Assesses the nature and value of grammaticalization. Attempts to show that grammaticalization is derivative, that it has no status of its own but relies on other processes and mechanisms of linguistic change that exist independently of grammaticalization but that provide the explanations for the phenomena involved in grammaticalization.…

Introduces the articles in this issue of "Language Sciences," which are dedicated to taking stock of both grammaticalization and so-called "grammaticalization theory." This introduction sets the stage for other papers by surveying the large range of definitions of grammaticalization in the literature and placing them in…

Presents the results of field research into the extinct Cacaopera language of El Salvador. Data from two Spanish-speaking informants are given in broad phonetic notation. (RM)

The book offers a general survey of the history of Native American languages. Chapters address these topics: Native American pidgins and trade languages; the history of American Indian linguistics and classification of languages; the origin of Native American languages; languages of North America; languages of Central America; languages of South…