Synopses & Reviews
The phenomenon of grammaticalization--the historical process whereby new grammatical material is created--has attracted a great deal of attention within linguistics in recent years. This book shows how this approach leads to a number of important conceptual and theoretical issues concerning the nature of functional categories and the form of parameters, as well as the relation of both of these to language change.
Review
"a welcome and unique contribution to the vast body of research on grammaticalization. It offers a perspective different from the more functionalist or cognitivist perspective one usually finds ... and it is well-organized, well-written, and well-argued. This work is a must-read for anyone seriously interested in the nature of syntactic change."
IJGLSA
Synopsis
A general account of grammaticalization in terms of formal syntax.
About the Author
Ian Roberts is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Cambridge.Anna Roussou is Assistant Professor at the University of Patras, Greece.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Parameters, functional heads and language change; 2. T elements; 3. C elements; 4. D elements; 5. Theoretical consequences; References; Index of languages; Index of names; Index of subjects.