Multiple inheritance and constructional change

Abstract

Language as a network of dependencies or constructions is a central feature of many cognitive theories of grammar. In this network, inheritance relationships are used to describe synchronic facts about a language whereby members of a less abstract set inherit properties from a more general set, and in the case of multiple inheritance, from more than one general set. This article explores some of the ways in which the language network may change over time, particularly the ways in which more than one constructional type may be considered to be the source of a change in the network.