Spreading Patterns | Diffusional Change in the English System of Complementation

Hendrik de Smet (u. a.)

ISBN 10: 0199812756 / ISBN 13: 9780199812752

Published by Oxford University Press, 2012

About this Item

Spreading Patterns | Diffusional Change in the English System of Complementation | Hendrik de Smet (u. a.) | Buch | Gebunden | Englisch | 2012 | Oxford University Press | EAN 9780199812752 | Verantwortliche Person für die EU: Libri GmbH, Europaallee 1, 36244 Bad Hersfeld, gpsr[at]libri[dot]de | Anbieter: preigu Print on Demand.

Seller Inventory # 120667045

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Spreading Patterns | Diffusional Change in the English System of Complementation
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0199812756
• ISBN 13: 9780199812752
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 240W x 161H x 20D millimeters 240 millimeters width by 161 millimeters height by 20 millimeters depth
• Weight: 608 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • Bücher

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.