Diachronica - Current Issue

Morphological complexity metrics like entropy, and notions like the Paradigm Cell-Filling Problem, have recently (re)gained popularity for the synchronic analysis of inflectional systems. The potential of these quantitative approaches for diachronic research, however, remains largely untapped. This paper constitutes a first exploration of whether and, if so, how these methods can be used profitably in this domain. We first use Romance, for which we have rich historical knowledge, to establish the diagnostic value of complexity metrics for phylogenetic relatedness under a best-case scenario. We then apply these methods to Pamean (Otomanguean, Mexico) to show that the same metrics help diagnose the phylogenetic relatedness of tenses and inflection classes even when, as is the case in this family, most of the morphological material has been replaced or altered beyond recognition. Results suggest that complexity metrics can successfully diagnose phylogenetic relatedness over extended periods of time and fruitfully complement traditional qualitative approaches.

On the basis of just under 5,050 examples of perfect constructions, this paper traces the development of the be:have perfect alternation in English between the 1620s and 1750s. For a core group of 18 verbs, the study investigates the role that language-internal and language-external predictor variables played in the choice of auxiliary. Multifactorial modelling reveals that language-internal factors such as modality, negation, clause-type and tense are among the most important predictors favouring the choice of have as auxiliary; there is also some indication of diachronic, lexical and idiosyncratic variation within Early Modern English. A close investigation of perfects that combine both auxiliaries strengthens the view that ambiguity-avoidance did not play a major role in the loss of the be-perfect. The results of the multifactorial model suggest greater independence of negation and counterfactuality as factors than previously claimed. The study thus contributes a novel perspective on the demise of the be-perfect, with paradigmatic variability taking centre stage.

Research on language stability typically departs from a sample of mother-daughter languages (e.g., Greenhill et al. 2017, Honeybone 2019, Moran et al. 2021). Instead, this study aims at measuring consonant stability (presence or absence of change) in Portuguese-based creoles. Our approach enables us to: (i) build a stability scale of the adaptation of shifted phonological systems, and (ii) measure distances between creoles with regard to their lexifier. Our hypothesis is that less stable segments are typologically rare and that they were unstable in Portuguese from the 16th century until today. Our main findings are: (i) consonant stability is strongly correlated to typological frequency, (ii) the similarity between the consonant systems of the substrates and the lexifier does not affect the stability scores, and (iii) the sociohistorical characteristics of each settlement, namely the duration and the conditions of contact, play a role on phonological stability in the creoles under observation.

The Mǐn languages are crucial for the study of early Chinese, and Baxter and Sagart’s (2014) new Old Chinese system aims to prioritize Jerry Norman’s Proto-Mǐn of the 1970s. This report describes three key problems relating to the reconstruction of Proto-Mǐn syllable onsets, observing that, in relation to each problem, Baxter and Sagart’s new Old Chinese system is affected by serious errors with respect to data and methodology.