Session 1: 23rd January

Napoli, D. J., & Sanders, N. (2024). An approach to path movement in the diachronic study of sign languages: Biomechanics and nonarbitrariness. Diachronica, 41(2), 203–250. https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.23033.nap

Session 2: 30th January

Nyst, V., & Schuller, A. (2024). Mother left, father right: Artificial signs and diachronic change in sign language dialects in Belgium and the Netherlands. Diachronica, 41 (2), 251–298. https:⁠/⁠/doi.org/10.1075/dia.21052.nys 

Session 3: 6th February

Trips, C., & Rainsford, T. (2022). Tolerating subject-experiencers? Yang’s tolerance principle applied to psych verbs under contact in Middle English. Journal of Historical Syntax, 6, 1–43.

Session 4: 13th February

Rinke, Esther, and Cristina Flores, 'Systematic and predictable variation in heritage grammars: The role of complexity, diachronic change, and linguistic ambiguity in the input', in Roberta D’Alessandro, Michael T Putnam, and Silvia Terenghi (eds), Heritage Languages and Syntactic Theory (Oxford, 2025; online edn, Oxford Academic, 24 Feb. 2025), https://doi.org/10.1093/9780191987731.003.0004

Session 5: 20th February

Nagy N. 2024. What Heritage Language Speakers Tell Us about Language Variation and Change. In: Heritage Languages: Extending Variationist Approaches. Cambridge University Press: 242-254. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108983624.010 

Session 6: 27th February

D’Alessandro, Roberta, Putnam, Michael T. and Terenghi, Silvia. "Syntactic change in diachrony versus contact-induced change: two sides of the same coin?" The Linguistic Review. https://doi.org/10.1515/tlr-2025-0012

Session 7: 6th March - Invited Lecture

Note: Change in TIME to 3-4pm and VENUE to Lecture Room 1.11 in the Classics faculty (First floor, access via entrance 2 or 3)

We are delighted to host Prof George Walkden (University of Konstanz) during our session, to give an invited lecture. George Walkden is Professor of English Linguistics and General Linguistics at the University of Konstanz.  He is principal investigator of the ERC-funded project STARFISH. His research focuses on syntactic change, language variation, and the interface between theoretical linguistics and quantitative corpus methods.

Title: Hierarchical universals, probabilities and linearization change

Abstract: Hierarchical universals such as FOFC and Caha’s (2009) case hierarchy make strong predictions for diachrony: no language should pass through a synchronic state in which the universal is violated. This talk presents new evidence from diachronic corpora for probabilistic effects corresponding to these two hierarchical universals, in the histories of English and Balkan Slavic respectively, and a theory of grammar competition that derives these effects.

Session 8: 13th March

Keskin, C. 2025. ‘Balkan Turkic as a model for understanding contact-induced changes in Turkish’ in Shanley E. M. Allen, Mareike Keller, Artemis Alexiadou & Heike Wiese (eds.). 2025. Linguistic dynamics in heritage speakers: Insights from the RUEG group. (Current Issues in Bilingualism 4). Berlin: Language Science Press. https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/473

Session 1 (Week 2): 17th October 

Breban, Tine, Kersti Börjars & Lorenzo Moretti. 2025. Multiple source explanation in language change: The emergence of auxiliary do. Diachronica. https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.24060.bre

Session 2 (Week 3): 24th October

Moelders, Anne-Marie and Isabelle Buchstaller. 2025. Learning to be (un)hip in panel data. Exploring quotative be like across the adult life‑span. Diachronica. https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.24008.moe

Session 3 (Week 4): 31st October

Nevalainen, Terttu, Tanja Säily, Turo Vartiainen, Aatu Liimatta and Jefrey Lijffijt. 2020. History of English as punctuated equilibria? A meta-analysis of the rate of linguistic change in Middle English. Journal of Historical Sociolinguistics. 6(20). https://doi.org/10.1515/jhsl-2019-0008 

Session 4 (Week 5): 7th November

Blevins, Juliette. 2018. Evolutionary phonology and the life cycle of voiceless sonorants.  In Cristofaro, Sonia and Fernando Zúñiga (eds.). Typological hierarchies in synchrony and diachrony. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 29-60

Session 5 (Week 6): 14th November

Hudson, Toby,  Jonathan Wei and John Coleman. 2024. Using acoustic-phonetic simulations to model historical sound change. Diachronica. 41(3). 355 - 378. https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.23019.hud 

Session 6 (Week 7): 21st November

Piwowarczyk, Dariusz. 2022. Computational approaches to linguistic chronology and subgrouping. In Olander, Thomas (Ed.). The Indo-European language family: A phylogenetic perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  33–51. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108758666.003

AND

Ringe, Don. 2022. What we can (and can’t) learn from computational cladistics. In Olander, Thomas (Ed.). The Indo-European language family: A phylogenetic perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 52-62. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108758666.004 

Session 7 (Week 8): 28th November 

Jing, Yingqi, Paul Widmer & Balthasar Bickel. 2023. Word order evolves at similar rates in main and subordinate clauses: Corpus-based evidence from Indo-European. Diachronica. 40(4). 532-556. https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.20035.jin 

Session 1 (Friday 9th May) 

White, L. (2009). Some questions about feature re-assembly. Second Language Research, 25(2), 343-348. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658308100294.

 We will also discuss the last part of Lardiere (2009) which we didn’t finish last term: Lardiere, Donna. (2009). Some thoughts on the contrastive analysis of features in second language acquisition. Second Language Research, Vol. 25, No. 2, Special Issue: 25th anniversary issue (April 2009), pp. 173-227.

Session 2 (Friday 16th May)

Kallel, Amel. 2007. The loss of negative concord in Standard English: Internal factors. Language Variation and Change 19(1). 27–49. doi:10.1017/S0954394507070019

Session 3 (Friday 23rd May)

Van de Velde, F., & De Smet, I. (2021). Markov Models for multi-state language change. Journal of Quantitative Linguistics, 29(3), 314–338. https://doi.org/10.1080/09296174.2021.1877004 

Session 1 – 24 January

Sitaridou, I. (2022). "Chapter 2 On the Redundancy of a Theory of Language Contact: Cue-Based Reconstruction in a Socio-linguistically Informed Manner". In Studying Language Change in the 21st Century. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004510579_003

Session 2 – 31 January

Neocleous, Nicolaos, and Ioanna Sitaridou. (2022). “Never Just Contact the Rise of Final Auxiliaries in Asia Minor Greek.” Diachronica 39(3): 369–408. https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.17048.neo

Session 3 – 7 February

Labov, William. (2008). "Transmission and Diffusion." Language, vol. 83(2): 344-387. Project MUSE, https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/lan.2007.0082.

Session 4 – 14 February

Gillian Sankoff. (2004). Adolescents, young adults and the critical period: two case studies from "Seven Up". In C. Fought (ed.), Sociolinguistic Variation: Critical Reflections. Oxford University Press, 121-139.

Session 5 – 21 February

Walkden, George, & Anne Breitbarth. (2019). Interpreting (un)interpretability. Theoretical Linguistics. 45(3-4): 309-317. https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2019-0022 

Session 6 – 28 February

Lardiere, Donna. (2009). Some thoughts on the contrastive analysis of features in second language acquisition. Second Language Research, Vol. 25, No. 2, Special Issue: 25th anniversary issue (April 2009), pp. 173-227.

And one of the replies to her paper: White, L. (2009). Some questions about feature re-assembly. Second Language Research, 25(2), 343-348. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658308100294.

Session 7 – 7 March

Mayeux, Oliver. (2025). Decreolization: A “special case” of language change? In Dani Adone & Astrid Gabel (eds.), On the Evolution, Acquisition and Development of Syntax: Insights from Creole Languages and Beyond, 299–316. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/evolution-acquisition-and-development-of-syntax/CA60428BDD107DEA16C68D90A70E5D07

Session 8 – 14 March

Davidson, Hannah & Paoli, Sandra 2024. The Role of Language Contact in the Development of Three Mauritian Pragmatic Markers. Journal of Language Contact 17. 553–588

Session 1: 11th October 

Chapter 4 (Head labeling preference and acquisitional reanalysis). In: Dadan, Marcin R. 2019. Head labeling preference and language change. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Connecticut. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/2384

Session 2: 18th October

Chapter 2 (Labeling in language change). In: Van Gelderen, Elly. 2021. Third factors in language variation and change. Cambridge University Press.

https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108923408

Session 3: 25th October

Willis, David. 2017. Endogenous and exogenous theories of syntactic change. In: Ledgeway, Adam & Ian Roberts (eds.) The Cambridge handbook of historical syntax. (Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics.) Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107279070.024

Session 4: 1st November

Börjars, Kersti & Nigel Vincent. Lexical-Functional grammar. In: Ledgeway, Adam & Ian Roberts (eds.) The Cambridge handbook of historical syntax. (Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics.) Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107279070.030

Session 5: 8th November

Denison, David. 2003. Log(ist)ic and simplistic S-curves. In Hickey, Raymond (ed.). Motives for language change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486937.005

Session 6: 15th November

Kauhanen, Henri. 2023. Grammar competition, speaker models and rates of change: A critical reappraisal of the Constant Rate Hypothesis. Proceedings of the 22nd Diachronic Generative Syntax (DiGS) Conference. https://doi.org/10.18148/hs/2023.v7i6-19.148

Session 7: 22nd November

Tsimpli, Ianthi Maria, & Maria Dimitrakopoulou. 2007. The interpretability hypothesis: evidence from wh-interrogatives in second language acquisition. Second Language Research 23(2), 215–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658307076546

Session 8: 29th November

Walkden, George, & Anne Breitbarth. 2019. Interpreting (un)interpretability. Theoretical Linguistics. 45(3-4), 309-317. https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2019-0022 

Session 1: Friday 26th April

Longobardi, Giuseppe, Paola Crisma & Cristina Guardiano. 2020. Syntactic diversity and language learnability. Studi e Saggi Linguistici 58(2). 99–130. https://doi.org/10.4454/ssl.v58i2.265 

Session 2: Friday 3rd May

Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and Chapter 8 in Kodner, Jordan. 2020. Language acquisition in the past. PhD dissertation.

Session 3: Friday 10th May

Wallenberg, Joel C., Rachael Bailes, Christine Cuskley & Anton Karl Ingason. 2021. Smooth signals and syntactic change. Languages 6(2): 60. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6020060 

Session 4: Friday 17th May

Cournane, Ailís & Espen Klævik-Pettersen. 2023. The role of the conservative learner in the rise and fall of verb-second. Proceedings of the 22nd Diachronic Generative Syntax (DiGS) Conference. https://doi.org/10.18148/hs/2023.v7i6-19.160 

Session 5: Friday 14th June 

Kauhanen, Henri. 2023. Grammar competition, speaker models and rates of change: A critical reappraisal of the Constant Rate Hypothesis. Proceedings of the 22nd Diachronic Generative Syntax (DiGS) Conference. https://doi.org/10.18148/hs/2023.v7i6-19.148

Session 6: Friday 21st June

Cappelle, Bert. 2024. Can Construction Grammar be proven wrong? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009343213 

Session 1 (19 January):

Sections 2.3-2.5 and Section 8 (Concluding remarks) in Beekhuizen, Barend. 2015. Constructions emerging: A usage-based model of the acquisition of grammar. Utrecht, LOT. https://hdl.handle.net/1887/35460

Session 2 (26 January):

Chapter 3 (‘Language acquisition meets language evolution’) from Christiansen, M. H., & Chater, N. (2016). Creating Language: Integrating Evolution, Acquisition, and Processing. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/10406.001.0001 

Session 3 (2 February):

Chapters 15 and 18 (‘Transparency’ and ‘Acquisition and Learnability’) from Ledgeway, Adam, & Ian Roberts (Eds.). 2017. The Cambridge handbook of historical syntax (Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781107279070 

Session 4 (9 February):

Chapters 7 and 27 (‘Parameter Setting’ and ‘Principles and Parameters’) from Ledgeway, Adam, & Ian Roberts (Eds.). 2017. The Cambridge handbook of historical syntax (Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781107279070

Session 5 (16 February):

Kodner, J. (2020). Language acquisition in the past. PhD dissertation. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2404081100?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true&sourcetype=Dissertations%20&%20Theses 

Session 6 (23 February):

Wallenberg, Joel C., Rachael Bailes, Christine Cuskley & Anton Karl Ingason. 2021. Smooth Signals and Syntactic Change. Languages 6: 60. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6020060 

Session 7 (1 March):

Kauhanen, Henri. 2023. Grammar competition, speaker models and rates of change: A critical reappraisal of the Constant Rate Hypothesis. Proceedings of the 22nd Diachronic Generative Syntax (DiGS) Conference https://doi.org/10.18148/hs/2023.v7i6-19.148 

Session 8 (8 March):

Cournane, Ailís Cournane and Espen Klævik-Pettersen. 2023. The role of the conservative learner in the rise and fall of verb-second. Proceedings of the 22nd Diachronic Generative Syntax (DiGS) Conference https://doi.org/10.18148/hs/2023.v7i6-19.160 

Session 1: Monday 9th October

Clark, Robin & Ian Roberts. 1993. A computational model of language learnability and language change. Linguistic Inquiry. 24(2). 299–345. 

Session 2: Monday 16th October

Part VI (Cue-based acquisition and change in grammars) in Lightfoot, David. 1999. The development of language: Acquisition, change, and evolution. Oxford: Blackwell.

Session 3: Monday 23rd October

Yang, Charles. 2000. Internal and external forces in language change. Language Variation and Change 12. 231–250. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954394500123014 

Session 4: Monday 30th October

Lightfoot, David and Marit Westergaard. 2007. Language acquisition and language change: Inter-relationships. Language and Linguistics Compass 1(5). 396-415.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-818X.2007.00023.x 

Session 5: Monday 6th November

Diessel, Holger. 2007. Frequency effects in language acquisition, language use, and diachronic change. New Ideas in Psychology. 25(2). 108-127 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2007.02.002 

Session 6: Monday 13th November

Beckner, Clay et al. 2009. Language is a complex adaptive system: Position paper. Language Learning. 59. 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2009.00533.x 

Session 7: Monday 20th November

Heycock, Caroline, & Joel Wallenberg. 2013. How variational acquisition drives syntactic change. The Journal of Comparative Germanic Linguistics. 16(2). 127–157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10828-013-9056-0 

Session 8: Monday 27th November

Sections 2.3-2.5 and Section 8 (Concluding remarks) in Beekhuizen, Barend. 2015. Constructions emerging: A usage-based model of the acquisition of grammar. Utrecht, LOT.

Session 1: Friday 5th May

Walkden, George. (2021). Against mechanisms: towards a minimal theory of change. Journal of Historical Syntax. 5(33), 1-27.

Session 2: Friday 12 May

Kiparsky, Paul. 1968. Linguistic Universals and Linguistic Change. In Emmon Bach & R. Harms (eds.), Universals in Linguistic Theory, 170–202. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Session 7: Friday 16 June

Lightfoot, David. 1979. Chapter 3 "A theory of change" in Principles of Diachronic Syntax. Cambridge University Press.

Session 8: Friday 23 June (2 readings)

Warner, Anthony. 1981. Review of Lightfoot (1979). Journal of Linguistics 19 (1983), 187-209. 

AND

Canale, M. (1979). Review of Lightfoot (1979). Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue Canadienne De Linguistique, 24(2), 156-157. https://doi:10.1017/S0008413100023458 

Session 1: Friday 17th February 

Hermann, Paul. 2015. On the General Nature of Language Development. In trans. Auer, Hermann Paul’s “Principles of Language History” Revisited, 47–58. De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110348842-004

Session 2: Friday 3rd March

Part II (Diachronic Linguistics) in Saussure’s Course in General Linguistics (translated here: Ferdinand de Saussure, Perry Meisel, & Haun Saussy. 2011. Course in General Linguistics. New York: Columbia University Press.)

Session 3: Friday 10th March

Halle, Morris. 1962. Phonology in Generative Grammar. WORD 18(1–3). 54–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1962.11659765

Session 4: Friday 17th March

Traugott, Elizabeth. Diachronic syntax and generative grammar. Language 41: 402-414