Nonfinite Structures in Theory and Change

Download or read book Nonfinite Structures in Theory and Change written by D. Gary Miller and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2002 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book seeks to answer the questions: why do grammars change, and why is the rate of such change so variable? A principal focus is on changes in English between the Anglo-Saxon and early modern periods. The author frames his analysis in a comparative framework with extended discussions of language change in a wide range of other Indo-European languages. He deploys Chomsky's minimalist framework in a fruitful marriage of comparative and theoretical linguistics within an argument that will be accessible to practitioners in both fields.