The diachrony of pronouns and presentatives in later greek: A “Ποικιλία”

Speaker: 
Brian Joseph (Ohio State)
Event time: 
Monday, September 19, 2016 - 4:00pm to 5:30pm
Location: 
Rosenfeld Hall See map
109 Grove Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Event description: 

I this paper I give the broad outlines of changes in the personal pronouns between Ancient Greek and Modern Greek, focusing especially on the emergence of a new form and new category and new usage — a presentative — in the pronominal system. The relevant historical developments turn out to touch on a number of interesting issues including the role of deixis and person in shaping the system of pronouns, what these developments have to say about claims made regarding the “grammaticalization” of pronouns, how these developments play out against the backdrop of contact and convergence in the Balkans, and the interplay between morphology and syntax diachronically and synchronically. Hence, these developments offer a ποικιλία ([picilía]), Greek for a ‘variety, mix’, i.e., something for everyone.

203-432-2450
Event Type: 
Colloquia