Core Mechanisms
The word loses part of its original lexical meaning.
Desemanticization
Which Old English verb meaning “to want” contributed to the development of modern will?
Willan, meaning “to want” or “to desire.”
In “I have two brothers,” is have a lexical verb or an auxiliary? Explain.
Have is a lexical verb because it expresses possession.
The word loses some of its original grammatical properties.
Decategorization
Which Old English verb meaning “to owe” or “to be obligated” contributed to the development of modern shall?
Sculan, meaning “to owe” or “to be obligated.”
Compare “She is going to school” and “She is going to study.” What semantic change can you identify?
In the first sentence, going to expresses physical movement. In the second, it expresses intention or a future event. The movement meaning has weakened.
Why does phonetic erosion alone not prove that grammaticalization has occurred?
Phonetic erosion changes pronunciation, but it does not necessarily change a word’s meaning or grammatical function.
What was the original meaning of have, and what grammatical role can it perform today?
Have originally expressed possession. Today, it can also function as an auxiliary in perfect constructions, as in I have finished.
In “They’re gonna leave soon,” identify the grammatical construction, its meaning, and the phonetic change.
Be going to expresses a future event. Gonna is a reduced informal pronunciation of going to, illustrating phonetic reduction.