Grammaticalization of the English Motion Verb Come in Serial Verb Constructions

Cross-linguistically, basic motion verbs similar to the English go and come have been shown to be highly susceptible to grammaticalization. However, there has been relatively little emphasis in previous research on the grammaticalization of the English motion verb come. This paper attempts to redress some of the balance by investigating the grammaticalization of come, with particular emphasis on its occurrence in Serial Verb Constructions. The major aim is to provide a detailed account of how the semantic change undergone by come in such contexts is effected by a number of diverse mechanisms, including metaphor, metonymy and subjectification. In addition, certain functional properties of the grammaticalized come will be discussed, along with certain morphosyntactic changes that occur by way of reanalysis. The result of this analysis should demonstrate that come in its serialized form has undergone extensive grammaticalization, shifting from a fully lexical verb to a functional item in its semantic, categorial and morphosyntactic aspects.