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Chapter 3. The representation of surprise in English and the retroactive construction of possible paths

  • Graham Ranger
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Surprise at the Intersection of Phenomenology and Linguistics
This chapter is in the book Surprise at the Intersection of Phenomenology and Linguistics

Abstract

The current article considers the linguistic representation of surprise in English within the framework of the Theory of Enunciative and Predicative Operations. English appears not to have any markers specialised in the expression of surprise. Here I argue that English does nonetheless possess numerous formal configurations which may be shown to derive from a recurrent schema of surprise. I consider three such configurations: the concessive YET, OF ALL + plural noun and ONLY TO + verb in narrative context. Each configuration mobilises an abstract schema involving a discontinuity between an anticipated situation and an actual situation, i.e. an opposition between a – retroactively re-constructed – virtual class of expected possibilities and a validated occurrence.

Abstract

The current article considers the linguistic representation of surprise in English within the framework of the Theory of Enunciative and Predicative Operations. English appears not to have any markers specialised in the expression of surprise. Here I argue that English does nonetheless possess numerous formal configurations which may be shown to derive from a recurrent schema of surprise. I consider three such configurations: the concessive YET, OF ALL + plural noun and ONLY TO + verb in narrative context. Each configuration mobilises an abstract schema involving a discontinuity between an anticipated situation and an actual situation, i.e. an opposition between a – retroactively re-constructed – virtual class of expected possibilities and a validated occurrence.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part I. The temporality of surprise
  5. Chapter 1. Neurophenomenology of surprise 9
  6. Chapter 2. Shock, twofold dynamics, cascade 23
  7. Chapter 3. The representation of surprise in English and the retroactive construction of possible paths 43
  8. Part II. Verbal interaction and action
  9. Chapter 4. Encoding surprise in English novels 59
  10. Chapter 5. How implicit is surprise? 77
  11. Chapter 6. Surprise in native, bilingual and non-native spontaneous and stimulated recall speech 91
  12. Part III. Emotional experience, expression and description
  13. Chapter 7. Interrogatives in surprise contexts in English 117
  14. Chapter 8. Looking at ‘unexpectedness’ 139
  15. Chapter 9. Is surprise necessarily disappointing? 171
  16. Index 181
https://doi.org/10.1075/ceb.11.03ran

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part I. The temporality of surprise
  5. Chapter 1. Neurophenomenology of surprise 9
  6. Chapter 2. Shock, twofold dynamics, cascade 23
  7. Chapter 3. The representation of surprise in English and the retroactive construction of possible paths 43
  8. Part II. Verbal interaction and action
  9. Chapter 4. Encoding surprise in English novels 59
  10. Chapter 5. How implicit is surprise? 77
  11. Chapter 6. Surprise in native, bilingual and non-native spontaneous and stimulated recall speech 91
  12. Part III. Emotional experience, expression and description
  13. Chapter 7. Interrogatives in surprise contexts in English 117
  14. Chapter 8. Looking at ‘unexpectedness’ 139
  15. Chapter 9. Is surprise necessarily disappointing? 171
  16. Index 181
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