The origins of how come and what…for
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Claudia Claridge
Abstract
The multi-word items how come and what…for can both mean ‘why’ in modern English. Semantically they derive via the conceptual links ‘causes are temporally prior’, ‘causation is forced movement’, and ‘causes are purposes.’ What…for has the longer history of the two forms, going back to at least Middle English and evolving from for what via clauses with stranded preposition to a new uninterrupted form what for. How come cannot be traced back beyond the 18th century, but has various Early Modern English precursors, which may have influenced it. Its modern irregular form is most likely due to its fusion in nonstandard spoken English. The processes of semanticisation, lexicalisation and colloquialisation have played a role in the development of these forms, the latter in particular for their increasing frequency in modern standard English.
Abstract
The multi-word items how come and what…for can both mean ‘why’ in modern English. Semantically they derive via the conceptual links ‘causes are temporally prior’, ‘causation is forced movement’, and ‘causes are purposes.’ What…for has the longer history of the two forms, going back to at least Middle English and evolving from for what via clauses with stranded preposition to a new uninterrupted form what for. How come cannot be traced back beyond the 18th century, but has various Early Modern English precursors, which may have influenced it. Its modern irregular form is most likely due to its fusion in nonstandard spoken English. The processes of semanticisation, lexicalisation and colloquialisation have played a role in the development of these forms, the latter in particular for their increasing frequency in modern standard English.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
- Norse influence on English in the light of general contact linguistics 15
- The Germanic roots of the Old English sound system 43
- Monetary policy and Old English dialects 73
- The order and schedule of nominal plural formation transfer in three Southern dialects of Early Middle English 95
- The temporal and regional contexts of the numeral ‘two’ in Middle English 115
- Grammaticalisation, contact and corpora 131
- Discourse organization and the rise of final then in the history of English 153
- The origins of how come and what…for 177
- “Providing/provided that” 197
- Prefer 215
- The 400 million word Corpus of Historical American English (1810–2009) 231
- Gender change from Old to Middle English 263
- “Please tilt me-ward by return of post” 289
- Multilingualism in the vocabulary of dress and textiles in late medieval Britain 313
- “No man entreth in or out” 327
- Beyond questions and answers 349
- The demise of gog and cock and their phraseologies in dramatic discourse 369
- Index 383
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
- Norse influence on English in the light of general contact linguistics 15
- The Germanic roots of the Old English sound system 43
- Monetary policy and Old English dialects 73
- The order and schedule of nominal plural formation transfer in three Southern dialects of Early Middle English 95
- The temporal and regional contexts of the numeral ‘two’ in Middle English 115
- Grammaticalisation, contact and corpora 131
- Discourse organization and the rise of final then in the history of English 153
- The origins of how come and what…for 177
- “Providing/provided that” 197
- Prefer 215
- The 400 million word Corpus of Historical American English (1810–2009) 231
- Gender change from Old to Middle English 263
- “Please tilt me-ward by return of post” 289
- Multilingualism in the vocabulary of dress and textiles in late medieval Britain 313
- “No man entreth in or out” 327
- Beyond questions and answers 349
- The demise of gog and cock and their phraseologies in dramatic discourse 369
- Index 383
