ИНОВАЦИОННИ ПРОЦЕСИ В СЪВРЕМЕННАТА ГРАМАТИКА НА АНГЛИЙСКИЯ ЕЗИК (С ОГЛЕД НА ТЕХНИТЕ ВЪЗМОЖНИ ПАРАЛЕЛИ В БЪЛГАРСКИЯ ЕЗИК) / PROCESSES OF INNOVATION IN PRESENT-DAY ENGLISH GRAMMAR (IN VIEW OF THEIR POSSIBLE PARALLELS IN BULGARIAN)

Abstract

The paper explores some processes of innovation in present-day English grammar in view of the typological features, the historical development and the present status of English as the language of global communication. Some innovations can be observed within the noun phrase and the verb phrase that have to do mostly with changes in the properties of nouns and verbs in relation to particular grammatical categories. The ana-lysis also focuses on a particular structural pattern of the English noun phrase consisting of a sequence of nouns joined without the use of prepositions. Within a longer time span, a number of innovations can be noticed that are related to the process of grammaticalization. Special emphasis is placed on the tendency towards implicitness and compression of the linguistic expression, which is typical of present-day English. The study also discusses innovations associated with the current status of English as a global language that have to do mostly with the expanded application of grammatical rules and the minimization of exceptions. The most general conclusion of the study highlights the continuous tendency towards the simplification of English grammar in the context of the historical development of the language as well as its present state. Keywords: language typology, innovations in language, present-day English gram-mar, noun phrase, verb phrase, grammaticalization, Global English, English-Bulgarian parallels