Abstract In a number of studies of analogical levelling, it has been found that the conservation of irregular formation patterns is typically correlated with the token frequency of the members of a changing class. Interestingly, although it was suggested decades ago that this “conserving effect” of high token frequency may also affect ongoing analogical change, only one case of a change-in-progress in morphology has been investigated so far. Moreover, instead of scrutinizing the concept of frequency, previous research has largely taken the importance of lemma token frequency for granted. The present contribution analyses a case of ongoing analogical levelling in the formation of the imperative singular of German strong verbs with e/i-gradation. A corpus-based study is used to test whether the phenomenon is rightly classified as ongoing change and whether and which frequency variables can explain the trajectory of this change. Evidence is presented that justifies the assumption of a conserving effect of token frequency in ongoing morphological change; however, the study stresses the importance of reconsidering the concept of frequency for different languages and different phenomena of change because even measures like lemma token frequency are not as indisputable as they seem.

中文翻译：

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正在进行的类比变化中的守恒：令牌频率的测量和影响

摘要 在许多类比均衡研究中，已经发现不规则地层模式的守恒通常与变化类成员的令牌频率相关。有趣的是，尽管几十年前有人提出，高令牌频率的这种“守恒效应”也可能影响正在进行的类比变化，但迄今为止，只有一个形态学发生变化的案例被调查过。此外，之前的研究并没有仔细研究频率的概念，而是在很大程度上认为引理令牌频率的重要性是理所当然的。目前的贡献分析了在形成具有 e/i-gradation 的德语强动词的命令式单数时进行的类比调平的案例。基于语料库的研究用于测试该现象是否被正确归类为持续变化，以及是否以及哪些频率变量可以解释这种变化的轨迹。提出的证据证明令牌频率在持续的形态变化中具有守恒效应的假设是正确的；然而，该研究强调了重新考虑不同语言和不同变化现象的频率概念的重要性，因为即使是像引理标记频率这样的度量也并不像看起来那样无可争议。