In a number of studies of analogical levelling, it has been found
that the conservation of irregular formation patterns is typically correlated
with the token frequency of the members of a changing class. Interestingly,
although it was suggested decades ago that this “conserving effect” of high
token frequency may also affect ongoing analogical change, only one case of
a change-in-progress in morphology has been investigated so far. Moreover,
instead of scrutinizing the concept of frequency, previous research has largely
taken the importance of lemma token frequency for granted. The present
contribution analyses a case of ongoing analogical levelling in the formation
of the imperative singular of German strong verbs with e/i-gradation. A
corpus-based study is used to test whether the phenomenon is rightly classified
as ongoing change and whether and which frequency variables can
explain the trajectory of this change. Evidence is presented that justifies the
assumption of a conserving effect of token frequency in ongoing morphological
change; however, the study stresses the importance of reconsidering the
concept of frequency for different languages and different phenomena of
change because even measures like lemma token frequency are not as indisputable
as they seem.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:91573 |
| Date | 22 May 2024 |
| Creators | Krause-Lerche, Anne |
| Publisher | De Gruyter |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
Page generated in 0.0018 seconds