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Abstract

Abstract

This paper explores the advantages of using Latent Class Analysis (LCA) as a computational approach to mapping replacement in language change. Historical linguistics assumes that when a construction replaces another construction, this process is gradual, affecting certain usage contexts before others. This model of replacement predicts that these usage contexts play a greater role for the decrease in usage frequency of the replaced construction than other contexts. As a case study, I examine the replacement of the perfect auxiliary ‘be’ with ‘have’ in the history of Spanish using a combination of LCA and regression analysis. Starting from the eight usage contexts identified with LCA, I observe changes in the preference for or to be used in these contexts. By using the predicted probability of assignment to these contexts as a dependent variable, I provide proof of significant replacement of with , but also of with , in contexts with perfective meanings. The absence of replacement in the remaining contexts leads me to postulate that underwent both functional specialization and renewal as its usage frequency declined. From a theoretical perspective, this study provides empirical evidence for a key assumption in historical linguistics, namely that replacement processes occur locally.

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2026-01-29
2026-02-14

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/content/journals/10.1075/fol.24026.ros
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A computational approach to mapping replacement processes in language change
John Benjamins ; https://doi.org/10.1075/fol.24026.ros
/content/journals/10.1075/fol.24026.ros
/content/journals/10.1075/fol.24026.ros
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: obsolescence ; expansion ; language change ; replacement ; perfect ; latent class analysis ; auxiliary selection ; grammaticalization

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