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Offering a new perspective on auxiliaries in particular and language structure in general, this study argues that language cannot be explained satisfactorily with reference to linguistic variables alone; what is required in addition are extra-linguistic parameters relating to how we perceive the world around us, and how we utilize the linguistic resources available to us to conceptualize our experiences, and to communicate successfully. Rather than a closed, self-contained system, language is an entity that is constantly shaped by such external factors as cognitive forces, pragmatic manipulation, history, etc. These factors are responsible for the emergence of chain-like linguistic structures, and auxiliaries are typical examples of such structures, which Heine describes as grammaticalization chains. A limited number of concrete event schemas are discussed and these schemas are shown to be responsible for much of the linguistic diversity that auxiliary constructions exhibit in the languages of the world.
This study investigates the fundamental question of how cognitive forces and extra-linguistic parameters drive the development of auxiliary verbs within human language. Bernd Heine, a prominent scholar in the field of grammaticalization, argues that language structure cannot be understood through internal linguistic variables alone. Instead, he proposes that auxiliaries emerge from specific event schemas and pragmatic manipulation, positioning language as a dynamic entity shaped by human perception and historical usage.
What You Will Find
Experts in the field of historical linguistics recognize this work as a foundational text for understanding the cognitive underpinnings of grammatical change. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for advanced students and researchers of linguistic theory.
Page Count:
176
Publication Date:
1993-09-30
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0195083873
ISBN-13:
9780195083873
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