17.2903, Books: Historical Linguistics: Wanner

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LINGUIST List: Vol-17-2903. Thu Oct 05 2006. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 17.2903, Books: Historical Linguistics: Wanner

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1)
Date: 29-Sep-2006
From: Julia Ulrich < julia.ulrich at degruyter.com >
Subject: The Power of Analogy: Wanner 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2006 14:46:41
From: Julia Ulrich < julia.ulrich at degruyter.com >
Subject: The Power of Analogy: Wanner 
 



Title: The Power of Analogy 
Subtitle: An essay on historical linguistics 
Series Title: Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs 170  

Publication Year: 2006 
Publisher: Mouton de Gruyter
	   http://www.mouton-publishers.com
	

Book URL: http://www.degruyter.de/rs/bookSingle.cfm?isbn=3-11-018873-2&fg=SK&L=E 


Author: Dieter Wanner, Ohio State University

Hardback: ISBN: 3110188732 Pages: 329 Price: Europe EURO 98.00
Hardback: ISBN: 3110188732 Pages: 329 Price: U.S. $ 132.30


Abstract:

In The Power of Anology, Dieter Wanner argues for reinstating historical
linguistics, especially in (morpho-)syntax, as constitutive of any
theoretical account of language.

In the first part, he provides a critique of some foundational concepts of
an object-oriented linguistic perspective, questioning the distinction
between synchrony and diachrony, dichotomous parametrization,
grammaticality judgments, and formal generalization. Instead, the immanent
perspective of the linguistic individual, licensed by broad cognitive
functions, highlights such relegated dimensions as similarity, (surface)
redundancy, frequency of form, and social and environmental conditions on
language use.

In the second part, Dieter Wanner relies on a systematic construct of
analogy as the dynamic force enabling language, tying together acquisition,
language use, and linguistic change. Such analogy is pervasive, driven by
local models, and inevitably spreading through the social web of linguistic
practice. The unpredictability, incompletion, and typical slowness of
change thereby become the norm, while categorical closure remains a marked
possibility. The framework of "Soft Syntax" spells out an operative model
for syntax relying on precedence, cohesion, dependence, agreement,
constructional identity, and concatenation. These six dimensions and their
interplay undergo a detailed exploration of their diachronic operation and
implications, applying them to typical examples taken from the history of
the Romance languages.

The openness of the framework enables diachronic linguistics to approach
old problems in a new light and to ask new questions about the mechanics
and nature of language change.


FROM THE CONTENTS

Part I

Diachrony: Positions and challenges

Domains in historical linguistics

Reintegrating diachrony: A critique of some theoretical constructs

Critical issues: Grammaticality, representation, redundancy, and regularity

Part II

Analogy, categorization, and learning

Soft syntax

Pathways for diachronic shifts

Conclusions 



Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics
                     Historical Linguistics

Language Family(ies): Romance


Written In: English  (eng)
	
See this book announcement on our website: 
http://linguistlist.org/get-book.html?BookID=21597


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