Marking and Remarking: At the Crossroads of Syntax, Pragmatics, and Language Evolution

This presentation provides a glimpse into the proceedings of a larger project combining principles of pragmatics, generative syntax, and cognitive linguistics with the goal of forming a new framework for grammatical analysis (otherwise known as my dissertation). Central to this usage-based approach to Language is the notion of markedness, or that certain meanings and constructions are considered notable or special compared to others. Following the relatively young tradition of ‘evolutionary’ analysis in grammar (Bybee et al. 1994), I explore how constant shifts in markedness and markedness expression can drive language change, proposing an ongoing cycle of markedness diminishing and being re-established through the use of new, more complex constructions—the process of marking, demarking, and remarking. I will apply this principle in morphosyntax to demonstrate how diachronic developments can be used to make sense of phenomena like word order patterns or the complex anaphoric systems of some Germanic languages, like Dutch.

Bybee J. L., Perkins R. & Pagliuca W. (1994). The Evolution of Grammar: Tense, Aspect and Modality in the Languages of the World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.