I’m confused by the following observation from Craig.









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From: Hancock, Craig G
Sent: ‎Thursday‎, ‎July‎ ‎10‎, ‎2014 ‎2‎:‎06‎ ‎PM
To: [log in to unmask]






As Bybee points out, the kind of phonetic reduction we get with 'gonna' and oughtta' is typical of grammaticalization. We don't say "I'm gonna New York" for "I'm going to New York," but we do say "I'm gonna take the train to New York" or "It's gonna rain." We only use it for expressions of intention and prediction, which are modal in function. This would be a good formal argument for "going to" functioning as a constituent group when modal functions are carried out, but not for physical movement: going plus to New York. 


Now, if I understand Craig correctly, language is not a formal system, yet he just made a formal distinction between “going to” verb vs.” going to” location.  It seems to me that we are dealing with two different to’s.  The to in “going to” marks a verb and the to in making a location is a preposition.  


By the way, gonna reduction is also reflected in wanna.  


Bob Yates, University of Central Missouri