Rhythmic Grammar: The Influence of Rhythm on Grammatical Variation and Change in English

by Julia Schlüter

This groundbreaking book highlights a phonological preference, the Principle of Rhythmic Alternation, as a factor in grammatical variation and change in English from the early modern period to the present. Though frequently overlooked in earlier research, the phonetically motivated avoidance of adjacent stresses is shown to exert an influence on a wide variety of phenomena in morphology and syntax.

Based on in-depth analyses of extensive...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3110186071
• ISBN13: 9783110186079
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: de Gruyter Mouton
• Length: 404 Pages
• Weight: 1.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 22 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary