Traditionally, grammar has been considered to be less easily borrowed than lexical items when exposed to language contact situations. More recently, linguists generally agree that there are no limits to the transfer of linguistic items, regardless of their more functional or more lexical content. The specific multilingual scenarios in which people use different language systems determine if and how they may mix those systems in their speech. In this paper, I will analyze a corpus of Pennsylvania German verbal periphrases known under the name of am-progressive: SEIN + am + infinitive. I will show that once a construction has been identified by the bilingual speaker as being to some respect equivalent to a pattern of the other language, like in this case to the English progressive form TO BE + present participle, the constituent parts of the construction can become independent and develop new grammatical functions: the detached pattern am + infinitive can now take over the function of an English participle.
Die geborgte Grammatik. Zum Phänomen kontaktinduzierter Grammatikalisierung am Beispiel des Pennsylvania Deitsh
HANS, BARBARA;
2013-01-01
Abstract
Traditionally, grammar has been considered to be less easily borrowed than lexical items when exposed to language contact situations. More recently, linguists generally agree that there are no limits to the transfer of linguistic items, regardless of their more functional or more lexical content. The specific multilingual scenarios in which people use different language systems determine if and how they may mix those systems in their speech. In this paper, I will analyze a corpus of Pennsylvania German verbal periphrases known under the name of am-progressive: SEIN + am + infinitive. I will show that once a construction has been identified by the bilingual speaker as being to some respect equivalent to a pattern of the other language, like in this case to the English progressive form TO BE + present participle, the constituent parts of the construction can become independent and develop new grammatical functions: the detached pattern am + infinitive can now take over the function of an English participle.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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