Lexicalization And Language Change

Lexicalization a process of language change has been conceptualized in avariety of ways. Broadly defined as the adoption of concepts into the lexiconit has been... » 

Lexicalization a process of language change has been conceptualized in avariety of ways. Broadly defined as the adoption of concepts into the lexiconit has been viewed by syntacticians as the reverse process ofgrammaticalization by morphologists as a routine process of wordformationand by semanticists as the development of concrete meanings. In this uptodatesurvey Laurel Brinton and Elizabeth Traugott examine the variousconceptualizations of lexicalization that have been presented in theliterature. In light of contemporary work on grammaticalization they thenpropose a new unified model of lexicalization and grammaticalization. Theirapproach is illustrated with a variety of case studies from the history ofEnglish including present participles multiword verbs adverbs anddiscourse markers as well as some examples from other IndoEuropean languages.The first review of the various approaches to lexicalization this book will beinvaluable to students and scholars of historical linguistics and languagechange. «