Drift – A change of perspective

Abstract Using the example of the German language, this contribution discusses different models of a drift between synthetic and analytical construction. As an alternative to existing models, a design that combines different perspectives is presented. Linguistic developments are not viewed as monodirectional or even monocausal, but as polydirectional and polycausal so that the question of the direction and causality of typological changes is answered with the assumption of a complex structure of dependencies. This model of typological change integrates both extra-linguistic and intra-linguistic factors. On the one hand, developments in the cultural environment are made responsible for changes in the linguistic system, since these developments require a different communicative behavior of the members of the language community. On the other hand, the model also takes into account the principle of self-regulation of a linguistic system based on an optimal relationship between communicative effort and communicative result.