Review article 'Toward a Theory of Syntactic Change'

What is it about?

This is a review article on the occasion of A.C. Harris & L. Campbell (1995) 'Historical Syntax in Cross-Linguistic Perspective'. Unlike most recent studies in diachronic syntax within precincts of various syntactic frameworks focusing on a single language, Harris and Campbell investigate syntactic changes cross-linguistically with as few assumptions as possible. Throughout the 12 chapters of the monograph they approach their wide-ranging data from the Indo-European and non-Indo-European languages (Finno-Ugric, Kartvelian, Mayan, North-East Caucasian, Uto-Aztecan) avoiding the excesses of the 'autonomous' syntax thesis. Their basic methodology of 'Intersystemic Comparison' involves whole syntactic systems (not just atomistic facts). Three basic 'mechanisms' are recognized: reanalysis and extension (= internal mechanisms) and syntactic borrowing (an external mechanism). Several chapters are devoted to the salient issues of historical syntax (simplification of biclausal structures, word order, alignment of morphology and syntax, the development of complex constructions and reconstruction of syntax).

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Photo by Slava Bowman on Unsplash

Photo by Slava Bowman on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The authors seek to establish a general framework for the investigation of linguistic change. Systemic cross-linguistic comparisons of individual languages allow them to construct hypotheses about the causes, universals and limits of language change. The fruitfulness of their approach is obvious in the investigation of current 'hot' issues' in Historical Linguistics: grammaticalization, alignment of morphology and syntax (the rise and demise of ergativity), reinterpretation cum syntactic analogy, revamping of tense/aspect systems, diachrony of case/adposition systems, and others.

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