Grammaticalization is characterized by robust directional asymmetries (e.g., Kuteva et al. 2019). For instance, body-part nominals develop into spatial adpositions, minimizers develop into negation markers, and subject pronouns become agreement …
It has long been debated whether morphosyntactic change is teleological. Jespersen (1917:4), for instance, maintained that emphatic negative constructions are created in response to the weakening of older negative adverbs. Others have argued that …
Ennius 550 Sk (atqueatqueacceditmurosRomanaiuventus, ‘The Roman youth atqueatque advanced against the walls’) has long puzzled scholars on account of what appear to be side-by-side tokens of the conjunction atque ‘and’. …