Parallel sources, different outcomes. A corpus-based study of the 'far from X' construction in French, English and Dutch

Parallel sources, different outcomes: a corpus-based study of the ‘far from X’ construction in Dutch, English and French In language change, parallel source constructions can undergo cross-linguistically divergent devel-opments. The focus of this paper is on one such case, the development of degree modifiers from markers of physical distance. Specifically, we compare the histories of Dutch verre van, English far from and French loin de – all three consisting of an adjective/adverb and a preposition, and all three meaning ‘far from’. The first purpose of our study is to analyze to what extent t... Mehr ...