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The exceptional loss of the pronoun T.
- Source :
-
Journal of Pragmatics . Oct2015, Vol. 88, p190-201. 12p. - Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- Calculations on lexical stability show that the V-pronoun is variable but the T-pronoun is stable across language families (cf. Swadesh 1971 [2006]; Wichmann and Holman, 2009; Tadmor et al., 2010 ). In fact, the T-pronoun is in the top 10 of basic vocabulary items. Nevertheless, both English and Dutch have lost their T-pronoun. We suggest that this unexpected loss of T in English and Dutch can be explained via an exceptional combination of circumstances, namely (1) a focus on negative politeness, (2) the possibility of deflection via the loss of the T-pronoun and (3) pressure on the inflectional system due to language contact involving adult second language learners. These factors lead to two predictions: one related to the subject-non-subject ratio, and one related to text style. We test both predictions in a corpus of 13th and 16th century texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 03782166
- Volume :
- 88
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Pragmatics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 110576856
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2015.07.003