Lecture | Sociolinguistics & Discourse Studies Series
Pragmaticalization or grammaticalization? A multidimensional model of the evolution of pragmatic markers
- Date
- Friday 22 May 2026
- Time
- Serie
- Sociolinguistics & Discourse Studies Series
- Address
-
Herta Mohr
Witte Singel 27A
2311 BG Leiden - Room
- 0.24
Abstract
This paper addresses the diachronic evolution of pragmatic markers, with a focus on discourse markers and modal particles. I propose a typology of pathways along which markers have been shown to evolve. Besides what I call “linear” pragmaticalization, this typology also includes four “nonlinear” forms:
- Grammatico-pragmaticalization.
- Pragmaticalization-to-lexicalization spirals.
- Micro-cycles of pragmaticalization, comprising two subtypes: onomasiological vs semasiological cycles.
- Feature spirals.
I argue that because of the existence of these nonlinear paths, it is unhelpful to subsume the rise of pragmatic markers under the concepts of either grammaticalization or constructional change. Instead, the proposed model draws on a distinction between three macropaths of change, namely grammaticalization, pragmaticalization, and lexicalization, which are not mutually exclusive. The three macropaths are defined by particular interactions between, on the one hand, two levels of meaning, and on the other hand, two levels of grammar. The argument is illustrated with examples from Romance languages.