Department of English Language and Literature
Library of the School of Philosophy

2025-01-13

2025

Symeonidis Vasileios

Νικόλαος Λαβίδας, Αναπλ. Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Αγγλικής Γλώσσας και Φιλολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Βασιλική Νικηφορίδου, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Αγγλικής Γλώσσας και Φιλολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Γεώργιος Μικρός, Καθηγητής, Μ.Π. Ψηφιακές Ανθρωπιστικές Επιστήμες Hamad Bin Khalifa, Κατάρ
Μιχαήλ Γεωργιαφέντης, Αναπλ. Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Αγγλικής Γλώσσας και Φιλολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Ιωάννα Σιταρίδου, Καθηγήτρια, Σχολή Σύγχρονων και Μεσαιωνικών Γλωσσών, Πανεπιστήμιο του Cambridge
Αθανάσιος Γεωργακόπουλος, Επίκ. Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Αγγλικής Γλώσσας και Φιλολογίας, ΑΠΘ
Παναγιώτης Φίλος, Αναπλ. Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Φιλολογίας, Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων

Diachrony of Linguistic Complexity: Reanalysis and Frequency

English

Diachrony of Linguistic Complexity: Reanalysis and Frequency

This doctoral dissertation is devoted to the examination of grammatical complexity diachronically in the course of grammaticalization. Its study object is the category Modality in Present Day English and special focus is given on the development of three semi-modal auxiliary constructions, be going to, have (got) to and want to, all of which have been analyzed as typical cases of grammaticalization (cf. Traugott & König 1991; Heine & Kuteva 2005 among others).
Most studies have approached linguistic complexity from a structural (language-internal) perspective, while others favor a definition of complexity based on language-external parameters, such as frequency and processing difficulty. It is accepted that both definitions are compatible with predictions made by grammaticalization theory, but they lead to contradictory results. On one hand, complexity increases in grammaticalization because more semantic distinctions receive grammatical specification and more elaborate structures emerge. On the other hand, as long as new grammatical items increase in frequency, their mental processing is gradually facilitated.
In the present PhD Dissertation, a distinction is proposed between two major types of complexity: structural and dynamic complexity. The first is defined as the average form-meaning correspondence ratio of a construction and calculated by use of a metric system proposed by Piperski (2014). The second is conceived of as the net force of language-internal and language-external parameters and is defined as structural complexity divided by the type frequency of construction per time unit. This formalization is based on well-established theories of linguistics revealing the relationship between type frequency and productivity (Bybee 1995; Bybee & Thomspon 1997) and degree of entrenchment of a linguistic item (Langacker 1987;2008). For the estimation of frequencies, a series of corpus-based studies was conducted using CoHA.
The present findings suggest that any change found in structural complexity tends to be neutralized diachronically by dynamic complexity. Specifically, the dynamic complexity associated with the system of English Modality follows a wave-like distribution, whose peak and trough points coincide with the creation of new grammatical variants and their full entrenchment respectively. To be more specific, novel grammatical variants are quite complex by the time of their emergence because of their structural load and their relative low frequency. Yet, as they progressively become more frequent, their structural complexity is balanced out through the fact that their processing is facilitated.
On the basis of the above data, it is concluded that grammars do not become simpler or more complex in the course of time, as has often been proposed (cf. Trudgill 2002;2011, McWhorter 2007). In contrast, a balancing mechanism between structural and cognitive processes appears to be in work that keeps overall complexity relatively stable over time.

Language – Literature

diachronic complexity, grammaticalization, English modality

No

0

Yes

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390

File access is restricted until 2028-01-16.

https://pergamos.lib.uoa.gr/uoa/dl/object/3452745