Persistence (linguistics)
Encyclopedia
Persistence in linguistics
refers to one of the five principles by which you can detect grammaticalisation
while it is taking place. The other four are: layering
, divergence
, specialisation
, and de-categorialisation.
“When a form undergoes grammaticalization from a lexical
to a grammatical function
, as long as it is grammatically viable some traces of its original lexical meanings tend to adhere to it, and details of its lexical history may be reflected in constraints on its grammatical distribution.” (Hopper
1991: 22)
“The principle of persistence relates the meaning and function of a grammatical form to its history as a lexical
morpheme
. This relationship is often completely opaque by the stage of morphologisation, but during intermediate stages it may be expected that a form will be polysemous, and that one or more of its meaning will reflect a dominant earlier meaning.” (Hopper 1991: 28) In other words, grammaticalisation can be a ‘diachronic’ explanatory parameter for certain otherwise hard-to-explain ‘synchronic’ (semantic
and distributional) properties of grammatical signs.
The lexical roots of a grammaticalised feature may remain visible in its grammatical function and may influence its grammatical distribution.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
refers to one of the five principles by which you can detect grammaticalisation
Grammaticalisation
In linguistics, grammaticalization is a process by which words representing objects and actions transform through sound change and language migration to become grammatical objects...
while it is taking place. The other four are: layering
Layering (linguistics)
Layering in linguistics refers to one of the five principles by which you can detect grammaticalisation while it is taking place. The other four are: divergence, specialisation, persistence, and de-categorialisation....
, divergence
Divergence (linguistics)
Divergence in linguistics refers to one of the five principles by which you can detect grammaticalisation while it is taking place. The other four are: layering, specialisation, persistence, and de-categorialisation....
, specialisation
Specialization (linguistics)
In linguistics, the term specialization , refers to one of the five principles by which grammaticalization can be detected while it is taking place...
, and de-categorialisation.
“When a form undergoes grammaticalization from a lexical
Lexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
to a grammatical function
Grammatical function
In linguistics, grammatical functions refer to functional relationships between participants in a proposition...
, as long as it is grammatically viable some traces of its original lexical meanings tend to adhere to it, and details of its lexical history may be reflected in constraints on its grammatical distribution.” (Hopper
Paul Hopper
Paul J. Hopper is an American linguist of British birth. In 1973, he proposed the glottalic theory regarding the reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European consonant inventory, in parallel with the Georgian linguist Tamaz Gamkrelidze and the Russian linguist Vyacheslav V. Ivanov...
1991: 22)
“The principle of persistence relates the meaning and function of a grammatical form to its history as a lexical
Lexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
morpheme
Morpheme
In linguistics, a morpheme is the smallest semantically meaningful unit in a language. The field of study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology. A morpheme is not identical to a word, and the principal difference between the two is that a morpheme may or may not stand alone, whereas a word,...
. This relationship is often completely opaque by the stage of morphologisation, but during intermediate stages it may be expected that a form will be polysemous, and that one or more of its meaning will reflect a dominant earlier meaning.” (Hopper 1991: 28) In other words, grammaticalisation can be a ‘diachronic’ explanatory parameter for certain otherwise hard-to-explain ‘synchronic’ (semantic
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
and distributional) properties of grammatical signs.
The lexical roots of a grammaticalised feature may remain visible in its grammatical function and may influence its grammatical distribution.