Transitivity Alternations in Diachrony: Changes in Argument Structure and Voice Morphology
Dec 2009 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Ebook
325
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
Τhis book offers a new approach to the theory of change in argument structure and voice morphology. It investigates the diachrony of transitivity, and especially the changes in causative verbs and transitivity alternations, based on data mainly from the Greek and English diachrony (all historical data are transcribed and accompanied by glosses and translations into Modern English). Data from earlier periods provide new information on burning questions in both Historical and Theoretical Linguistics. The study shows that (a) causativisations are the result of reanalysis of intransitive verbs as transitive on the basis of the linguistic cue of Case; (b) the changes in voice morphology do not depend on the derivation and direction of new transitivity alternations. Finally, the study demonstrates that the generalisation that guides the changes in voice demands morphological differentiation of the anticausative from the passive types.
About the author
Nikolaos Lavidas is Lecturer in Historical Linguistics at the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Prior to his employment at the Aristotle University, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of the Aegean (with a scholarship from the Greek State Scholarship Foundation), and he taught Historical Linguistics at the University of Peloponnese, the University of Patras and the University of the Aegean. He has published articles on historical linguistics, more specifically on syntactic change, argument structure in diachrony, and Indo-European linguistics.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
