An Van linden

Deictification: The development of secondary deictic meanings by adjectives in the English NP

In this article we make a case for recognizing deictification as a type of grammaticalization and semantic shift in the NP analogous to auxiliarization in the VP. The specific analogy we point out is between lexical verbs that grammaticalize into secondary auxiliaries bound by the finite, as in is going to , has to + verb, and lexically full adjectives that grammaticalize into postdeterminers bound by the primary determiner, as in a different , the same + noun. We present five case studies of the development of postdeterminer meanings, based on the analysis of diachronic and synchronic data. The adjectives studied are opposite , complete , old , regular and necessary , whose postdeterminer uses relate to the basic deictic systems of space, quantity, time and modality. Our analysis of the data shows that the mechanism of secondary deictification can be given a unified characterization as the semantic shift by which a general relation expressed by the adjective is given a subjective reference point in or relative to the speech event.

The clausal complementation of deontic-evaluative adjectives in extraposition constructions: a synchronic-diachronic approach

This article develops a functional synchronic-diachronic description of the clausal complementation of deontic-evaluative adjectives in extraposition constructions (ECs). It does so on the basis of qualitative and quantitative corpus-based analyses of the importance adjectives important, essential, crucial and the appropriateness adjectives appropriate, proper, and fitting. All six adjectives can currently take either mandative complements expressing desired action (coded by to-infinitives or that-clauses) or propositional complements describing arguable claims (typically coded by that-clauses). In reference grammars these have tended to receive incomplete coverage without elucidation of the constructional polysemies involved. We argue that a better understanding of the present system can be arrived at by investigating the diachronic developments by which it was fashioned. The ECs with these adjectives started off as mandative constructions and this continues to be their current unmarked use. They also developed patterns with propositional complements, but in this area the importance and appropriateness adjectives followed different diachronic paths, leading to distinct pragmatico-semantic readings of the pattern with single proposition in Present-day English.

The semantic development of essential and crucial: Paths to deontic meaning

In the literature on modality, much attention has been devoted to modal auxiliaries, whereas adjectival predicates have only rarely been discussed (some synchronic accounts are Riviere and Nuyts). This study tries to fill a gap in the literature by presenting two case studies of English adjectives that have developed deontic meaning from various types of non-deontic meaning. More specifically, we will describe the semantic development of the adjectives essential and crucial, which can serve as templates for other adjectives that acquired deontic meaning, such as vital or critical. As a working definition, we take deontic modality to express the degree of desirability of a certain State of Affairs (SoA)—a more detailed discussion of deontic meaning follows below. Examples of deontic utterances with the two adjectives are given in (1) and (2).

Subjective Compounds and Subjectivity/Subjectification in the English Noun Phrase

This paper makes a case for the category of subjective compounds, that is adjective-noun word units which convey subjective meaning, for example little bleeder, old chum, half-victory . These compounds are characterized grammatically by their behaviour as a unit in phrase structure, their internal inseparability and the non-attribute-like behaviour of the adjectival components. Adjective and noun have a high degree of collocational cohesion, which is reflected in high mutual information scores. This collocational cohesion is semantically motivated by the subjective evaluative features which adjective and noun share. To accommodate these subjective compounds we propose a prosodic, field-like model of the English noun phrase (NP), rather than a linear subjective-objective model as traditionally recognized in the literature. A prosodic model, which recognizes that subjective meaning is spread over the whole NP, can account both for the strong tendency of more subjective modifiers to precede more objective ones and for the minor countercurrent of more subjective elements to follow more objective ones. Such a model, we argue, also captures the fact that subjectification can entail both leftward and rightward movement in NP structure.

From premodal to modal meaning: Adjectival pathways in English

Abstract This article approaches common topics in the diachronic literature on modal categories from the perspective of adjectives. It thus expands on what has been found for the better studied category of modal auxiliaries as regards sources of modal meaning and pathways of change. Most importantly, it proposes two new pathways from premodal to (dynamic) modal meaning, one followed by essential and vital, and one followed by crucial and critical. It also shows that in the four cases the development of dynamic meaning depends on the emergence of two semantic properties, viz. relationality and potentiality. Finally, this study makes it clear that the mechanisms driving the various semantic changes are not new, but rather have proved useful in explaining a varied set of developments. For the final semantic extension of the adjectives from dynamic to deontic meaning, for instance, the process of subjectification (Traugott, Language 65: 31–55, 1989) will be invoked.

Miracles and mirativity: From lexical it’s a wonder to grammaticalised it’s no wonder in Old English

In Present-day English, clausal expressions with a/no/little/etc. + wonder tend to be used as grammatical markers, qualifying the propositions in their scope in terms of mirativity, i.e. as “unexpected” (DELANCEY 2001: 369) as in (1), or “the opposite meaning, .. . lack of surprise” (SIMON-VANDENBERGEN and AIJMER 2007: 37), as in (2) and (3) . These qualifiers originated in different types of multi-clausal patterns in Old English, which have persisted into Presentday English, viz. extraposition, e.g. (1)-(2), and paratactic structures, e.g. (3).

Independent conditional clauses with argumentative function in Dutch

Abstract This study offers an analysis of independent conditional clauses (ICCs) that are used with argumentative functions in spoken Dutch. ICCs are used as arguments when they serve to motivate the speaker’s implied standpoint regarding a preceding propositional content, termed the trigger. Two basic types of argumentative ICCs can be distinguished, which are termed “direct” and “indirect” arguments. Direct arguments express a contextually given premise on the basis of which a conclusion about the speaker’s standpoint regarding a preceding trigger can be drawn. Indirect arguments, by contrast, express a condition that – if it had held – would have warranted the conclusion, but its counterfactual interpretation resulting from hypothetical backshift signals that the speaker knows that this condition is not fulfilled, and hence that the implied standpoint regarding a trigger is not valid either. We argue that direct and indirect ICCs instantiate independent instances of epistemic non-predictive conditionals and hypothetical predictive conditionals (in the sense of Dancygier), respectively, and that they set up propositional-logic arguments of different classic forms, i.e. the modus ponendo ponens form (direct ICCs) and the denying the antecedent form (indirect ICCs). However, they do not explicitly express the conclusion of the argument, as they lack a main clause, but leave it to be inferred by the addressee.

Extraposition constructions in the deontic domain: state-of-affairs (SoA)-related versus speaker-related uses

This study examines how extraposition constructions with adjectives, such as it is important to honour those who have done honour to us (CB) function in the deontic and directive domain. It is found that in these two domains, which correlate with different sets of adjectives, the adjectival expressions can function on two distinct levels, either relating to the real world (State ofAffairs [SoA]-related), or relating to the speakers argumentative goals (speaker-related). These levels have also been noted for other linguistic categories, such as interclausal relations (e.g., Davies 1979; Sweetser 1990; Verstraete 2007). Within the set of speaker-related uses, a further distinction will be proposed between text-building uses and mental focus on a proposition uses. The first type serves to build arguments, or to specify or justify the organization of a text. The second type is used to make the hearer focus mentally on a propositional content. It will be argued that this latter type is a partially filled construction in the sense of Goldberg (1995). In this sense, this study proposes a constructionally motivated typology of extraposition constructions in the deontic-directive domain.