[Histling-l] Deflexion query

Fri Mar 19 08:19:15 EDT 2021

Dear Cynthia, dear all,

I found the term used in Dutch texts from the 1850s, e.g. in a Dutch 
monograph from 1858 (Brill, W. G. 1858. Opmerkingen op het gebied der 
engelsche spraakkunst. Leiden):

    [page 2, footnote 1; context: deflexion as a result of language
    contact] Hier wordt de oorzaak van de *deflexie *der taal gevonden
    in de ontmoeting van twee talen op één grondgebied. Maar de Duitsche
    taal, zal men zeggen, is sedert de negende eeuw *gedeflexeerd*
    zonder dat op den bodem van Duitschland eene ontmoeting van
    verschilende taalelementen heeft plaats gehad.

Even back then, the term was apparently used as an ordinary term without 
any definition.

Best regards,
Steffen Höder

Am 19. 3. 2021 um 12.49 schrieb Freek Van de Velde:
>
> Hi Cynthia,
>
> Not sure if the term really originated in these publications, but the 
> earliest references to this term I have are:
>
>   * Nijen Twilhaar, Jan. 1992. ‘Deflexie en genusverlies’. /De Nieuwe
>     Taalgids/ 85: 147-160.
>   * Weerman, Fred & Petra de Wit. 1999. ‘The decline of the genitive
>     in Dutch’. /Linguistics/37(6): 1155-1192.
>
> As Johanna says, could be a ‘Dutch linguistics’ thing. It also 
> features in the work of Joop van der Horst, who was a member of the 
> PhD jury of Muriel Norde, if I remember correctly, so there is a 
> transmission link there as well.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Freek Van de Velde.
>
> *From:*histling-l <histling-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> *On Behalf Of 
> *Johanna Barddal
> *Sent:* vrijdag 19 maart 2021 11:11
> *To:* Nigel Vincent <nigel.vincent at manchester.ac.uk>; Cynthia Allen 
> <cynthia.allen at anu.edu.au>; histling-l at mailman.yale.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [Histling-l] Deflexion query
>
> Dear Cindy, dear Nigel,
>
> This is a standard term in Dutch linguistics, which might explain why 
> Muriel used it. You will find it in most if not all Dutch historical 
> reference grammars.
>
> Jóhann
>
> =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
> Jóhanna Barðdal, Professor
> Editor of Brill's Studies in Historical Linguistics
>
> Founding Editor of Journal of Historical Linguistics
>
> Department of Linguistics
> Ghent University
> Blandijnberg 2
> BE-9000 Ghent
> johanna.barddal at ugent.be <mailto:johanna.barddal at ugent.be>
>
> Phone +32-(0)92643800 (work)
> Phone +32-(0)478646775 (cell)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *From:*histling-l <histling-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu 
> <mailto:histling-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu>> on behalf of Nigel 
> Vincent <nigel.vincent at manchester.ac.uk 
> <mailto:nigel.vincent at manchester.ac.uk>>
> *Sent:* Friday, March 19, 2021 9:27 AM
> *To:* Cynthia Allen; histling-l at mailman.yale.edu 
> <mailto:histling-l at mailman.yale.edu>
> *Subject:* Re: [Histling-l] Deflexion query
>
> Dear Cindy,
>
> I was intrigued by your query and took a quick look at the indexes of 
> some volumes to hand on my shelves. I found nothing in the immediately 
> obvious places but then came across multiple references (with the 
> spelling 'deflection') in the index of Yakov Malkiel 'From Particular 
> to General Linguistics. Essays 1965-1978'. This a collection of his 
> papers and the earliest that uses the term there is from 1968. He 
> treats it as an ordinary term with no special attempt to define it so 
> I guess it was current well before that time.
>
> Best
>
> Nigel
>
> Professor Nigel Vincent, FBA MAE
> Professor Emeritus of General & Romance Linguistics
> The University of Manchester
>
> Linguistics & English Language
> School of Arts, Languages and Cultures
>
> The University of Manchester
>
> https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/researchers/nigel-vincent(f973a991-8ece-453e-abc5-3ca198c869dc).html 
> <https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/researchers/nigel-vincent(f973a991-8ece-453e-abc5-3ca198c869dc).html>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *From:*histling-l <histling-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu 
> <mailto:histling-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu>> on behalf of Cynthia 
> Allen <cynthia.allen at anu.edu.au <mailto:cynthia.allen at anu.edu.au>>
> *Sent:* 19 March 2021 8:48 AM
> *To:* histling-l at mailman.yale.edu <mailto:histling-l at mailman.yale.edu> 
> <histling-l at mailman.yale.edu <mailto:histling-l at mailman.yale.edu>>
> *Subject:* [Histling-l] Deflexion query
>
> Greetings,
>
> I’ve been trying to nail down the earliest use of 
> ‘deflexion’/’deflection’ in reference to loss of 
> inflection/inflectional categories. It is not a widely used term, but 
> has been prominently used in the early 2000s by Muriel Norde and then 
> myself, for example. The earliest reference I have found is in Trask’s 
> (2000) /The dictionary of historical and comparative linguistics. /I 
> would like to find out who first used this term, and would be grateful 
> for any earlier references.
>
> Dr Cynthia L. Allen FAHA
>
> Emeritus Fellow, Australian National University
>
> Baldessin Precinct Building Room W2.09
>
> School of Literature, Languages, and Linguistics
>
> Building 110
>
> Australian National University
>
> Acton ACT  2601
>
>
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-- 
Prof. Dr. Steffen Höder
Skandinavistische Sprachwissenschaft/Scandinavian Linguistics
s.hoeder at isfas.uni-kiel.de
steffenhoeder.de

Leibnizstraße 8, Raum/Room 215
+49 (431) 880-4587

Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Institut für Skandinavistik, Frisistik und Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft
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Deutschland

Kiel University
Institute of Scandinavian Studies, Frisian Studies and General Linguistics
Christian-Albrechts-Platz 4
24098 Kiel
Germany

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