Cristiano Broccias

Same time, across time: simultaneity clauses from Late Modern to Present-Day English

In this paper we offer a diachronic analysis of simultaneity subordinator as against the background of simultaneity subordinators while, whilst, when from 1650 to the end of the 20th century. The present survey makes use of data extracted from the British English component of ARCHER (version 3.1), focusing in particular on fiction, the register par excellence for the use of simultaneity subordinators. We analyse our data according to a selection of parameters (ordering, verb type, duration, tense and aspect, subject identity, simultaneity type) and show that, against a background of relatively stability, the major change is a dramatic increase in the frequency of simultaneity as-clauses from the first half of the 19th century onwards. Adapting the historical work on stylistic change by Biber and Finegan (1989, 1997), as well as theoretical and experimental accounts of the semantics of English simultaneity markers, we highlight an interesting parallelism between the spread of as-clauses in oral narrative from childhood to adulthood and the spread of as-clauses in modern fiction. In either case, the spread of as may be symptomatic of an evolution in narrative techniques, particularly in respect of the means by which complex events are typically represented.

Imperfectivity and Transience The Two Sides of the Progressive Aspect in Simultaneity as- and while-clauses

Recent research into simultaneity as- and while-clauses has shown that they tend to be used differently. As-clauses usually code events with a high degree of susceptibility to change, whereas while-clauses tend to evoke more stable temporal configurations. Following this insight, the present article studies the interaction between the progressive aspect and as- and while-clauses. It is claimed that the progressive aspect in as-clauses is prototypically used as a slowing-down/stretching device (i.e., an imperfectivization mechanism). It is used to establish an aspectual contrast between a prolonged as-event and a (relatively) punctual main event. By contrast, progressive while -clauses seem to behave more similarly to main clauses. The progressive is primarily used as a transience marker, that is, to signal that the (relatively) stable event coded by a while-clause is a temporary state.

The Relation between Hypotactic Integration and Complementation in Cognitive Grammar

Complementation figures prominently in the discussion of perceptual verbs such as see and watch in relation to the well-known alternation illustrated in (1): (1) Tim watched Bill mend/mending the lamp. (Quirk et al. 1985: 1206)