Grammaticalization path

A grammaticalization path is the pathway a form or construction takes during grammaticalization. The change from a lexical item to a grammatical form does not take place in one abrupt event. It is rather characterized by a "series of small transmissions, that tend to be similar in type across languagers" (Hopper & Traugott 2003:6). Due to the observation that in grammaticalization, languages tend to take the same route, theoreticians have proposed abstract, supposedly universal pathways of grammaticalization.

Example
Hopper & Traugott (2003:7) give the following prototypical form of a grammaticalization path:


 * content item > grammatical word > clitic > inflectional affix

Like all proposed grammaticalization paths, the one cited from Hopper & Traugott is a one-way street, the reverse order is believed to be non-existent. This reflects the unidirectionality hypothesis of grammaticalization.

Comment
Grammaticalization paths are traditionally understood as instantiations of drift rather than contact-induced change, since they have "usually been viewed as independent, language internal changes" (Heine & Kuteva 2005:14).

Synonyms

 * grammaticalization cline
 * grammaticalization channel
 * grammaticalization chain