Lexical Diffusion

The hypothesis that some sound changes spread gradually through the vocabulary, affecting words one at a time, challenging the Neogrammarian view that change is lexically abrupt.

Definition

Lexical diffusion is the spread of a sound change through the lexicon word by word over time, so that at any point some eligible words have undergone the change and others have not.

Scope

This topic examines lexical diffusion: the claim, developed by Wang and colleagues, that a sound change may apply to its eligible words gradually rather than simultaneously, leaving residue at any given moment. It covers the evidence for word-by-word spread, the contrast with the Neogrammarian model of phonetically gradual but lexically abrupt change, and Labov's proposal that both modes coexist for different kinds of change.

Core questions

• What is the central claim of lexical diffusion?
• How does it contrast with the Neogrammarian model of sound change?
• What kind of evidence supports word-by-word spread of a change?
• Do both lexically gradual and lexically abrupt changes occur?
• How does lexical diffusion relate to the notion of residue?

Key theories

Lexical diffusion hypothesis

Wang argued that a sound change can diffuse through the lexicon gradually, with competing changes leaving residual unchanged words, contrary to the Neogrammarian assumption that change applies to all eligible words at once.

Coexistence of two modes of change

Labov proposed that Neogrammarian (lexically abrupt, phonetically gradual) and lexically diffusing changes are both real but characterize different types of sound change, reconciling the two views.

History

The lexical-diffusion hypothesis was developed by William S.-Y. Wang and collaborators from the late 1960s, drawing on Chinese dialect data and the concept of residue from competing changes. It directly challenged the Neogrammarian doctrine, and Labov's later work argued that both Neogrammarian and diffusing changes occur, depending on the type of change.

Debates

Lexical diffusion versus Neogrammarian regularity

Whether sound change is fundamentally Neogrammarian, with lexical diffusion being marginal, or whether lexical diffusion is a genuine and common mode of change, remains contested; Labov's resolution allows for both.

Key figures

• William S.-Y. Wang
• William Labov
• Chin-Chuan Cheng

Seminal works

• wang1969
• labov1994

Frequently asked questions

How does lexical diffusion differ from regular Neogrammarian change?

Neogrammarian change is held to apply to all eligible words simultaneously but in tiny phonetic steps, whereas lexical diffusion applies in a single perceptible step but to one word at a time across the vocabulary.

What is 'residue' in this context?

Residue refers to words that have not (yet) undergone a change that has affected other eligible words, which Wang attributed to the gradual, word-by-word nature of some changes and to competing changes.