Change, relatedness, and inertia in historical syntax
This chapter discusses the conceptual and methodological shortcomings arising from the notion of ‘change’ within the abstract biolinguistic framework of generative grammar. The chapter argues that founding historical linguistics on the notion of change is hardly compatible with focus on I-language (Chomsky 1986), but it is preferable to ground historical linguistics in the concept of non‐accidental and non‐universal similarity among I‐languages.
Keywords: relatedness, change, inertia, I‐language, E‐language
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