Morphological Theory and Diachronic Change

Abstract

Variation and change are essential for any human language, but at the same time they form a challenge for theoretical models of grammar. This chapter discusses some notions and phenomena encountered in word-formation change that should be relevant to any morphological theory. It focuses on the notion of reanalysis and on phenomena related to this notion. In its second half, the chapter focuses on the notion of productivity and on the view that every change in word-formation has to be seen as a change in productivity. It is claimed that theoretical models will need to become more attentive to usage-based perspectives in order to integrate the dynamics of language and language change. The examples used for illustration purposes in this chapter are taken from Dutch, German, and English.