The Evolution of Negation: Beyond the Jespersen Cycle

ISBN-13: 9783110238600 / Angielski / Twarda / 2011 / 356 str.

Opis

Why do grammars change? The cycle of negation proposed by Jespersen is crucially linked to the status of items and phrases. The definition of criteria establishing when a polarity item becomes a negative element, and the identification of the role of phrases for the evolution of negation are the two objectives pursued by the contributions to this volume. The contributions look at the emergence of negative items, and their relation within a given sentence, with particular reference to English and French. The comparative perspective supports the documentation of the fine-grained steps that shed light on the factors that (i) determine change and those that (ii) accompany actuation, which are considered through a dialogue between functionalist and formalist approaches. By looking at the place of negation in the architecture of the sentence, they take up the debate as to the relevance of phrasal projections and consider the role of features. Focusing on the make-up of individual items makes it possible to re-conceptualise the Jespersen cycle as the apparent result of the documented evolution patterns of individual (series of) items. This novel perspective is solidly grounded on an extensive use of the complete, up to date bibliography, and will contribute to shape future research.

Why do languages change? The proposal that the grammar of negation evolves according to cycles is looked at from the behaviour of negative items and constructions, mainly through the history of English and French. The studies show that the variation within a language at any given point of history is too great for cycles to be invoked as an autonomous mechanism of grammar change. Instead, variation may be understood by looking at the patterns of evolution of individual (families of) items.

O autorze

Pierre Larrivée, Aston University, Coventry, UK; Richard Ingham, Birmingham City University, UK.