Competing motivations in the diachronic nominalization of English gerunds

• Lauren Fonteyn ^[1] ; Charlotte Maekelberghe ^[2]
  1. [1] University of Manchester

     University of Manchester

     Reino Unido

     
  2. [2] KU Leuven

     KU Leuven

     Arrondissement Leuven, Bélgica

     
• Localización: Diachronica: International Journal for Historical Linguistics = Revue Internationale pour la Linguistique Historique = Internationale Zeitschrift für Historische Sprachwissenschaft, ISSN 0176-4225, Vol. 35, Nº 4, 2018, págs. 487-524
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1075/dia.17015.fon
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • The present study is an in-depth, corpus-based analysis of the rise and institutionalization of the indefinite nominal gerund in Late Modern English, considering the observed developments in light of their interactions with functionally related constructions. Based on historical data taken from the Corpus of Late Modern English Texts (version 3.1), we argue that the rise of indefinite nominal gerunds constitutes an instance of DIACHRONIC NOMINALIZATION, in which the nominal gerund over time gradually comes to exploit a fuller range of paradigmatic properties associated with the nominal class. At the same time, this study investigates the potential influence of ISOMORPHISM on the observed developments. While the results do support the frequently investigated claim that language systems have a (weak) preference for a one-form-one-meaning organization in later stages of their development, the initial emergence of indefinite nominal gerunds can more accurately be explained by allowing SYSTEM PRESSURE as an enabling force of linguistic innovation. The picture presented in this study serves as evidence that the long-term development of linguistic constructions can be the result of COMPETING – EVEN MAXIMALLY OPPOSITE – FORCES.