The Loss of Negative Concord in Standard English: A Case of Lexical ReanalysisThe loss of Negative Concord (NC) has long been attributed to external factors. This study readdresses this issue and provides evidence of the failure of certain external factors to account for the observed decline and ultimate disappearance of NC in Standard English. A detailed study of negation in Late Middle and Early Modern English reveals that the process of the decline of NC was a case of a natural change, preceded by a period of variation manifested in the obtained S-curves for all the contexts studied. Variation existed not only on the level of the speech community as a whole but also within individual speakers (contra Lightfoot, 1991). A close study of n-indefinites in negative contexts and their ultimate replacement with Negative Polarity Items (NPIs) in a number of grammatical environments shows that the decline of NC follows the same pattern across contexts in a form of parallel curvature, which indicates that the loss of NC is a natural process. However, this study reveals that the decline is not constant across time and thus the Constant Rate Hypothesis (Kroch, 1989) does not, in that respect, fully account for this change. Context behaviour suggests an alternative principle of linguistic change, the Context Constancy Principle. A Context Constancy Effect is obtained across all contexts indicating that the loss of NC is triggered by a change in a single underlying parameter setting. Accordingly, a theory-internal explanation is suggested. N-words underwent a lexical reanalysis whereby they acquired a new grammatical feature [+Neg] and were thus reinterpreted as negative quantifiers, rather than NPIs. This lexical reanalysis was triggered by the ambiguous status of n-words between [±Neg] and thus between single and double negative meanings. This change is treated as a case of parameter resetting as this lexical reanalysis affected a whole set of lexical items and can thus economically account for the different observed surface changes. |
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Contents
| 1 | |
CHAPTER TWO | 11 |
CHAPTER THREE | 37 |
CHAPTER FOUR | 61 |
CHAPTER FIVE | 81 |
CHAPTER SIX | 121 |
CHAPTER SEVEN | 127 |
CHAPTER EIGHT | 139 |
CHAPTER NINE | 159 |
APPENDIX | 165 |
PRIMARY SOURCES | 167 |
| 169 | |
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The Loss of Negative Concord in Standard English: A Case of Lexical Reanalysis Amel Kallel No preview available - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
according Accordingly Adjuncts analysis any-words argues assume century Chapter claims clause competition considered Constant Rate constructions coordinate contexts correspondence curve decline of NC disappearance discussion Early Modern English effect English period evidence examples existed expressed fact factors Figure fitted logistic regression frequency function gradual grammar Hypothesis illustrated indicate individual influence involved issue Kroch language change Late Middle later Letters lexical Lightfoot linguistic change literature loss of NC meaning Middle and Early Middle English multiple negation n-items n-words namely nature negative concord negative contexts negative element non-coordinate contexts Objects observed occur option parameter plot of data points position presented principle question reanalysis referred reflects sentence sentential negator single speakers stage Standard English structure suggests syntactic change Table takes texts theory took usage variable variation verb
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Loss of Negative Concord in Standard English: A Case of Lexical Reanalysis EBSCO ebook academic collection |
| Author | Amel Kallel |
| Publisher | Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2011 |
| ISBN | 1443828157, 9781443828154 |
| Length | 195 pages |
| Subjects | › › Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Historical & Comparative Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Sociolinguistics Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Syntax |
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