Grammaticalization and infinitival complements in Dutch investigates some basic
insights of grammaticalization from the point of view of generative grammar.
The first chapter discusses the process of grammaticalization in general. It is
argued that the semantic bleaching of grammaticalizing elements is always
the result of the raising of functional morphemes in a hierarchy of (adverbial)
functional projections. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on historical developments in the
domain of infinitival complements in Dutch. In chapter 2 it is proposed that the fact
that grammaticalization invariably involves raising accounts for both synchronic
and diachronic variation in the semantics of Dutch modal verbs. In chapter 3, the
grammaticalization process of the Dutch infinitival marker te ‘to’ is described. It
is shown that te is a grammaticalized morpheme which developed from a marker
of irrealis mood into a tense marker. As such, it raises from a lower to a higher
functional head. The diachronic development of the morphosyntax of Dutch
infinitival complements further supports the hypothesis that meaning changes of
lexical and functional items can be derived from head movement in a hierarchy of
functional projections.
This book is of relevance to anyone interested in historical syntax and
grammaticalization theory.