1. Transposition, neutralization and reduction of oppositions.

Transposition:

Transposition is a linguistic process where elements or features that were originally expressed in one way are shifted or transposed to a different linguistic form or category. This often occurs to adapt language to changing communicative needs or stylistic preferences.

Examples of Transposition:

Case Transposition:

In Old English, case distinctions were marked on nouns and adjectives through inflections. Over time, English shifted to a word order-based system, transposing the role of inflections to word order. For example, "The cat chased the dog" uses word order to indicate subject (nominative) and object (accusative) roles.

Verb Inflection Transposition:

English has simplified its verb inflection system compared to Old English. For instance, the Old English verb "singan" had multiple forms like "sing" (present), "song" (past), and "sungen" (past participle), while Modern English uses auxiliary verbs (e.g., "I sing," "I sang," "I have sung") to convey similar meanings.

Neutralization:

Neutralization is a linguistic process where distinctions between linguistic elements or features are lost or become indistinguishable in certain contexts. Neutralization often simplifies language and can result from phonological or morphological changes.

Examples of Neutralization:

Final Consonant Neutralization:

In some dialects of English, final consonants like /t/ and /d/ can be neutralized in word-final positions. For example, "cat" and "cad" may sound similar in casual speech.

Plural Neutralization:

In Standard English, some plural forms are neutralized, such as "sheep" (singular and plural) or "deer" (singular and plural).

Reduction:

Reduction refers to the process of simplifying linguistic elements, often by eliminating certain distinctions or features. This can result from language change, simplification, or regularization.

Examples of Reduction:

Reduction of Irregular Forms:

Over time, irregular verb forms may be reduced to regular patterns. For example, the irregular past tense of "dive" was "dove," but it has been reduced to the regular form "dived" in many dialects.

Reduction of Grammatical Distinctions:

Some languages may reduce grammatical distinctions, such as gender or case, to simplify their grammar. Modern English, for instance, has largely reduced its grammatical gender system.