Lexicalization and collocations: an introductory diachronic study

Abstract

This paper has two main objectives. The first one is to summarize the various points of view regarding two key concepts in the study of language evolution and change, which are grammaticalization and lexicalization. We have found in previous literature many different opinions and arguments on concepts and their respective domains, as well as the relationship between them, ie, how these processes interact and the degree of linguistic change. Our aim is to give, a critical summary of all the authors as a basis to achieve the second objective: to try to elucidate in which evolutionary stage of the continuum collocations are placed and also to provide a test of diachrony in some cases. They will be the basis for further development and introduction to the study of this issue. We will proceed as follows: first, we will examine the two processes of linguistic change and their interrelation. Then we will discuss the subject in the collocations field: that is its position in the evolutionary continuum, and we will test the diachronic line of the following examples of collocations: “estar seguro de que” and “dar comienzo”. Both examples support the thesis put forward in this paper: that collocations are in the lexicalization process.