The linguistic Cycle in the Clause

							      The Linguistic Cycle
in the Early History of English,
    and clauses in particular

            Elly van Gelderen
       ellyvangelderen@asu.edu
        14 April 2007, GLAC 13
   www.public.asu.edu/~gelderen/GLAC13
                  Aims
To present a description of some recurring
 changes in the history of English
To understand some of these cycles within a
 Minimalist Program
                Outline
Examples of Cycles
Economy Principles
Recycling in Clause Markers
                        Cycles
Negative (neg):
      neg adverb > neg particle > (neg particle) neg
      indefinite/adverb > neg particle
Definiteness
      demonstrative > definite article > Case/non-generic >
      class marker
Agreement
      emphatic > pronoun > agreement
Auxiliary
      A/P > M > T > C
Clausal
      pronoun > complementizer
      PP/Adv > Topic > C
  Background on the Cycle/Spiral
• de Condillac, Tooke, A.W. von Schlegel,
  von Humboldt, Bopp
• more recently: Tauli 1958 and Hodge 1970

• Grammaticalization literature:
  word    >    clitic >    affix >   0
  (from Hopper & Traugott 2003)
              Economy Principles,
            e.g. van Gelderen 2004
Head Preference Principle (HPP):
Be a head, rather than a phrase.
Late Merge Principle (LMP):
Merge as late as possible.
Specifier Incorporation (SIP)
Be incorporated if you are a phrase.
Null hypothesis of language acquisition
A string is a word with lexical content.

UG Principles: guidance to the child (in acquisition) and the
  adult (in the derivation)
       The Linguistic Cycle,
      e.g. the Negative Cycle
HPP
             XP
Spec                     X'
na wiht      X                  YP
             not > n’t          …

Late Merge
                  Negative Cycle
(1)a.   no/ne                    eOE
   b.   ne     (na wiht/not)     OE, especially Southern
   c.   (ne) not                 ME, especially Southern
   d.   not                      LME
        -not/-n’t                LME

Old English – South:
(2)Næron 3e noht æmetti3e, ðeah ge wel ne dyden
   not-were you not unoccupied. though you well not did
   `You were not unoccupied, though you did not do well'.
   (Pastoral Care, Cotton, Sweet, 206).
       Negative Concord Cycle
(1) ænig monn ne mæg tuæm hlaferdum hera
 any man not may two lords serve (Northumbrian c950)
(2) ne mæg ænig twæm godum ðeowigan
 not may any two gods serve (Mercian C10)
(3) Ne mæg nan man twam hlafordum þeowian
 not may no man two lords serve (Corpus c1000)
(4) Ne mayg nam man twam hlaferden þeowian
 not may no man two lords serve (Hatton c1150)
                 Matthew 6.24
               DP Cycle
a.  DP              b.   DP
dem       D'                  D'   (=HPP)
    D          NP        D          NP
                         art        N
                              
c.             DP
                    D'
               D         NP
               ^         N
     renewal
                Subject Cycle
    TP                                       TP (=HPP)
DP                   T’               DP        T’
pron        T              VP         pron pron-T   VP
Urdu/Hindi, Japanese                  Coll French, CVC


                     TP
            [DP]                T’           (=LMP)
            [pron]         pron-T            VP
            Navajo, Spanish, Arabic
               Late Merge?

• Chomsky (1995: 348): Late Merge accounts for
  the presence of expletive subjects over raising;
  the principle is used by Fox (2002) to account for
  Antecedent Contained Deletion and by Bhatt &
  Pancheva (2004) for the scope of degree
  clauses. Both Roberts & Roussou (2003) and
  van Gelderen (2004) use it to account for
  grammaticalization.
• Chomsky post 1995: IM = EM, no difference
• It still seems salvageable but is it better to see
  things in terms of features?
Feature Economy: uF as perfection
Economy of Features
 Minimize the interpretable features in the
 derivation

a.Spec >       Head       >    zero
b.semantic > interpretable > uninterpretable
               (phi on N)      (uphi on T)
            From V > AUX
    VP                        TP
V        DP      >   T                 VP
wolde    [uCASE]     would         V        DP
[ACC]    [phi]       [uphi]
[uphi]
                   From P > C
            PP                                        CP
P                   DP              >       C              TP
after                                       after
[u-phi]             [3S]                    (u-phi)
[ACC]               [uACC]



In English, no phi, but Germanic C-agreement.
      Renewal at the end of the cycle
• Newmeyer 2006 notes that some grammaticalizations
  from noun/verb to affix can take as little as 1000 years,
  and wonders how there can be anything left to
  grammaticalize if this is the right scenario.
• Late Merge (Feature Economy), however, provides an
  answer for what the source of the replenishments are,
  namely lexical elements from lower in the tree. There are
  also borrowings and creative inventions through SIP.
• The Economy Principles do not provide a reason why
  certain languages/societies are more conservative than
  others, e.g. why the split infinitive has encountered such
  opposition by prescriptivists, and has kept to from
  grammaticalizing more.
            New specifiers:
- Emphatic pronouns
- Demonstrative pronouns
- VP adverbs
             New heads
- Verbs
- Adverbs
   Internal and External Change
• Jespersen: "the correct inference can only
  be that the tendency towards ease may be
  at work in some cases, though not in all,
  because there are other forces which may
  at times neutralize it or prove stronger
  than it".
• Von der Gabelentz (1891/1901: 251/256):
  "Deutlichkeit" ('clarity') and
  "Bequemlichkeit" ('comfort').
            Clause markers
1.   WH > Yes/No marker

2.   Relative > Conjunction

3.   Preposition >
     Complementizer/Conjunction

4.   VP adverb > Clausal adverb
Creation of new Clause boundaries
 Whether: WH-pronoun to Yes/No and C
(1)Hwæðer þara twe3ra dyde þæs fæder willan?
 Who of-the two did the father’s will WS Gosp. Matt. xxi. 31
(2)Hwæðer wæs iohannes fulluht þe of heofonum
  þe of mannum
 Whether was John's baptism that of heavens or of man
 `Was the baptism of John done by heaven or by man' (West Saxon
 Gospel, Corpus, Matthew 21.25).
(3)þær se snotera bad hwæþer him alwalda æfre
  wille ... wyrpe gefremman.
 there the wise waited whether him almighty ever would ... change
 accomplish
 `There the wise one waited whether the almighty would ever grant
 him change' (Beowulf 1313-5).
Same is true in other languages
(1)   kya ram jata he          Hindi/Urdu
      Q Ram go-3S is
      `Is Ram going'?
(2)   Ap kya kerũge            Hindi/Urdu
      you what do-FUT.2P
      `What are you going to do'.
                     Account
           CP                         CP
whether          C’          whether      C’ =LMP
           C            …             C



     Or Feature Grammaticalization:

     whether     >      whether
     [i-wh]             [u-wh]
 English relatives in OE and ME
OE se þe > þe or þæt:
(1) scyldwiga … se þe wel þenceþ
      shield-fighter … the that well thinks/judges
      `(Every sharp) shield fighter, who judges well' (Beowulf 287-9).

(2)   as theo the duden with Godd al thet ha
      walden.
      `as those who did with God all that they wanted’.
      (Ancr. R. III 492)
                        Wh-cycle

a.    CP                          b.     CP
   þat        C'   (=SIP)                       C’ (=HPP)
se/þam C           TP                    C            TP
       (þe/þat)                         that
                                                
                   c.             CP
                            wh-          C'
                                  C             TP
             renewal              that          ...
               New relatives
(1)   a laide de Dieu notre Seigneur, Qui vous
      douit bonne vie et longue.
      `With the help of God, our Lord, who gives
      us a good and long life' (Bekynton, from
      Rydén, p. 131).

(2)   be the grace of God, who haue yow in
      kepyng
      `by the grace of God, who keeps you'
      (Paston Letters 410).
 Preposition > Complementizer/Conjunction
              After from P > C
(1)        Ercenberht rixode æfter his fæder
           `E. ruled after/following his father' (Chronicle A, anno 640)

(2) a.     [æfter him] Stephanus feng to rice.
           `after him (i.e. Pope Leo), Stephanus became pope'.
           (Chronicle A, anno 814 [816])
      b.   [æfter þissum gefeohte] cuom micel sumorlida.
           `after this fight, there came a large summer-force'
           (Chronicle A, anno 871)

(3) a.     [Æfter þysan] com Thomas to Cantwarebyri
           `After this, Thomas came to Canterbury'.
           (Chronicle A, anno 1070)
      b.   [æfter ðon] uutedlice ic eftariso ic forlioro vel iowih in galileam
           `after that, surely I arise-again I come before you in Galilee'
           (Lindisfarne Gospel, Matthew 26. 32).
(1)After that the king hadde brent the volum
   (Wyclyf 1382, taken over in Coverdale 1535 and KJV
   1611, from the OED).
(2)After that Raleigh had Intelligence that Cobham had
   accused him, he endeavour'd to have Intelligence from
   Cobham (HC, EModE2)
(3) Aftir he hadde take þe hooli Goost (c1360 Wyclif De
   Dot. Eccl. 22).
(4) After thei han slayn them (1366 Mandeville174).

  Four stages:
  PP        < PP   900 (Chronicle A) – present
  PP (that)        950 (Lindisfarne) - 1600 (OED 1587)
  P that           1220 (Lambeth) - 1600 (OED 1611)
  C                1360 (Wycliff) - present
     Percentages of demonstrative
  objects (Dem) with after and fronting


           Beowulf   Chronicle Chronicle A
                     <892      >892

Dem        2/65=3%   2/26= 8% 17/22= 77%
Fronting   2/65=3%   7/26= 27% 12/22= 55%
                       For : P to C

(1) ouþer for untrumnisse ouþer for lauerdes neode
 ouþer for haueleste ouþer for hwilces cinnes oþer
 neod he ne muge þær cumon
 `either from infirmity or from his lord's need or from lack of means or
 from need of any other kind he cannot go there' (Peterborough
 Chronicle, anno 675).

(2)   forþam Trumbriht wæs adon of þam biscopdome
 `because T had been deprived of his biscopric' (Peterborough
 Chronicle, anno 685).
                 Beowulf           PC
Dem objects/
  forðan            16/54 =30%       67/150 =45%
Fronting            18/54 =33%       80/150 =53%
               _________________________________
for(ðan) as PP      54                     150
C                   0                      16
               _________________________________
Total for(ðan)      54                     166
From lexical to grammatical category
               From P > C
          PP                          CP
P              DP       >   C              TP
after                       after
[u-phi]        [3S]         (u-phi)
[ACC]          [uACC]
             OE Clausal adverbs

(1)Witodlice [æfter þam þe ic of deaþe arise] ic
  cume to eow on galilee
  Surely after that that I of death arise I come to
  you in Galilee (West Saxon Gospels, Matthew
  26.32)
(2)Ne deþ witodlice nan man niwes claðes scyp
  on eald reaf.
  Not does surely no man new cloth piece on old
  garment (West Saxon Gospels, Matthew 9.16)
                          Decline


            OE I-II OE III   OE IV ME1   ME2
witodlice   2       84       20   9      --
wærlice     5       10       5    5      --

soþlice     72      205      19   37     2
sicerlice   --      --       --   5      6

wiselice    --      6        3    9      --
            New CP adverbs
(1)   You wrote so probably that hyt put me in a
      feare of daungerys to come. (OED, 1535)
(2)   A source, from whence those waters of
      bitterness..have..probably flowed (OED,
      1647)
(3)   for, tho very probably I shall not have
      occasion for them, yet it wou'd be very
      vexatious to want them shou'd ther be
      occasion. (1690, Letter by Charles Hatton,
      HC)
      VP adverb > Clausal adverb

(1)   and he shulde goo frank and quite.
      (OED 1475)
(2)   All other lawfull thinges..to do as liberally,
      frankelie, lawfully..as if they..had been naturally
      borne within this realme (OED, 1541)
(3)   Therefore [with franke and with vncurbed
      plainnesse], Tell vs the {Dolphins} minde.
      (Henry V)
(4)   She... Can you wonder that I'm disinclined
      for amusement? He.Frankly, I do (OED 1888)
            Dutch, Bulgarian, Chinese
(1) Eerlijk       gezegd voel ik daar niet zoveel voor
    honestly      spoken feel I there not so-much about
    `Honestly, I don't quite feel like doing that'.
(2) Chestno       kazano             nishto ne      razbiram
    Frankly       spoken             nothing not    understand-1S.PRES
    'Frankly, I don't understand anything.' (Mariana Bahtchevanova p.c.)
(3) Shihua        shuo zhezi                 shi    ni      zuo    le
    Honest        say      this-time         be     you     wrong LE
    `Honestly this time you were wrong'. (Ji 2006)

(4) nou eerlijk ik vind dit een mooi machien
    now honestly I think this a beautiful engine
    (www.motor-europe.com/discussions/viewtopic.php?t=899)
(5) Eerlijk, ik heb het nu zeer moeilijk
    honestly, I have it now very difficult
    huizekeytsman.telenet.be/groen%20plus%20senioren/WVDStappen
    Asbest.pdf
     Late Merge or Features

• Late Merge cases that can be seen as
  Feature Economy: whether, who, after,
  for, etc

• VP > CP adverbial are harder to see in
  terms of features.
                   Conclusions
• description of some changes as Economy
  – Negative, Demonstrative, (Agreement), and
    Perfective Cycles
  – Clause marking through
     • wh
     • P
     • VP adverb
• Reason: semantic features are reanalyzed as
  grammatical
• internal (grammaticalization) vs external
  (renewal)
                             Data
• Old English Dictionary Texts (all of OE)
• Helsinki Corpus (OE through eModE)
• Oxford English Dictionary
  – http://dictionary.oed.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/entrance.dtl

• Oxford Text Archive electronic-texts etc
  – http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/

• Modern corpora: British National Corpus,
  International Corpus of English
  – http://sara.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/lookup.html