The Limits of Grammaticalization

The earliest use of the term "grammaticalization" was to refer to the process whereby lexical words of a language (such as English keep in "he keeps bees") become grammatical forms (such as the auxiliary in "he keeps looking at me"). Changes of this kind, which involve semantic fading and a downshift from a major to a minor category, have generally been agreed to come under the heading of grammaticalization. But other changes that equally contribute...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1556196504
• ISBN13: 9781556196508
• Release Date: July 1998
• Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
• Length: 308 Pages