The convergence of two need verbs in Middle English
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Lucía Loureiro-Porto
Abstract
This paper is concerned with OE and ME need v.1, ‘compel, force’ and need v.2, ‘be necessary, need’. It analyses a 2.4 million-word corpus of OE and ME with regard to three factors: relative frequency of both verbs in the two periods, their syntactic properties, and their semantic implications, which are interpreted in terms of Force-Dynamics (cf. Sweetser 1990; Talmy 2000). The results show that, counter-intuitively, need v.2 ‘be necessary, need’ alone is not the only etymological ancestor of PDE semi-modal need, since no clear boundary can be drawn between the two verbs in the periods under analysis. This is most evident in Middle English, when both verbs fully converge syntactically and semantically. Consequently, and most importantly, I show that both need v.1 and need v.2 play a role in the development of PDE need (cf. also Molencki 2002; van der Auwera & Taeymans 2004; Loureiro-Porto 2005b).
Abstract
This paper is concerned with OE and ME need v.1, ‘compel, force’ and need v.2, ‘be necessary, need’. It analyses a 2.4 million-word corpus of OE and ME with regard to three factors: relative frequency of both verbs in the two periods, their syntactic properties, and their semantic implications, which are interpreted in terms of Force-Dynamics (cf. Sweetser 1990; Talmy 2000). The results show that, counter-intuitively, need v.2 ‘be necessary, need’ alone is not the only etymological ancestor of PDE semi-modal need, since no clear boundary can be drawn between the two verbs in the periods under analysis. This is most evident in Middle English, when both verbs fully converge syntactically and semantically. Consequently, and most importantly, I show that both need v.1 and need v.2 play a role in the development of PDE need (cf. also Molencki 2002; van der Auwera & Taeymans 2004; Loureiro-Porto 2005b).
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction ix
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Part I. Pragmatic and stylistic choices
- Politeness in the history of English 3
- The which is most and right harde to answere : Intensifying right and most in earlier English 31
- The diachronic development of the intensifier bloody : A case study in historical pragmatics 53
- Variation and change in the writings of 17th century scientists 75
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Part II. Lexical and semantic change
- The convergence of two need verbs in Middle English 97
- Rivalry among the verbs of wanting 117
- A look at respect : Investigating metonymies in Earle Modern English 139
- Germanic vs French fixed expressions in Middle English prose: Towards a corpus-based historical English phraseology 159
- Latin loanwords of the early modern period: How often did French act as an intermediary? 185
- Disseisin : The lexeme and the legal fact in Early Middle English 203
- Was Old Frech -able borrowable? A diachronic study of word-formation processes due to language contact 217
- Women and other 'small things': -ette as a feminine marker 241
- Index of subjects 259
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction ix
-
Part I. Pragmatic and stylistic choices
- Politeness in the history of English 3
- The which is most and right harde to answere : Intensifying right and most in earlier English 31
- The diachronic development of the intensifier bloody : A case study in historical pragmatics 53
- Variation and change in the writings of 17th century scientists 75
-
Part II. Lexical and semantic change
- The convergence of two need verbs in Middle English 97
- Rivalry among the verbs of wanting 117
- A look at respect : Investigating metonymies in Earle Modern English 139
- Germanic vs French fixed expressions in Middle English prose: Towards a corpus-based historical English phraseology 159
- Latin loanwords of the early modern period: How often did French act as an intermediary? 185
- Disseisin : The lexeme and the legal fact in Early Middle English 203
- Was Old Frech -able borrowable? A diachronic study of word-formation processes due to language contact 217
- Women and other 'small things': -ette as a feminine marker 241
- Index of subjects 259
