 182, 208, 222, 237 English, 37, 56, 69, 72,74, 124, 171, 192,201,241 Francoproven9al, 5, 237 French, 5, 19, 37,43, 69,71, 72, 74,76, 146, 150, 157, 161, 208-211,217, 220, 222, 2 3 1 237, 238,241,246,247, 258 Galician, 19 German, 37, 51,52, 5 8 , 7 4 Italian, 16, 36,44, 72, 130, 132, 137, 146, 150, 161, 194, 208, 209, 215, 217, 219-222, 234, 238,246, 255, 277 Northern Italian, 5, 16, 54, 161,234 Tuscan, 5, 16,72, 150, 194, 203,206, 208,210 Latin, 4, 16, 20, 21, 29-32, 35, 36, 52, 69, 129, 136, 157, 176,

328

Subject index

179, 1 8 1 , 2 0 4 , 2 0 8 , 2 1 0 , 2 1 1 , 2 1 4 , 2 1 5 , 2 1 8 , 2 2 0 , 224, 230, 231, 234, 2 3 7 - 2 4 0 , 244, 246, 247, 2 4 9 - 2 5 4 , 256-259, 261 Occitan, 1 6 1 , 2 0 8 , 2 3 7 , 277 Portuguese, 19, 57, 173, 254, 257 Rhaeto-Romance, 161, 173, 237, 255 Romance languages, 5, 6 , 1 8 , 1 9 , 2 1 , 2 9 , 3 6 , 4 0 , 52, 5 6 , 5 7 , 69, 71, 131, 146, 161, 162, 179, 181, 194, 204, 2 0 6 , 2 1 1 , 2 1 4 , 216-220, 222, 224, 226, 229, 2 3 2 , 2 3 4 , 2 3 7 - 2 3 9 , 242, 246, 251-261,273,277 Romanian, 1 6 1 , 2 3 8 , 2 4 2 Sardinian, 16, 24, 161, 237, 255 Spanish, 18, 37, 72, 7 6 - 7 9 , 81, 86, 116, 122, 123, 129, 130, 1 3 2 , 1 3 5 , 1 3 6 , 1 4 5 - 1 4 9 , 160, 161, 170, 171, 176, 177, 180, 182, 192, 194, 2 0 8 , 2 1 5 , 2 1 7 222, 227, 2 3 4 - 2 3 9 , 241-246, 252, 254, 256, 274, 277 medieval, 1 9 , 4 4 , 2 1 8 , 2 7 7 left edge, 131, 132, 163-165, 175, 1 7 8 , 2 1 2 , 2 1 5 , 2 1 6 , 251 lexicon, 34, 39, 5 5 , 6 8 , 7 0 , 1 0 0 , 1 5 3 - 1 5 6 , 1 5 8 - 1 6 2 , 168-170, 174, 181, 183, 189, 195, 196, 199, 2 0 4 , 2 2 8 , 2 3 2 , 265 linguistic practice, 8, 19, 25, 27, 32, 37, 60, 6 5 , 8 1 , 105, 106, 122, 1 2 3 , 1 2 8 , 1 2 9 , 138, 144-149, 151, 152, 166, 190, 2 0 1 , 2 0 4 , 2 0 5 , 2 0 9 , 264, 267, 271, 273, 274 medium oral, 30, 32-34, 36, 101, 150, 240, 261 written, 6, 22, 2 8 - 3 7 , 69, 98, 101, 148-150, 1 5 4 , 2 1 5 , 2 1 9 , 220, 2 4 3 , 2 6 0 , 261 Minimalism, 5, 116, 119

modeling, 35, 6 5 , 7 7 , 8 0 , 8 3 , 84, 119, 123, 141, 1 4 3 , 2 2 5 , 2 7 0 mutation, 25, 58, 206 neogrammarian, 15, 25, 38—4-0,43, 4 6 , 4 7 , 4 9 , 60, 123 null hypothesis, 119, 145, 184, 195, 219, 2 5 1 , 2 6 6 order anteposition, 1 9 , 7 0 final position, 3 1 , 2 4 8 first position, 132, 2 2 6 , 2 2 7 , 250 initial position, 259 postposition, 19,51, 148 postverbal, 19, 5 7 , 7 2 , 73, 161, 162,211,226 preverbal, 19, 54, 131, 132, 148, 160, 1 6 1 , 2 1 1 , 2 2 6 second position, 76, 2 2 6 , 2 2 7 , 249-251 verb second, 30 palatalization, 16, 2 3 , 4 4 , 202 parameter, 4, 10, 32, 4 0 - 4 3 , 51-53, 55, 69-77, 84, 94, 96, 97, 143, 273 minimal, 4 2 , 7 1 , 7 2 null subject, 42, 6 9 , 7 1 - 7 3 , 178 settings, 10, 28, 30, 3 3 , 4 2 , 7 2 74, 95, 143, 144, 166 past participle, 175, 181, 222, 231, 234 performance, 7, 29, 34, 3 9 , 4 1 , 4 6 , 6 8 , 7 0 , 7 1 , 8 3 , 8 6 , 8 8 , 9 4 , 98, 104, 142, 190, 191, 193, 207, 267 perspective atomistic, 1 - 3 , 1 9 , 2 1 , 6 2 , 6 3 , 6 8 , 69, 84, 105 external, 3, 50, 52, 53, 58, 68, 93, 103, 104, 199, 202, 232, 254, 259 external observer, 8, 30, 86, 9 1 9 3 , 9 7 , 133

Subject index

immanent, 6 3 , 6 5 , 8 4 , 93,116, 118 internal, 3, 155, 181, 199 morphologistic, 1-3, 19,20,22, 62,63, 277 philology, 1,6, 10, 22, 27-31, 33, 37, 39, 95,98, 148 predictability, 21, 39,65, 88, 100, 104, 126, 139, 147, 170, 194, 205,236, 244, 258, 270 Principles and Parameters, 5, 38, 100 probability, 3 , 2 5 , 5 1 , 7 7 , 79,81-83, 91,94, 122, 123, 131, 142, 143, 167, 190, 199 processing, 3, 9, 39, 64, 68, 70, 84, 88,99-104, 114, 118, 120, 124, 126, 136, 140, 142-144,148, 152, 177-179, 187, 193, 197, 233, 235, 249, 254, 260, 261, 268 real-time, 9, 29, 34, 99-101, 136, 166, 179 proclisis, 130-133, 147, 149,161, 162 reanalysis, 4 6 - 4 9 , 6 0 , 105, 193, 201, 209, 210, 213, 218, 221, 228, 229 reconstruction, 7, 8, 23, 28, 29,40, 4 1 , 4 6 , 4 7 , 69, 8 2 , 9 1 , 9 7 , 116, 203, 235-237, 246, 251, 263, 269, 272 redundancy, 10, 45-47, 56, 61, 68, 85, 99-102, 104, 106, 155, 194, 197, 235,236 register, 46, 65, 85, 113, 156, 190192, 194, 196, 207, 230, 260 regularity, 2, 3, 10, 15, 16, 25, 3 8 4 0 , 4 3 , 4 7 - 4 9 , 51, 52, 60, 61, 85, 99, 105, 106, 146, 194, 200, 213, 214, 227,245 irregularity, 45, 60, 124, 235, 273 regularity hypothesis, 25, 39, 52, 60, 105 regularization, 19, 55,105 reliability, 22, 23, 50, 85, 86, 88,

329

179,263 remnants, 19, 20, 132, 136, 145, 161, 218,241,257 representation, 27,28, 68, 100, 101, 104, 112 rule, 20, 21, 23, 33, 40, 104, 106, 118, 125, 126, 130, 140, 145, 146, 162, 193,222, 265,277 Saussure, 1 , 4 , 7 , 8 , 159 scalarity, 3 3 , 4 0 , 5 4 , 5 5 , 7 0 , 7 4 , 80, 8 6 - 8 8 , 9 1 , 9 4 , 9 7 , 104,112,113, 115, 122, 141, 166, 191, 194, 2 0 6 , 2 0 8 , 2 1 9 , 2 2 5 , 228, 229, 236, 258, 272, 273 second position, 51, 76, 77, 218 shape, 2, 10, 20, 24, 41, 63, 67-69, 84, 100, 118, 119, 124, 126, 136, 141, 158, 159, 169, 170, 176, 179,202, 2 3 3 , 2 3 5 , 2 4 3 , 2 5 3 , 259,272 similarity, 106,112, 113, 115, 119126, 129, 134, 136, 138, 150, 176, 180, 1 8 1 , 2 4 5 , 2 6 5 , 2 6 8 simplification, 40, 71, 105, 146, 178, 233,261 social interaction, 2, 63, 64, 139, 140, 143, 269 Soft Syntax, 3, 10, 11, 107, 115, 130, 152, 155, 156, 162, 176, 178, 188-190, 193, 195, 197199,219, 223,225,240, 258, 259, 262, 269, 271,272 solution incomplete, 18, 39 speech community, 8, 24, 42,49, 65, 89,90, 92, 93, 106, 128, 133, 134, 138, 140, 147, 149, 156, 196, 207, 208,263, 264, 266, 273,274 spontaneous, 6, 28, 30, 34, 36, 37, 57, 85,94, 101, 104, 128, 136, 141, 145, 147, 194, 206, 234, 235,240, 251,261

330

Subject index

standard language, 19,44, 71, 122, 135,136, 147-149, 193 standardization, 19, 36, 37, 55,134, 145, 147-149, 156, 208,219, 274 statistics, 31, 5 0 - 5 2 , 7 0 , 8 0 - 8 2 , 9 3 , 113, 124, 125, 127, 150, 195 structuralism, 25, 3 8 - 4 0 , 4 7 , 6 0 subcategorization, 43, 168-171, 174, 184,218,219, 223-226, 260 surface manifestation, 72, 160,235 symbolization, 35,67, 155, 159, 180, 181, 196,200 synchrony, 1, 2, 4, 5 , 7 - 1 0 , 15-17, 20,23-25,42,44, 93,95,98, 105-107, 118, 126, 128,134, 138, 152, 181, 182,198,224, 241,267,271 text, 28-36, 59, 159, 277 transformationalism, 38 transparency, 3 5 , 4 0 , 4 1 , 4 6 , 52, 176, 215,230, 2 3 1 , 2 3 7 , 2 4 1 , 2 4 9 252,254, 255, 258, 263, 270 Transparency Principle, 4 1 , 4 2 , 4 8 , 52 trend, 2, 25, 105, 132, 145-147, 173, 208,214, 235,238,251,253, 255, 256, 259, 264, 270

trigger, 75,96, 204 typology, 7, 16, 38,48, 50-52,72, 76,211 universal grammar, 1 7 , 4 2 , 4 8 , 6 0 , 65,71,75 universals, 50, 52 unmarked, 1 6 , 5 1 , 7 1 , 7 7 , 2 5 1 unpredictability, 3 , 1 5 - 1 7 , 2 3 , 25, 3 5 , 4 5 , 6 7 , 7 0 , 7 1 , 1 0 6 , 123, 134, 146, 156, 160, 165, 174, 180, 193,201,203,204,213,228, 232,236, 246, 269, 270 variable rules, 70 variants, 1 9 , 2 5 , 4 3 , 4 6 , 7 7 , 8 1 , 82, 139,142, 145, 146, 161, 180, 201,211,226, 227,249, 251, 255, 266, 270 variation invariance, 17 oscillation, 17, 131,133 verb form finite, 9, 19,51,71, 101, 103, 124, 131, 132, 135, 147, 171, 185,268 non-finite, 19, 130, 131, 133, 147, 150,184,255,260