Subject: grammaticalization / romance ling

mario squartini verbal periphrases in romance aspect , actionality , and grammaticalization 1998 . 23 x 15 , 5 cm . xi , 372 pages cloth dm 218 , - / approx . us $ 136 . 00 isbn 3-11 - 016160 - 5 empirical approaches to language typology 21 mouton de gruyter * berlin * new york focusing on the interplay of aspect and actionality ( aktionsart ) in the grammaticalization process , this monographs presents a detailed synchronic and diachronic examination of the semantics of various romance verbal periphrases . it is shown that as a verbal periphrasis is being grammaticalized , actional restrictions are gradually loosened , and the semantics shifts from the domain of actionality to that of aspect . these processes are important both for an understanding of the romance data and , more importantly , for a general understanding of the historical development of aspect . given the usually one-way nature of grammaticalization processes , this volume provides a more powerful tool for plotting directions of change where direct historical evidence is lacking . based on extensive corpora , the work covers a wide range of romance ` aspectual ' periphrases , thus also providing an important database for several romance languages , including dialects and regional varieties , and periods . introductory descriptions of the relevant periphrases and complete english translations of all examples are provided , thus making the book equally accessible to romance specialists and to general linguists . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ mouton de gruyter walter de gruyter , inc . postfach 30 34 21 200 saw mill river road d-10728 berlin hawthorne , ny 10532 germany usa fax : + 49 ( 0 ) 30 26005-351 fax : + 1 914 747-1326 email : mouton @ degruyter . de publications by de gruyter can also be ordered via world wide web : http : / / www . degruyter . com
