| Change and Compensation: Parallel Weakening of øS! in Italian, French and Spanish Contributor(s): Paulson, Michael G. (Editor), Seklaoui, Diana R. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0820407607 ISBN-13: 9780820407609 Publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publi OUR PRICE: $52.20 Product Type: Hardcover Published: February 1989 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Foreign Language Study | Romance Languages (other) - Language Arts & Disciplines - Literary Criticism | Semiotics & Theory |
| Dewey: 440 |
| LCCN: 88009357 |
| Series: Currents in Comparative Romance Languages and Literatures, |
| Physical Information: 262 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This book investigates the cause and consequences of linguistic change through an analysis of the fate of os in the Romance languages. A comparison of the mechanism of the weakening of os in modern Spanish with historical changes in Italian and French shows that the process is set in motion by a sound change which leads to a reduction of articulatory effort. Given the role of os as a number and person morpheme in these languages, its weakening leads inevitably to morphological restructuring which in no case results in an increase in the effort saved in the production of the message. The solutions adopted in the history of French and Italian provide a basis for predicting the ultimate and divergent outcomes of the ongoing processes in Spanish dialects." |