Book contents
- How to Create a Language
- Reviews
- How to Create a Language
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Brief Contents
- Detailed Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Part I Building Words
- Part II Constructing Grammar
- 7 Basic Grammar
- 8 Inflections and Grammaticalization
- 9 Nouns
- 10 Noun Phrases
- 11 Pronouns and Verb Agreement
- 12 Verbs
- Part III Expanding Features
- Glossary
- References
- Index of Concepts
- Index of Languages
8 - Inflections and Grammaticalization
from Part II - Constructing Grammar
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 October 2025
Book contents
- How to Create a Language
- Reviews
- How to Create a Language
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Brief Contents
- Detailed Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Part I Building Words
- Part II Constructing Grammar
- 7 Basic Grammar
- 8 Inflections and Grammaticalization
- 9 Nouns
- 10 Noun Phrases
- 11 Pronouns and Verb Agreement
- 12 Verbs
- Part III Expanding Features
- Glossary
- References
- Index of Concepts
- Index of Languages
Summary
This chapter focuses on foundational grammatical concepts, first discussing the basic difference between content and function lexical categories before moving on to morphological language type, grammaticalization, and inflectional marking. The information investigated in this and the next four chapters is so interconnected that the material, as it is presented, is a bit like a spiral. One section will introduce you to a specific concept with a handful of other concepts and then a later section will return to that initial concept while discussing other related concepts. This material will continue to be presented using a spiraling method, linking the major grammatical concepts of this and the next four chapters. The grammatical decisions you will make at the end of this chapter focus on how much grammatical information is packaged within a single word unit and how constituents beyond the subject, object, and verb are typically ordered in clauses.
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- Information
- How to Create a LanguageThe Conlang Guide, pp. 149 - 171Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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