The Present-day English Gerund System

The Present-day English Gerund System PDF Author: Charlotte Maekelberghe
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 311068666X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 285

Get Book

Book Description
This study offers a first comprehensive synchronic account of the Present-day English gerundial system. Most synchronic studies of gerunds have hitherto focused on the verbal gerund, scrutinizing its categorial status or comparing it with other non-finite clausal structures. A systematic comparison with its nominal counterpart, however, is lacking. Based on a detailed empirical analysis of lexico-grammar and semantics, this study develops an innovative cognitive-constructionist model of the English gerund system which depicts the usage profiles of nominal and verbal gerunds in terms of probabilistic trends rather than by means of categorical labels. It is shown that a better understanding of the functioning of the English gerund system requires a description that operates on multiple levels, accounting for both the abstract construal gerunds can impose on an event as well as the token-level constraints on variation between the two gerund types. This multifaceted approach, it is argued, not only offers a new perspective on the configuration of ing-forms in Present-day English, it can also be of relevance to the description of other complex grammatical structures.

The Present-day English Gerund System

The Present-day English Gerund System PDF Author: Charlotte Maekelberghe
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 311068666X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 285

Get Book

Book Description
This study offers a first comprehensive synchronic account of the Present-day English gerundial system. Most synchronic studies of gerunds have hitherto focused on the verbal gerund, scrutinizing its categorial status or comparing it with other non-finite clausal structures. A systematic comparison with its nominal counterpart, however, is lacking. Based on a detailed empirical analysis of lexico-grammar and semantics, this study develops an innovative cognitive-constructionist model of the English gerund system which depicts the usage profiles of nominal and verbal gerunds in terms of probabilistic trends rather than by means of categorical labels. It is shown that a better understanding of the functioning of the English gerund system requires a description that operates on multiple levels, accounting for both the abstract construal gerunds can impose on an event as well as the token-level constraints on variation between the two gerund types. This multifaceted approach, it is argued, not only offers a new perspective on the configuration of ing-forms in Present-day English, it can also be of relevance to the description of other complex grammatical structures.

The Present-day English Gerund System

The Present-day English Gerund System PDF Author: Charlotte Maekelberghe
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110686813
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Get Book

Book Description
This study offers a first comprehensive synchronic account of the Present-day English gerundial system. Most synchronic studies of gerunds have hitherto focused on the verbal gerund, scrutinizing its categorial status or comparing it with other non-finite clausal structures. A systematic comparison with its nominal counterpart, however, is lacking. Based on a detailed empirical analysis of lexico-grammar and semantics, this study develops an innovative cognitive-constructionist model of the English gerund system which depicts the usage profiles of nominal and verbal gerunds in terms of probabilistic trends rather than by means of categorical labels. It is shown that a better understanding of the functioning of the English gerund system requires a description that operates on multiple levels, accounting for both the abstract construal gerunds can impose on an event as well as the token-level constraints on variation between the two gerund types. This multifaceted approach, it is argued, not only offers a new perspective on the configuration of ing-forms in Present-day English, it can also be of relevance to the description of other complex grammatical structures.

English Noun Phrases from a Functional-Cognitive Perspective

English Noun Phrases from a Functional-Cognitive Perspective PDF Author: Lotte Sommerer
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027258252
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 443

Get Book

Book Description
Despite a significant increase in interest over the last two decades in the English Noun Phrase, there are still many open questions and unexplored issues. The papers collected in this volume contribute to this ongoing research by addressing a range of topics concerning the internal structure, use and development of English Noun Phrases. The eleven chapters represent three main themes: 1. Determination, modification and complementation; 2. Shell nouns and the X-is construction; 3. Binominal constructions. These topics are approached in different ways: some chapters are synchronic in nature, others diachronic; and while most subscribe to functional-cognitive modelling, some take a more formal approach. In addition, different methodologies are employed, varying from qualitative and quantitative corpus analyses to experimental methods. As a result, the contributions to this volume represent both the main topics currently discussed in research on the English Noun Phrase, and the diversity in the way these topics are investigated.

Categoriality in Language Change

Categoriality in Language Change PDF Author: Lauren Fonteyn
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019091758X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Get Book

Book Description
This book presents the first serious attempt to set out a functional-semantic definition of diachronic transcategorial shift between the major classes noun/nominal and verb/clause. In English, speakers have different options to refer to an event, ranging from that-clauses (That he had guessed her size) over infinitives (For him to guess her size) and verbal gerunds (Him guessing her size) to nominal gerunds (His guessing of her size) and deverbal nouns (His guess of her size). Interestingly, not only do these strategies each resemble "prototypical" nominals to varying extents, but also some of these strategies increasingly resemble clauses and decreasingly resemble prototypical nominals over time, as if they are gradually shifting categories. Thus far, the literature that has dealt with such cases of diachronic categorial shift has mainly described the processes by focusing on form, leaving us with a clear picture of what and how changes have occurred. Yet, the question of why these formal changes have occurred is still shrouded in mystery. In this book, Lauren Fonteyn tackles this mystery by showing that the diachronic processes of nominalization and verbalization can also involve functional-semantic changes in two steps. First, building on functionalist and cognitive models of grammar, she offers a theoretical model of categoriality that allows us to study diachronic nominalization and verbalization not just as morphosyntactic but also as functional-semantic processes. Second, she offers more concrete, "workable" definitions of the abstract functional-semantic properties of the nominal and verbal/clausal class, which are subsequently applied to one of the most intriguing deverbal nominalization systems in the history of English: the English gerund.

Cognitive Sociolinguistics Revisited

Cognitive Sociolinguistics Revisited PDF Author: Gitte Kristiansen
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110733943
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 647

Get Book

Book Description
Cognitive Sociolinguistics draws on the rich theoretical framework of Cognitive Linguistics and focuses on the social factors that underlie the variability of meaning and conceptualization. In the last decade, the field has expanded in various way. The current volume takes stock of current and emerging advances in the field in short academic contributions. The studies collected in this book have a usage-based approach to language variation and change, drawing on the theoretical framework of Cognitive Linguistics and are sensitive to social variation, be it cross-linguistic or language-internal. Three types of contributions are collected in this book. First, it contains theoretical overview papers on the domains that have witnessed expansion in recent years. Second, it presents novel research ideas in proof-of-concept contributions, aimed at blue-sky research and out-of-the-box linguistic analyses. Third, it showcases recent empirical studies within the field. By combining these three types of contributions, the book provides an encompassing overview of novel developments in the field of Cognitive Sociolinguistics.

A Functional Analysis of Present Day English on a General Linguistic Basis

A Functional Analysis of Present Day English on a General Linguistic Basis PDF Author: Vilém Mathesius
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110813297
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 232

Get Book

Book Description


The Verb System of Present-Day American English

The Verb System of Present-Day American English PDF Author:
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110873907
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 312

Get Book

Book Description


Category Change from a Constructional Perspective

Category Change from a Constructional Perspective PDF Author: Kristel Van Goethem
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 902726435X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 324

Get Book

Book Description
Category change, broadly defined as the shift from one word class to another, is often studied as part of other changes, such as grammaticalization or lexicalization, but not in its own right. This volume offers a survey of different types of category change and their properties, e.g. abrupt versus gradual changes, morphological versus syntactic changes, or context-independent versus context-sensitive changes. The purpose of this collection of papers is to explore the concepts of linguistic category and category change from the perspective of Construction Grammar. Using data from a variety of languages, the authors address a number of themes that are central to current theorizing about category change, such as the question of whether or not categories should be considered discrete entities, how new categories arise, or whether category change can be considered as the emergence of a new construction, i.e. a new form-meaning pairing. The novel approach advanced in this volume will be of interest to historical linguists as well as to general linguists working on the nature of linguistic categories.

The English Gerund-participle

The English Gerund-participle PDF Author: Patrick J. Duffley
Publisher: Peter Lang
ISBN: 9780820463995
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 204

Get Book

Book Description
Original Scholarly Monograph

A Handbook of Present-day English ...

A Handbook of Present-day English ... PDF Author: Etsko Kruisinga
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 534

Get Book

Book Description