Frekwencja jako przyczyna zmian językowych. Na marginesie poglądów Witolda Mańczaka
Frequency as the Reason of Language Changes. On the Margin of Witold Man´czak’s Views

Summary/Abstract: The present article relates to the views of Witold Man´czak on frequency as the reason of language changes. Frequency is undoubtedly one of the factors determining the evolution of language and its course. Nevertheless, it is not frequency that lies at the root of some of the changes pointed out by Man´ czak. For instance, the ellipsis of the final -i in infinitives and forms of the imperative is not the result of an irregular phonetic development conditioned by frequency but a consequence of the disappearance (which goes in line with the tendency to simplify) of the final sound which in relation to the whole structure of Polish was not functionally marked.

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