Overview

In The Power of Anology, Dieter Wanner argues for reinstating historical linguistics, especially in (morpho-)syntax, as constitutive of any theoretical account of language. In the first part, he provides a critique of some foundational concepts of an object-oriented linguistic perspective, questioning the distinction between synchrony and diachrony, dichotomous parametrization, grammaticality judgments, and formal generalization. Instead, the immanent perspective of the linguistic individual, licensed by broad cognitive functions, highlights such relegated dimensions as similarity, (surface) redundancy, frequency of form, and social and environmental conditions on language use. In the second part, Dieter Wanner relies on a systematic construct of analogy as the dynamic force enabling language, tying together acquisition, language use, and linguistic change. Such analogy is pervasive, driven by local models, and inevitably spreading through the social web of linguistic practice. The unpredictability, incompletion, and typical slowness of change thereby become the norm, while categorical closure remains a marked possibility. The framework of ""Soft Syntax"" spells out an operative model for syntax relying on precedence, cohesion, dependence, agreement, constructional identity, and concatenation. These six dimensions and their interplay undergo a detailed exploration of their diachronic operation and implications, applying them to typical examples taken from the history of the Romance languages. The openness of the framework enables diachronic linguistics to approach old problems in a new light and to ask new questions about the mechanics and nature of language change.

Full Product Details

Author:   Dieter Wanner
Publisher:   De Gruyter
Imprint:   De Gruyter Mouton
Edition:   Reprint 2011
Volume:   170
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 2.10cm , Length: 23.00cm
Weight:   0.623kg
ISBN:  

9783110188738

ISBN 10:   3110188732
Pages:   345
Publication Date:   19 May 2006
Recommended Age:   College Graduate Student
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 1. THE SCENARIO 2. THE PRESTIGE OF HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS 3. THE LIMITATIONS OF HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS 4. GOALS OF THE ESSAY 5. PLAN OF THE STUDY PART I CHAPTER ONE DIACHRONY: POSITIONS AND CHALLENGES 1. PROPOSALS 2. PROBLEMATICAL ASPECTS OF HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS 3. LANGUAGE CHANGE CHAPTER TWO DOMAINS IN HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS 1. DIMENSIONS OF DIACHRONY 2. PHILOLOGY BROADLY 3. VARIOUS FORMAL PROPOSALS CHAPTER THREE REINTEGRATING DIACHRONY: A CRITIQUE OF SOME THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTS 1. FOUR POLAR NOTIONS 2. THE IMMANENT VIEW 3. INNATE AND CONSTRUCTIVIST ASPECTS 4. COMMUNICATION AND CAUSATION 5. THE SHAPE OF LANGUAGE 6. ENVIRONMENTAL DEPENDENCE OF LANGUAGE LEARNING 7. PARAMETER SETTING AS INDUCTION 8. THE MODELING OF FREQUENCY 9. CONCLUSION: LANGUAGE AS THE OBJECT OF DIACHRONIC STUDY CHAPTER FOUR CRITICAL ISSUES 1. TYPES OF GRAMMATICALITY JUDGMENTS 2. GRAMMATICALITY JUDGMENTS AS LINGUISTIC KNOWLEDGE 3. REPRESENTATION 4. REDUNDANCY 5. COMPUTATIONAL RESOURCES 6. REGULARITY PART II CHAPTER FIVE ANALOGY, CATEGORIZATION, AND LEARNING 1. IMMANENCE AND THE LINGUISTIC INDIVIDUAL 2. LEARNING 3. ANALOGY AS AN OPERATIVE MODEL 4. ANALOGY IN DIACHRONY 5. CHANGE IN SOCIAL CONTEXT CHAPTER SIX SOFT SYNTAX 1. AN OVERVIEW OF LINGUISTIC COMPONENTS 2. MAJOR ARTICULATIONS AND INTERFACING 3. THE DIMENSIONS OF SOFT SYNTAX 4. IMPLEMENTATION OF SOFT SYNTAX DIMENSIONS 5. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON PARSIMONIOUS SYNTAX REPRESENTATION CHAPTER SEVEN PATHWAYS FOR DIACHRONIC SHIFTS 1. CHANGE IN PRIMARY COMPONENTS OUTSIDE OF SYNTAX 2. CHANGE IN THE SYNTACTIC DIMENSIONS 3. MORE ON CHANGE CONCLUSIONS

Reviews

"""The Power of Analogy. An Essay on Historical Linguistics is an important contribution to thinking about language change. It sets out a theory which unifies synchrony and diachrony in ways which diminish the usual barriers between them. [...] it is highly recommended.""Margaret E. Winters in: Studies in Language 4/2008"

""The Power of Analogy. An Essay on Historical Linguistics is an important contribution to thinking about language change. It sets out a theory which unifies synchrony and diachrony in ways which diminish the usual barriers between them. [...] it is highly recommended.""Margaret E. Winters in: Studies in Language 4/2008

The Power of Analogy. An Essay on Historical Linguistics is an important contribution to thinking about language change. It sets out a theory which unifies synchrony and diachrony in ways which diminish the usual barriers between them. [...] it is highly recommended. Margaret E. Winters in: Studies in Language 4/2008

Author Information

Dieter Wanner, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions