The Characteristics of English Linking Adverbials (original) (raw)
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English sentence adverbials: Their syntax and their intonation in British English
Lingua, 1974
'ihe probiems of isoiating sentence adverbiais as a class are discussed. An attempt is then trade to subcaiegorise adverbials to take account of their trans.ormational relations and other sj ntactic characteristics. The intonation of English sentence adverbials is then considered with sibecid reference to sentence-initial position. It is found thiat there are correlations between i! tonation and syntactic class; and tnat other factors conditioning choice of intonation include: tI\e inherent semantics of the adverb; whether it modifies a sentence containing "new" or " :iven" information; and the attitude of the speaker. The interaction of these various factors is cl>nsidered in some detail. The findings are tested against informant reaction tests. Syntax We began this piece of work' by asking ourselves what factors cr,~tribute to the selection of the appropriate British English intonation for a given sentence adverbial. It soon became clear that, although other factors were involved, the question of which syntactic subclass the adverbial belonged to was a prime factor, and that it was necessary to examine the syntax of the adverbia sand thus also their semanticsin detail. Iln this first section we carry out this syntactic-semantic examination; in the second section we examine some aspects of the intonation of the adverbials in the light of our syntactic findings. By an ADVERBIAL we wish to denote any 'adjunct' or modifier uzd in a non-adjectival way. An adverbial may be a simple lexical item of the class ADVERB like perhaps or lzere; alternatively it may be of the structure ADJECTIVE (+-ly); or (PREPOSITION+) NOUN 1 We are indebted to D.A. Cruse for a number of valuable suggestions and comments. We are also grateful to our other department colleagues for their comments ai; willingness to act as informants. 2 D.J. AIlerton and A. Outtenden, English sentence a-'verbials PIIRASE; or PREPOSITION (+NOUN PHRASE) e.g. fast, Zoud(Zy), carefully; last night, (uuring) tnis qfternoon, in the evening, after (the meeting). We shall concentrate our attention on one word adverbs rather than adverbial phrases, i.e. on the first two types listed above. Our concern here is sentence adverbials, and wz must first isolate these as a class. Several tests have been proposed for a sentence adverbial. One is that sentence adverbials are adverbials formed from adjectives which can take an abstract subject nominal (Schreiber 1971) e.g., The idea was unforth late. This will obviously not cover adverbials which are not derived from adjectives (though a deep structure could of course be arrazged co that this were so in every case). Nor does it cover by arry means all classes of sentence adverb, e.g. the types exemplified by frankly, bri$!y, linguistically. More realistically, they may be defined according to criteria of transformation, co-occurrence, position and intonation (see A!!ertoni fort!!coming). It will prove most fruitful to take transformational potential as the most reliable guide both for identifying sentence as a class and for determining their subc!asses, and we develop this fully below. As regards co-occurrence, sentence adverbials are neutral, whereas manner and time adverbials for example have co-occurrence restrictions with the lexical verb and the auxiliary respectively. Four different positions within the sentence may be taken by most' sentence adverbs: initial; medial before the auxiliary; medial after the auxiliary but before the lexical verb; final position, e.g. Probably John was hurt. John probably was hu.rt. John was probably hurt. John was hurt, probably. The distinction between the two medial positions is of course neutralized if no auxiliary is present, e.g. John probably hurt himself. Many non-sentence adverbs, on the other hand, are restricted in their occurrence in these positions, e.g. degree adverbs like slightly may occur only before the lexical verb, or finally, cf.: * S!ightly John was hurt. * John slightly was hurt. John was slightly hurt. John was hurt slightly.
On the Valency of Various Types of Adverbs and Its Lexicographic Description
Journal of Linguistics/Jazykovedný casopis
This paper deals with the neglected issue of the valency of adverbs. After providing a brief theoretical background, a procedure is presented of extracting the list of potentially valent adverbs from two syntactically parsed corpora of Czech, SYN2015 and PDT. Taking note of the methodological and theoretical problems surrounding this task, especially those relating to the fuzzy boundaries of word classes, we outline the types of adverbs identified as having valency properties. Where appropriate, we comment on – and occasionally suggest improvements in – the lexicographic treatment of valent adverbs.
Linguistik online, 2018
This paper will address the predicative nature of manner adverb(ial)s and of three types of sentence adverbs (subject-oriented, modal, and evaluative) in Italian. Predication often becomes overt by means of morphological correlates. Is it possible to find any such evidence with invariable adverbs? To unveil their predicative nature, a procedure will be suggested in which two sentences, one with a "-mente" adverb, the other with its cognate adjective (a) share the content morphemes (identity of the signifiant) and (b) entail each other (identity of the signifié as regards semantic roles). A number of such pairs will be discussed, examples of which include: Intelligentemente, Leo intervenne 'Cleverly, Leo intervened' and Leo fu intelligente a intervenire 'Leo was clever to intervene'. We aim to ascertain if the argument structure of the adjective and the semantic role(s) which it assigns can shed light on the very same properties of the cognate adverb.
Lexicogrammatical features of adverbs in advanced learner English
ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2015
This paper explores the use of -ly adverbs by Norwegian advanced learners of English compared to that of native speakers. The investigation is based on two corpora of novice academic English: VESPA and BAWE. It considers features of lexis (frequencies, style, meanings, collocational patterns) as well as of syntax, i.e. whether the adverbs function as adjuncts, disjuncts, conjuncts or modifiers in adjective or adverb phrases. The learners make few clear mistakes with adverbs, but there are important frequency differences between the corpora concerning lexical choice and semantic and syntactic functions. Learners overuse adverbs with modal meaning but underuse phrase-modifying adverbs. Most adjunct types are also underused. At several points, the native speakers prove to have a greater lexical repertoire.
English Language and Linguistics, 2013
Reviewed by Bernd Kortmann, University of Freiburg "Adverbials may be regarded as a ragbag category in the linguistics system." It is hard to think of anyone who might want to take issue with the opening statement of the monograph under review. In fact, it is hard to think of any domain of grammar (not only English grammar) which is messier than the one of adverbials. For this reason alone anyone who volunteers to tackle the Herculean task of writing a(nother) comprehensive book on the by far largest subgroup of adverbials, namely adjuncts, must be admired for their courage and stamina. It must be someone who has explored the territory for a long time and acquired intimate knowledge, which is indeed the case for Hilda Hasselgård, who in 1996 published a first monograph on the two largest semantic classes of adverbials, more exactly on Where and When: Positional and Functional Conventions for Sequences of Time and Space Adverbials in Present-Day English (see references). Hasselgård's new book stands in the tradition of Greenbaum's seminal Studies in English Adverbial Usage (1969) and its successor publications (in Quirk et al. 1972 and 1985, with the relevant chapters in both pillars of English reference grammars having been authored by Sidney Greenbaum, and in Biber et al. 1999) and truly complements Greenbaum's 1969 classic by focussing on adjuncts. While Greenbaum was solely concerned with linking adverbs, i.e. conjuncts and disjuncts, Hasselgård restricts her study to adjuncts, including under this heading, following Biber et al. 1999, "all time and degree adverbials along with focus and viewpoint adverbials" (p. 23), i.e. adverbials classified as subjuncts in Quirk et al. (1985). The overall approach Hasselgård adopts is one that is descriptive, broadly functional and more (but not too) narrowly Hallidayan, which is reflected among other things by her usage-in-text/discourse perspective on adjuncts (notably their use on the textual and interpersonal levels of communication). This perspective is also prominently stated in the cover blurb, where, besides pointing to usage differences of adverbials across text types, the reader is informed as follows: "In using real texts, Hasselgård identifies a challenge for the classification of adjuncts, and also highlights the fact that some adjuncts have uses that extend into the textual and interpersonal domains, obscuring the traditional divisions between adjuncts, disjuncts and conjuncts." The volume comprises almost exactly 300 text pages and is organized into four parts with altogether 13 chapters. Part I (3-63) outlines the overall framework for Hasselgård's take on the field of adverbials, in general, and adjuncts, in particular. It offers the expectable background information concerning the major research questions, materials and methods, and organisation of the book (Chapter 1) and an overview of the classifications of adverbials as discussed in the literature (Chapter 2). In Chapter 3 the focus is on the syntactic positions of adverbials in clauses and sentences (essentially, initial, medial, end position) and the semantics, especially the semantic scope, of adverbials (in general and depending on their position). Part II (67-183) is concerned with the positions of adverbials. It consists of five chapters, the first three of which address adverbials in initial, medial and end position respectively (Chapters 4-6). Chapter 7 is exclusively concerned with (it-) cleft focus position of adjuncts and Chapter 8 with the combination of adjuncts and, especially, combination of their positions. The overarching topic of Part III (187-256) is semantics, more exactly subtypes, frequencies and usage of different semantic types of adjuncts (adjuncts of time and space in Chapter 9, of manner and contingency in Chapter 10, and of respect, focus, degree, etc. in Chapter 11). The synoptic Part IV (259-305) draws together the major findings from
The Syntax of Adverbs: An LFG Approach
2006
'predicational adverbs' as those that 'require their sister constituent to be their FEO [Fact-Event Object: a proposition or event] argument, mapping them onto a gradable scale,' distinguishing them from domain (mathematically, chemically), participant (on the wall, with a stick), and functional adverbs (now, again, even, not) (Ernst 2002, 9). Our From the three primary positions available to phonologically integrated adverbials-preauxiliary, post-auxiliary, and sentence-final-six common distributional patterns of acceptability filter out. 3 Jackendoff (1972) identifies these patterns, which have been subsequently employed in many theories of adverbial syntax. (7) All positions with no change of meaning (quietly, quickly, reluctantly) a. Quietly, Ross has hidden the biscuits. b. Ross quietly has hidden the biscuits. c. Ross has quietly hidden the biscuits. d. Ross has hidden the biscuits quietly. (8) All positions with change of meaning (cleverly, carefully, happily) a. Cleverly, Ross has hidden the biscuits. b. Ross cleverly has hidden the biscuits. c. Ross has cleverly hidden the biscuits. d. Ross has hidden the biscuits cleverly. (9) Initial and auxiliary only (probably, apparently, obviously) a. Probably, Ross has hidden the biscuits. b. Ross probably has hidden the biscuits. c. Ross has probably hidden the biscuits. d. *Ross has hidden the biscuits probably. (10) Auxiliary and final only (completely, easily, purposefully) a. *Completely, Ross has hidden the biscuits. b. Ross completely has hidden the biscuits. c. Ross has completely hidden the biscuits. d. Ross has hidden the biscuits completely.
The syntax and semantics of locating adverbials
Cette étude examine les propriétés des adverbiaux de localisation du français à plusieurs niveaux. La structure syntaxique de ces éléments est décrite de même que les interactions complexes entre position dans la phrase et contribution sémantique. En se focalisant sur la position d'adjoint du syntagme verbal, on montre que le contenu sémantique des marqueurs considérés est mieux saisi par une approche 'relationnelle' que par une approche 'référentielle'. Une sémantique compositionnelle des adverbiaux en position de VP-adjoints est finalement proposée.
A cognitive approach to English adverbs
ling, 1997
The adverb has been understudied, compared with other grammatical categories such as nouns and verbs. Previous accounts of English adverbs such as Greenbaum (1969), Jackendoff (1972), Bellen (1977), Ernst (1984) assume that one only has to paraphrase the meanings of English adverbs as simply and formally as possible. These semantic-paraphrase analyses do not ask what underlies their paraphrases, much less what is a possible English adverb. The aim of this paper is threefold: to criticize the longstanding assumption that adverbs are too heterogeneous to be subject to a systematic treatment; to provide a cognitive-grammar (Langacker 1987α, 1990, 1991) account of English adverbs; and to show that it contributes to constraining their range. It will be shown that English adverbs are much less idiosyncratic and heterogeneous than the previous analyses assume, with their semantic properties and syntactic behavior attributed to our ability to conceptualize a situation by means of alternate images. More specifically, adverbs will be defined as functions that map a verb (construed through sequential scanning,) into some other mode of scanning or modal. Furthermore, it will be argued that the inventory of scanning and modal offers a natural way to constrain the range of English adverbs. All this strongly suggests that adverbs are no less amenable to a systematic treatment than nouns, verbs, and adjectives.