Frequency as a key to language change and reorganisation

Abstract

This paper deals with the case of apparent subtraction in number and case morphology, which is a special phenomenon shared by many German dialects. Taking a vast amount of material from all over the German-speaking area into consideration, this paper treats subtraction within a usage-based approach. Subtractive forms are seen as diachronically transparent, but synchronically a case of weak suppletion, whose retention is governed by frequency. It is argued that phonological rules lead to grammatical variation (allomorphy) that is eliminated over time. In most dialects, other more type-frequent patterns like zero-marking or additive endings prevail (perhaps due to influence from the standard language), but in a few dialects, the subtractive pattern remains strong and even expands to other lexemes. This aspect of variation has, as of yet, not been adequately explained by previous rule-based approaches to subtraction in German dialects.