"This volume focuses on the grammaticalization of the definite article in German. It contains eight empirically-based papers which examine individual stages of the grammaticalization path from its beginnings as a demonstrative to the definite article and beyond. Focusing on cognitive, pragmatic, semantic and syntactic factors, the contributions not only address the development from pragmatic to semantic definiteness, but also pertain to functional and formal changes starting as soon as the linguistic unit has acquired the function of marking semantic definiteness. Based on corpora spanning the entire history of the German language, from Old High German (750-1050) to present-day German, the analyses challenge the traditional linear model of grammaticalization and provide alternative pathways. What all the contributions have in common is the idea that the main grammaticalization path is accompanied or crossed by several side roads which lead to different destinations such as preposition-article-clitics, generic usages or onymic articles"--.

• Walking on the Grammaticalization Path of the Definite Article
• Editorial page
• Introduction: Walking on the grammaticalization path of the definite article – functional main and side roads
  • 1. Introduction
    • 1.1 Models of the grammaticalization path demonstrative > definite article
    • 1.2 Papers in this volume
  • References
• Part I. “From pragmatic to semantic definiteness”
  • A complex grammaticalization scenario for the definite article: The interplay of different article forms
    • 1. Introduction
    • 2. The standard view of grammaticalization
      • 2.1 Concepts and their empirical realization
      • 2.2 Old and new data
    • 3. Grammaticalization as reanalysis
      • 3.1 Usage contexts of the definite and the demonstrative article
      • 3.2 The meaning and reanalysis of the demonstrative
    • 4. The interplay of different article forms
      • 4.1 Primary and secondary article forms in Tatian
      • 4.2 Article-like personal pronouns
      • 4.3 Contraction forms
    • 5. Conclusions
    • Sources
    • References
  • The grammaticalization of the definite article in German: From demonstratives to weak definites
    • 1. Introduction
    • 2. The definite article in Present-Day German
      • 2.1 Pragmatic and semantic definites
      • 2.2 Weak definites
    • 3. The determiner in Old High German
      • 3.1 Sortal concepts
      • 3.2 Functional concepts
      • 3.3 The historical record in Old High German
    • 4. The rise of weak definites
    • 5. Grammaticalization and Noun Phrase Structure
    • 6. Conclusion
    • Sources
      • Old High German
      • Early New High German
      • Present-Day German
    • References
  • What genericity reveals about the establishment of the definite determiner in German
    • 1. Introduction
    • 2. Corpus, methods and a quantitative overview
    • 3. Exploring the variation
      • 3.1 Previous suggestions
      • 3.2 Activation
      • 3.3 Emphasis
      • 3.4 Nominalization
      • 3.5 Case marking
    • 4. Conclusion and discussion
    • Text editions
    • References
• Part II. “Syntactic contexts, cognition and grammaticalization”
  • The role of the definite article in the rise of the German Framing Principle: A comparative study of verbal and nominal constructions in the Old High German Muspilli and the Old English Dream of the Rood
    • 1. Introduction: Research question and material
    • 2. The framing principle in New High German: Survey and general considerations
    • 3. Prerequisites of framing in the Muspilli
      • 3.1 The inventory of separable verbal complexes
      • 3.2 Verb position
      • 3.3 Complex noun phrases
    • 4. Prerequisites of framing in the Dream of the Rood (and the Ruthwell Crucification Poem)
      • 4.1 The inventory of separable verbal complexes
      • 4.2 Verb position
      • 4.3 Complex noun phrases
    • 5. Summary, conclusion and outlook
    • References
    • Online resources
  • Cliticization of definite articles to prepositions in Middle High German – early stages of grammaticalization?: A qualitative study
    • 1. Introduction: German Verschmelzungsformen
    • 2. Previous research on Verschmelzungsformen
    • 3. Grammaticalization of PDCs reconsidered
    • 4. Verschmelzungsformen in Middle High German
      • 4.1 Summary of Documented Instances of PDCs in MHG
      • 4.2 Selection of corpus texts
      • 4.3 Compound spellings as precursors of PDCs?
      • 4.4 Analyses of PDCs in the selected MHG texts
    • 5. Conclusion
    • Sources
    • References
  • Absence as evidence: Determination and coordination ellipsis in conjoined noun phrases in (Early) New High German
    • 1. Introduction
    • 2. Corpus analysis
      • 2.1 Modern Standard German
      • 2.2 (Early) New High German (1350–1800)
    • 3. Natural coordination as a conditioning factor of coordination ellipsis
    • 4. Coordination ellipsis and grammaticalization of determiners
      • 4.1 Internal factors: From semantic-pragmatic to morphosyntactic conditioning
      • 4.2 Social factors: Obligatorifiation by codification and stigmatization?
    • 5. Conclusion: Mind the gap
    • Acknowledgements
    • References
      • Electronic Corpora and other sources
      • Grammars and guidebooks
• Part III. “From definite into onymic article – and finally onymic classifier”
  • The rise of the onymic article in Early New High German: Areal factors and the triggering effect of bynames
    • 1. Introduction
    • 2. Areal variation in the late 15th–17th centuries
      • 2.1 Transcripts of witch trials as a database
      • 2.2 Distribution of the onymic article
      • 2.3 Triggering factors for accelerated grammaticalization in Upper German
    • 3. Early evidence for the onymic article and the role of bynames
      • 3.1 Bynames in the Municipal Registers of Vienna (early 15th century)
      • 3.2 Early evidence of the onymic article in the Municipal Registers of Vienna (early 15th century)
    • 4. Summary
    • Acknowledgements
    • Sources
    • References
  • Die Capital – der Astra – das Adler: The emergence of a classifier system for proper names in German
    • Introduction
    • 1. The system of German proper name classes
    • 2. Origin and function of onymic gender and the onymic article
      • 2.1 Names without onymic articles
      • 2.2 Personal names on their way to adopt onymic articles
      • 2.3 Names with onymic articles (and their history)
      • 2.4 Das Adler: Genesis of a beer brand’s name via a gender shift
    • 3. The current classifier system as a result of exaptation
      • 3.1 +/− Article & gender as noun classifiers
      • 3.2 Exaptation of the article to a classifier: A side road
      • 3.3 Strengthening of gender to a classifier: A case of degrammaticalization
    • 4. Summary
    • References
• Index