A computational approach to mapping replacement processes in language change

Abstract This paper explores the advantages of using Latent Class Analysis (LCA) as a computational approach to mapping replacement in language change. Historical linguistics assumes that when a construction replaces another construction, this process is gradual, affecting certain usage contexts before others. This model of replacement predicts that these usage contexts play a greater role for the decrease in usage frequency of the replaced construction than other contexts. As a case study, I examine the replacement of the perfect auxiliary ser ‘be’ with haber ‘have’ in the history of Spanish using a combination of LCA and regression analysis. Starting from the eight usage contexts identified with LCA, I observe changes in the preference for ser or haber to be used in these contexts. By using the predicted probability of assignment to these contexts as a dependent variable, I provide proof of significant replacement of ser with haber , but also of haber with ser , in contexts with perfective meanings. The absence of replacement in the remaining contexts leads me to postulate that ser underwent both functional specialization and renewal as its usage frequency declined. From a theoretical perspective, this study provides empirical evidence for a key assumption in historical linguistics, namely that replacement processes occur locally.