Grammaticalization and the History of English

This book provides a survey of various grammaticalization phenomena in the history of English, the first treatment of this topic in book form. The title also serves as an advanced introduction to grammaticalization in general, which in spite of its importance in linguistic research is a relatively unexplored topic.

Readers will enjoy a comprehensive overview of the various domains in which grammaticalization has played an important role throughout the history of English. At the same time, through the description of these grammaticalization phenomena in English, they will be introduced to general issues in grammaticalization research, inlcuding mechanisms, parameters, factors of grammaticalization, the importance of semantic change in grammaticalization.