Pragmatic motivations and (in) bridging contexts: the role of inferences in grammaticalization
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21165/el.v46i1.1554Keywords:
inferences, bridging contexts, grammaticalizationAbstract
This paper investigates the role of contexts in the initial stages of linguistic change by grammaticalization, aiming to provide evidence that specific contextual clusters raise the conditions for the development of more grammatical forms (TRAUGOTT, 1988; HEINE, 2002). The importance of the contextual domain to the beginning of grammaticalization can be seen mainly in the fact that certain contexts trigger inferences that favor reanalysis in form and meaning, which are precondition for the origin of new functions. In order to highlight the role of inferences in grammaticalization, we present a synchronic study on the changes that give rise to constructions of contrastive junction with agora, by extracting, from the variety of contexts in which agora can participate in contemporary Portuguese, clues about the contextual clusters that favor the changes.
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