This volume presents nine contributions to the study of changes in the verbal system of French and Spanish as well as of Indian, Semitic and Slavic languages. Following new trends in the study of language development, language change is described as processes of grammaticalisation, reanalysis and actualisation. The onset of language change is described as being pragmatically conditioned, at the service of felicitous communication between speaker and listener. This process is further seen as closely interacting with socio-cultural factors as well as drift and language typology.