Spreading Patterns: Diffusional Change in the English System of Complementation (Oxford Studies in the History of English)

De Smet, Hendrik

ISBN 10: 0199812756 / ISBN 13: 9780199812752

Published by Oxford University Press, 2012

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Spreading Patterns: Diffusional Change in the English System of Complementation (Oxford Studies in the History of English)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0199812756
• ISBN 13: 9780199812752
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Like New
• Book Type: book

About this title

Synopsis

Spreading Patterns examines how new constructions emerge and spread through the grammar of a language, in a process called "diffusion". This is done by tracking the development of three types of complements from the Middle English period to the present day. These are subject-controlled gerund complements, for…to-infinitives, and subject-controlled participial complements. In the first half of the book, De Smet focuses on how and why patterns diffuse. In the second half, which is largely corpus-based, De Smet tests his theoretical model of diffusion on the three complement types. His work demonstrates how diffusion interacts with the grammatical system of complementation, how diffusion proceeds, step-by-step, and why diffusion is directional.

Spreading Patterns will appeal to scholars and advanced students of English, history of English, and historical linguistics.

About the Author

Hendrik De Smet is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Linguistics at the University of Leuven.