Publication
Title
Individuality in language change
Author
Abstract
Linguists have typically studied language change at the aggregate level of speech communities, yet key mechanisms of change such as analogy and automation operate within the minds of individual language users. Drawing on lifespan data from 50 authors and the intriguing case of the special passives in the history of English, this study addresses three fundamental issues relating to individuality in language change: (i) how variation and change at the individual level interact with change at the community level; (ii) how much innovation and change is possible across the adult lifespan; (iii) and to what extent related linguistic patterns are associated in individual cognition. As one of the first large-scale empirical studies to systematically link individual- and community-based perspectives in language change, this volume breaks new ground in our understanding of language as a complex adaptive system.
Language
English
Source (series)
Trends in linguistics: studies and monographs ; 360
Publication
Berlin : De Gruyter Mouton , 2021
ISBN
978-3-11-072571-1
DOI
10.1515/9783110725841
Volume/pages
340 p.
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
The dynamics of correlated multiple grammatical changes in Early Modern English writers (MindBendingGrammars).
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
VABB-SHW
Record
Identifier
Creation 05.09.2021
Last edited 23.06.2023
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