
The Power of Analogy
An Essay on Historical Linguistics
Dieter Wanner(Author)
De Gruyter Mouton (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 1. January 2006
Book
Mixed media product
XV, 330 pages
978-3-11-182440-6 (ISBN)
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Description
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.
Reviews / Votes
"The Power of Analogy. An Essay on Historical Linguistics is an important contribution to thinking about language change. It sets out a theory which unifies synchrony and diachrony in ways which diminish the usual barriers between them. [...] it is highly recommended."Margaret E. Winters in: Studies in Language 4/2008More details
Series
Edition
Reprint 2011
Language
English
Place of publication
Berlin/Boston
Germany
Publishing group
de Gruyter Mouton
Target group
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: College Graduate Student
Illustrations
Includes a print version and an ebook
Weight
750 gr
ISBN-13
978-3-11-182440-6 (9783111824406)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2011
1st Edition
De Gruyter Mouton
€159.95
Available for download

Book
05/2006
1st Edition
De Gruyter Mouton
€159.95
Shipment within 7-9 days
Person
Dieter Wanner, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.
Content
INTRODUCTION1.THE SCENARIO2.THE PRESTIGE OF HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS3.THE LIMITATIONS OF HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS4.GOALS OF THE ESSAY5.PLAN OF THE STUDY PART ICHAPTER ONEDIACHRONY: POSITIONS AND CHALLENGES1.PROPOSALS2.PROBLEMATICAL ASPECTS OF HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS3.LANGUAGE CHANGE CHAPTER TWODOMAINS IN HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS1.DIMENSIONS OF DIACHRONY2.PHILOLOGY BROADLY3.VARIOUS FORMAL PROPOSALS CHAPTER THREEREINTEGRATING DIACHRONY: A CRITIQUE OF SOME THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTS1.FOUR POLAR NOTIONS2.THE IMMANENT VIEW3.INNATE AND CONSTRUCTIVIST ASPECTS4.COMMUNICATION AND CAUSATION5.THE SHAPE OF LANGUAGE6.ENVIRONMENTAL DEPENDENCE OF LANGUAGE LEARNING7.PARAMETER SETTING AS INDUCTION8.THE MODELING OF FREQUENCY9.CONCLUSION: LANGUAGE AS THE OBJECT OF DIACHRONIC STUDY CHAPTER FOURCRITICAL ISSUES1.TYPES OF GRAMMATICALITY JUDGMENTS2.GRAMMATICALITY JUDGMENTS AS LINGUISTIC KNOWLEDGE3.REPRESENTATION4.REDUNDANCY5.COMPUTATIONAL RESOURCES6.REGULARITY PART IICHAPTER FIVEANALOGY, CATEGORIZATION, AND LEARNING1.IMMANENCE AND THE LINGUISTIC INDIVIDUAL2.LEARNING3.ANALOGY AS AN OPERATIVE MODEL4.ANALOGY IN DIACHRONY5.CHANGE IN SOCIAL CONTEXT CHAPTER SIXSOFT SYNTAX1.AN OVERVIEW OF LINGUISTIC COMPONENTS2.MAJOR ARTICULATIONS AND INTERFACING3.THE DIMENSIONS OF SOFT SYNTAX4.IMPLEMENTATION OF SOFT SYNTAX DIMENSIONS5.GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON PARSIMONIOUS SYNTAX REPRESENTATION CHAPTER SEVENPATHWAYS FOR DIACHRONIC SHIFTS1.CHANGE IN PRIMARY COMPONENTS OUTSIDE OF SYNTAX2.CHANGE IN THE SYNTACTIC DIMENSIONS3.MORE ON CHANGE CONCLUSIONS