The Language Builder: An Essay on the Human Signature in Linguistic Morphogenesis

THE LANGUAGE BUILDER......Page 2
Editorial page
......Page 3
Title page
......Page 4
Copyright page
......Page 5
Table of Contents
......Page 6
Preface......Page 10
List of abbreviations used in glosses
......Page 12
Introduction......Page 14
PART I. LEVELS OF LINGUISTIC CONSCIOUSNESS AND HUMAN INTERVENTION IN LANGUAGE
......Page 20
1.1 Defining the concept of Language Builder......Page 22
1.2 The LBs' impulses......Page 24
1.3 Degrees of consciousness......Page 26
a. From parole to langue......Page 28
b. Meaning-induced diachronic operations and the creative work of subjective reinterpretation
......Page 31
d. The shaping of the lexicon......Page 35
e. Ideophone-making......Page 36
f. Word-coining by individual users......Page 38
g. Neological activity in literate societies......Page 39
1.3.2 The LBs' signature in phonology......Page 43
1.3.3 Intentional morphosyntactic building......Page 44
b. Morphological analysis of Complex Words (CWs)......Page 45
c. Metalinguistic consciousness
......Page 46
d. Voluntary interventions on syntax......Page 47
e. Poetry and knowledge of grammar......Page 49
1.4 Conclusion......Page 50
2.1 Problem-solving, the distribution of tasks and the role of form in languages
......Page 54
2.1.1 Lb as problem-solving......Page 55
2.1.2 The distribution of linguistic tasks
......Page 57
a. The Paraphrastic Principle (PP) from a crossiinguistic point of view......Page 59
b. The Verbal Strategy (VS)......Page 63
2.1.3 The place of material f orm in language......Page 70
2.2.1 Definition......Page 74
2.2.2 Reanalysis of a "be" structure as a "have" structure
......Page 76
2.3 The dialectical relationship between two contradictory needs......Page 81
2.3.1 Morphology and lexicon......Page 82
2.3.2 The syntax-semantics clash......Page 85
2.3.3 Agreement, or the LBs as both skilled and clumsy workmen......Page 90
PART II THE PLACE OF HUMANS IN LANGUAGE MORPHOGENESIS
......Page 102
3.1 The humanization of grammar......Page 104
3.2.1 The anthropophoric system......Page 111
3.2.2 The LBs' personal sphere
......Page 122
3.3 Subjecthood and subjectivity......Page 126
4.1 Borrowing and the opposition between grammar and lexicon......Page 134
4.1.1 Sequential borrowing......Page 135
4.1.2 Nominant and verbant borrowing......Page 136
4.2 On two defining features of pidginogenesis......Page 139
4.2.1 Pidginogenesis and the continuation of vernacular usage
......Page 140
4.2.2 Pidginogenesis as a rapid process
......Page 141
4.3 Substratum, bioprogram and the nature of LBs' activity......Page 143
4.3.1 The bioprogram hypothesis
......Page 144
4.3.2 Pidgins and substratum
......Page 145
4.3.3 The place of humans in pidgino- and creologenesis
......Page 149
4.4 Conclusion......Page 157
5.1 Cycle and spiral......Page 160
5.2.1 Reduplication. The enrichment of phonemic systems
......Page 163
5.2.2 Negation and Expressive Renewal (ER)......Page 166
5.3 Curves within cycles......Page 169
5.4 Complete cycles......Page 171
5.4.2 The synthetical stubbornness of conjugation: Egyptian......Page 172
a. Verbal paradigms......Page 175
b. Definite article......Page 176
5 4.4 Relexicalization of directive markers: Tibeto-Burman......Page 179
PART III. TWO ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE MORPHOGENESIS
......Page 182
6.1 CW building and LBs' needs......Page 186
6.2.1 Sentential and quasi-sentential CWs
......Page 187
6.2 .2 Incorporation......Page 189
6.3 The interaction of constraints and freedom in CW formation......Page 190
6.3.1 Violations in CW formation......Page 191
6.3 2 Peninsular phenomena
......Page 192
6.3.3 From motivation to freezing
......Page 195
6.4 CWs and LBs' semantic creativeness......Page 199
6.4.1 The variety of internal relationships in CWs......Page 200
6.4.2 The difficulty of predicting the semantic result of CW formation......Page 202
7.1 Grammaticalization and reanalysis......Page 206
7.2.1 The classical criteria
......Page 207
b.Degree of consciousness
......Page 211
7.2.3 The Proof by Anachrony principle (PA)......Page 213
7.3.1 Constantly renewed feeding......Page 216
7.3.2 Completed and uncompleted grammaticalization......Page 217
7.3.3 From grammaticalized to even more grammaticalized......Page 220
7.4.1 Semantic prerequisites to the grammaticalization process......Page 223
a. Relator genesis (RG)......Page 224
- TAMVG from a verbal source......Page 230
- TAMVG from an adverbial source......Page 235
a. Semantic freezing......Page 236
b. Semantic "weakening"......Page 238
c. Semantic pressures
......Page 239
7.5 Conclusion to chapters 6 and 7......Page 242
Conclusion......Page 244
Notes......Page 246
References......Page 250
Index of Subjects
......Page 277
Index of languages
......Page 282
Index of Names
......Page 292