%0 Journal Article %A Poortvliet, Marjolein %T The grammaticalization of Dutch klinken %D 2017 %J Journal of Historical Linguistics %V 7 %N 1 %P 190-212 %@ 2210-2116 %R https://doi.org/10.1075/jhl.7.1-2.08poo %K grammaticalization %K evidentiality %K subjectification %K copularization %K perception verbs %I John Benjamins %X This article demonstrates the diachronic development of present-day Dutch klinken as an evidential copular verb meaning ‘to seem, based on (auditory) evidence’ from the Middle Dutch intransitive verb klinken meaning ‘to give off a clear sound’. I identify four semantic stages in the history of klinken, which are divided by processes of semantic bleaching (14th–16th century, 16th–17th century) and subjectification and copularization (during the 16th century). I claim that the process of copularization is the trigger of both the evidential meaning and the subjective interpretation that copular constructions with klinken receive. Furthermore, I show that, unlike the development of eruitzien ‘look’ and voelen ‘feel’ from cognitive perception verbs, klinken has developed much like the Dutch copular verbs schijnen ‘seem’ and blijken ‘turn out’: from an intransitive verb with a sensory-related meaning. %U https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/jhl.7.1-2.08poo