Historical Syntax in Cross-Linguistic Perspective

Harris, Alice C.;Campbell, Lyle

ISBN 10: 0521472946 / ISBN 13: 9780521472944

Published by Spain: Cambridge Univ Pr, 1995

About this Item

Still in the shrink-wrapping. "In this major new work Alice Harris and Lyle Campbell set out to establish a general framework for the investigation of linguistic change. Systematic cross-linguistic comparison of syntactic change across a wide variety of languages is used to construct hypotheses about the universals and limits of language change more generally. In particular, the authors seek to move closer towards describing the range of causes of syntactic change to develop an understanding of the mechanisms of syntactic change, and to provide an understanding of why some languages undergo certain changes and not others. The authors draw on languages as diverse as Pipil and French, Georgian and Estonian, and the data presented is one of the book's great strengths. Rigor and precision are combined here with a great breadth of scholarship to produce a unique resource for the study of linguistic change,"(Publisher).

Seller Inventory # HB8673

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Historical Syntax in Cross-Linguistic Perspective
• Publisher: Spain: Cambridge Univ Pr
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521472946
• ISBN 13: 9780521472944
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Seller catalogs:
  • LINGUISTICS

About this title

Synopsis

In this important new work, Alice Harris and Lyle Campbell set out to establish a general framework for the investigation of syntactic change. Using a cross-linguistic approach, they reveal shared properties of changes across languages, determine what mechanisms lie behind them, and how they correlate to the overall explanation of syntactic change. They draw on data drawn from a wide variety of languages, in particluar those from the Indo-European, Finno-Ugric, Kartvelian, and North East Caucasian families.

Book Description

This study utilizes a cross-linguistic approach to establish a general framework for the investigation of syntactic change. It reveals shared properties of changes across languages, determines what mechanisms lie behind them, and how they correlate to the overall explanation of syntactic change.