Proper names have developed particular morphological and syntactic characteristics in recent language history. Based on comprehensive diachronic and synchronic corpus, questionnaire, and experimental studies, the author describes when, how, and why names have developed their special status. The focus is on the general grammatical analysis of changes in names, case and number de-inflection, and the emergence of the possessive s.

Autorentext

Tanja Ackermann, Free University of Berlin, Germany.