The development of complex reflexives and intensifiers in English

Abstract

In presenting our reflections on the historical development of reflexive pronouns and intensifiers in English, we will be advocating an approach to language change that is firmly grounded in cross-linguistic, typological work. Such an approach does not only enable us to distinguish idiosyncratic, language-specific facts from pervasive regularities and the ad-hoc argument from cross-linguistic evidence, it also allows us to discuss and answer intricate questions that are unanswerable on the basis of the historical documents available for one language alone.In presenting our reflections on the historical development of reflexive pronouns and intensifiers in English, we will be advocating an approach to language change that is firmly grounded in cross-linguistic, typological work. Such an approach does not only enable us to distinguish idiosyncratic, language-specific facts from pervasive regularities and the ad-hoc argument from cross-linguistic evidence, it also allows us to discuss and answer intricate questions that are unanswerable on the basis of the historical documents available for one language alone.