The Degrammaticalization of the English To-Infinitive and Parameter-Resetting

초록

The investigation of the English to-infinitive through diachronic versions of the Gospel of Luke clearly shows that the to-infinitive undergoes both grammaticalization and degrammaticalization. The grammaticalization of the English to-infinitive occurred in Middle English (ME), followed by degrammaticalization in Early Modern English (ENE) and Present-day English (PE), in which to-infinitives are not preceded by for or any preposition. This leads us to conclude that grammaticalization is not unidirectional or irreversible. With the grammaticalization and degrammaticalization of the to-infinitive and changes of the status of markedness concerning for to-infinitives from Old English (OE) through ME and ENE to PE, it is asserted that language change is achieved through parameter-resetting mediated by markedness.

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