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On the grammaticalization of personal pronouns1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2011

BERND HEINE*
Affiliation:
Universität zu Köln
KYUNG-AN SONG*
Affiliation:
Chonnam National University
*
Authors' address: (Heine) Institut für Afrikanistik, Universität zu Köln, 50923 Köln, Germany Correspondence address: Bernd Heine, Nonnenwerthstr. 48, 50937, Koeln, Germanybernd.heine@uni-koeln.de
Authors' address: (Song) Department of German Language & Literature, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-757, Koreakasong@chonnam.ac.kr

Abstract

Unlike most other grammatical domains, that of personal pronouns is clearly under-researched in works on grammaticalization. One reason can be seen in the fact that personal pronouns differ in their diachronic behavior from most other grammatical categories to the extent that they present a challenge to grammaticalization theory. In the present paper it is argued that in order to account for this behavior, an extended understanding of grammaticalization is needed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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Footnotes

[1]

We wish to express our gratitude to a number of colleagues who have been of help in writing this paper, in particular to John Haiman, Christa König, Tania Kuteva, Heiko Narrog, Fritz Newmeyer, as well as two anonymous JL referees. We also wish to express our gratitude to the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for generously having sponsored the research leading to this paper within its World Class University Program.

The following abbreviations are used in the paper: 1, 2, 3=first, second, third person; abs=absolute pronoun; acc=accusative; cl=classifier; conn=connective; cop=copula; dat=dative; def=definite; du=dual; emph=emphasis; end=ending; ex=exclusive; f=feminine; fut=future; gns=grammaticalization in a narrow sense; gws=grammaticalization in a wide sense; h=honorific; hab=habitual; hum=human; in=inclusive; int=intensifier; intr=interrogative particle; m=masculine; n=neuter; neg=negation; nom=nominative; o=object; obj=object; past=past; pfv=perfective; pl=plural; pres=present; refl=reflexive; sg=singular; sub=subject; tam=tense-aspect-modality; tns=tense; top=topic; tr=trial.

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