Developing a new theory of morphosyntactic feature economy in a morphology framework, this book uses a biolinguistic approach to examine the evolution of Slavic languages to discover how some developed a separate dual number category while others have only singular and plural and to explain the evolution of the number category in Slavic languages.

• Cover
• The Evolution of the Slavic Dual
• Series Page
• The Evolution of the Slavic Dual: A Biolinguistic Perspective
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1
  • Introduction
    • 1.1 THE LINGUISTIC PUZZLE OF DUALNUMBER IN SLAVIC LANGUAGES
    • 1.2 The Evolution of the Slavic Dual: From Proto-Slavic to the Present
    • 1.3 Morphosyntactic Feature Economy: A New Theory of Diachronic Change
    • 1.4 Goals of the Book
    • 1.5 Main Claim and Contribution
    • 1.6 Methodology and Data
    • 1.7 Structure of the Book
    • Notes
• Chapter 2
  • The Problem of the Slavic Dual from a Diachronic Perspective
    • 2.1 THE PROBLEM OF THE SLAVIC DUAL ANDPATTERNS OF DIACHRONIC CHANGE
    • 2.2 Hypotheses of the Evolution of the Slavic Dual
    • 2.3 Principle of Morphosyntactic Feature Economy and Language Change
    • 2.4 Theoretical Assumptions
    • Notes
• Chapter 3
  • The Slavic Dual from a Typological Perspective
    • 3.1 Humboldt’s Typology of Dual Number
    • 3.2 Jespersen’s Typology of the Dual
    • 3.3 Plank’s Typology of the Dual: Humboldt Revisited
    • 3.4 Corbett’s Constraint on Ranges of the Dual and Plural
    • 3.5 Cysouw: Dual as a Restricted Group
    • 3.6 The Typology of the Slavic Dual
    • 3.7 Conclusion
    • Notes
• Chapter 4
  • Derivation of the Slavic Dual in Distributed Morphology
    • 4.1 The Architecture of Grammar in Distributed Morphology
    • 4.2 Derivations of the Slavic Dual in DM
    • 4.3 Impoverishment, Fission, and Morphosyntactic Simplification of the Slavic Dual
    • 4.4 Conclusion
    • Notes
• Chapter 5
  • The Slavic Dual and Number Theory
    • 5.1 The Two Number Features of the Slavic Dual
    • 5.2 The Two Patterns of Variation: The Bimorphemic and Monomorphemic Duals
    • 5.3 The Bimorphemic Dual in Contemporary Standard Slovenian
    • 5.4 The Bimorphemic Dual in Contemporary Upper Sorbian
    • 5.5 The Bimorphemic Dual in Contemporary Lower Sorbian
    • 5.6 The Monomorphemic Dual and Its Loss in Kashubian
    • 5.7 The Monomorphemic Dual and Its Loss in Old East Slavic
    • 5.8. Conclusion
    • Notes
• Chapter 6
  • Morphosyntactic Feature Economy and Reanalysis
    • 6.1 Morphosyntactic Markedness of Feature Values of the Dual
    • 6.2 The Principle of Morphosyntactic Feature Economy
    • 6.3 The Principle of Morphosyntactic Feature Economy and Diachronic Change
    • 6.4 The Reanalysis of the Old Slovenian Dual in Contemporary Standard Slovenian
    • 6.5 The Reanalysis of the Old Sorbian Dual in Contemporary Upper and Lower Sorbian
    • 6.6 The Reanalysis of the Nineteenth-Century Kashubian Dual as Plural in Contemporary Kashubian
    • 6.7 The Reanalysis of the Old East Slavic Dual as Plural
    • 6.8 Conclusion
    • Notes
• Chapter 7
  • Conclusion
    • 7.1 THE ROLE OF MORPHOSYNTACTIC FEATUREECONOMY IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE SLAVIC DUAL
    • 7.2 Implications
• Appendix A
  • Abbreviations
• Appendix B
  • Orthographical Systems and Transliteration Symbols
• References
• Index
• About the Author