We shall discuss in this chapter the description and interpretation of language change within the framework of transformational-generative theory. It could be objected that, in the present fluid state of historical work in terms of the transformational model, any attempt at a synthesis is premature and can only serve to perpetuate obsolescent or outdated hypotheses. We think, however, that this objection is outweighed by the consideration that the transformational framework has become the major centre of theoretical rethinking in historical linguistics and that the issues raised by the alternative analyses which it proposes cannot be ignored. We shall concentrate on two basic questions, namely the representation of phonological change within the framework of a non-autonomous phonology (that is to say, a phonology the rules of which take account of structure at the grammatical level), and the representation of syntactic change in terms of deep structure and transformational rules. The examples discussed will include a number of changes for which we have already given traditional analyses so that the comparison of the solutions provided by the different models to the same problems may give some idea of their relative descriptive adequacy and explanatory power.

We shall take as our basis the so-called standard theory of transformational-generative grammar, as outlined in Chomsky's ‘Aspects’ (Chomsky 1965; Chomsky and Halle 1968; cf. King 1969a: chapter 2).