Problems that a theory of linguistic change must answer.

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By Weinreich et al.
Francisco Armenta López
Mind Map by Francisco Armenta López, updated more than 1 year ago
Francisco Armenta López
Created by Francisco Armenta López about 8 years ago
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Problems that a theory of linguistic change must answer.
  1. The constraints problem
    1. In what linguistic and social conditions are certain changes likely or unlikely?
    2. The transition problem
      1. What intervening stages "can be observed, or must be posited, between any two forms of a language defined for a language community at different times?
      2. The embedding problem
        1. How are changes embedded in the matrix of linguistic and extralinguistic concomitants of the forms in question?
        2. The evaluation problem
          1. How can the observed changes be evaluated - in terms of their effects upon linguistic structure, upon communicative efficiency, and on the wide range of nonrepresentational factors involved in speaking?
          2. The actuation riddle
            1. How and why do changes begin?
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