review article on T. Givon's two-volume collection of historical linguistic papers

What is it about?

T. Givón is a major figure in discourse-based grammatical typology. He argues for a merger of synchronic and diachronic linguistics, relying heavily on a strong version of grammaticalization whereby each construction has its own, essentially self-propelled life cycle, ending with phonetic erosion. He argues accordingly that internal reconstruction is the best historical method. Serious problems with this method are described in the review. On the positive side, several high-quality articles are highlighted.

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Why is it important?

This review article raises red flags about the uncritical use of grammaticalization theory and of internal reconstruction in historical linguistics.