Categoriality in Language Change

The Case of the English Gerund

Lauren Fonteyn

Oxford Studies in the History of English

Presents the first serious attempt to set out a functional-semantic definition of diachronic transcategorial shift between the major classes noun/nominal and verb/clause
Shows that the diachronic processes of nominalization and verbalization also involve functional changes through a theoretical model of
Showcases the fascinating history of the English gerund

Categoriality in Language Change

The Case of the English Gerund

Lauren Fonteyn

Oxford Studies in the History of English

Description

This book presents the first serious attempt to set out a functional-semantic definition of diachronic transcategorial shift between the major classes noun/nominal and verb/clause. In English, speakers have different options to refer to an event, ranging from that-clauses (That he had guessed her size) over infinitives (For him to guess her size) and verbal gerunds (Him guessing her size) to nominal gerunds (His guessing of her size) and deverbal nouns (His guess of her size). Interestingly, not only do these strategies each resemble "prototypical" nominals to varying extents, but also some of these strategies increasingly resemble clauses and decreasingly resemble prototypical nominals over time, as if they are gradually shifting categories. Thus far, the literature that has dealt with such cases of diachronic categorial shift has mainly described the processes by focusing on form, leaving us with a clear picture of what and how changes have occurred. Yet, the question of why these formal changes have occurred is still shrouded in mystery.

In this book, Lauren Fonteyn tackles this mystery by showing that the diachronic processes of nominalization and verbalization can also involve functional-semantic changes in two steps. First, building on functionalist and cognitive models of grammar, she offers a theoretical model of categoriality that allows us to study diachronic nominalization and verbalization not just as morphosyntactic but also as functional-semantic processes. Second, she offers more concrete, "workable" definitions of the abstract functional-semantic properties of the nominal and verbal/clausal class, which are subsequently applied to one of the most intriguing deverbal nominalization systems in the history of English: the English gerund.

Categoriality in Language Change

The Case of the English Gerund

Lauren Fonteyn

Oxford Studies in the History of English

Categoriality in Language Change

The Case of the English Gerund

Lauren Fonteyn

Oxford Studies in the History of English

Author Information

Lauren Fonteyn, Assistant Professor in English Language, University of Leiden

Lauren Fonteyn is Assistant Professor in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Leiden.

Categoriality in Language Change

The Case of the English Gerund

Lauren Fonteyn

Oxford Studies in the History of English

Reviews and Awards

"The aim of this book is to examine transcategorial shift between the nominal and verbal classes and develop a theoretical model to measure the relation between diachronic changes in a construction's degree of morphosyntactic categoriality and its degree of functional-semantic categoriality. This model is operationalized by applying it to the analysis of the English gerundive system, a network of related constructions that exhibit varying degrees of categorial hybridity. The volume is thus an excellent read for everyone interested in cognitive-functional linguistics in general, and diachronic linguistics in particular." - Teresa Fanego, Professor of English Linguistics, University of Santiago de Compostela

"Through careful analysis, Lauren Fonteyn throws fresh light on the history of the English gerund. She paints a fascinating picture of interacting formal and functional changes, playing out within an evolving network of -ing-clauses and along a multi-layered noun-verb gradient. The upshot: form does not blindly follow function, or vice versa." - Hendrik De Smet, Professor of Linguistics, University of Leuven

"If noun and verb are the basic categories, English gerunds provide an excellent testing ground for category shifts. Fonteyn uses semantic, discourse and formal features, plus frequencies, to locate any pattern in relation to category prototypes. Adopting some exciting recent theoretical advances, she then offers a subtle diachronic account." - David Denison, David Denison, Emeritus Professor of Linguistics, The University of Manchester