The Evolution of Grammar: Tense, Aspect, and Modality in the Languages of the World

摘要: Joan Bybee and her colleagues present a new theory of the evolution grammar that links structure meaning in way directly challenges most contemporary versions generative grammar. This study focuses on use grammatical markers tense, aspect modality identifies universal set categories. The authors demonstrate semantic content these categories evolves gradually this process is strikingly similar across unrelated languages. Through survey 76 languages 25 different phyla, show same paths change occur universally movement along one direction only. analysis reveals lexical substance into through various mechanisms change, such as metaphorical extension conventionalization implicature. Grammaticization always accompanied by an increase frequency marker, providing clear evidence language major factor synchronic states.