Oriented - ingly adjuncts in Late Modern English
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Cristiano Broccias
Abstract
This paper investigates the history of -ingly adjuncts (such as warningly and sneeringly) which are obtained from present participles and which occur mainly with verbs of saying, watching and motion. Such adverbs can be used in two different ways, depending on the content of their verbal bases. They can refer to a subjective evaluation of a perceptual input (e.g. warningly), thus triggering a manner interpretation. Alternatively, they can describe an independent event which is simultaneous with the main clause event (e.g. sneeringly). In either case, such -ingly adjuncts are classifiable as oriented adverbs since they can be predicated (through their verbal bases) of the main clause subject (in active sentences). On the basis of corpus evidence drawn from the Helsinki Corpus, ARCHER, CLMETEV and the LOB family corpora, it is shown that, although -ingly adjuncts in general became common in the Early Modern English period, the specific verb-based, oriented typed investigated here increased dramatically in fiction writing in the first half of the 19th century and has remained relatively constant since then. Finally, the rise of -ingly adjuncts is related to Swan’s adverbialization process.
Abstract
This paper investigates the history of -ingly adjuncts (such as warningly and sneeringly) which are obtained from present participles and which occur mainly with verbs of saying, watching and motion. Such adverbs can be used in two different ways, depending on the content of their verbal bases. They can refer to a subjective evaluation of a perceptual input (e.g. warningly), thus triggering a manner interpretation. Alternatively, they can describe an independent event which is simultaneous with the main clause event (e.g. sneeringly). In either case, such -ingly adjuncts are classifiable as oriented adverbs since they can be predicated (through their verbal bases) of the main clause subject (in active sentences). On the basis of corpus evidence drawn from the Helsinki Corpus, ARCHER, CLMETEV and the LOB family corpora, it is shown that, although -ingly adjuncts in general became common in the Early Modern English period, the specific verb-based, oriented typed investigated here increased dramatically in fiction writing in the first half of the 19th century and has remained relatively constant since then. Finally, the rise of -ingly adjuncts is related to Swan’s adverbialization process.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & acknowledgements vii
- List of abbreviations ix
- Editors’ introduction xi
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Part I. Etymology
- Etymology and the OED 3
- On the etymological relationships of wank , swank , and wonky 21
- Base etymology in the historical thesauri of deverbatives in English 29
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Part II. Semantic fields
- The global organization of the English lexicon and its evolution 65
- Repayment and revenge 85
- Semantic change in the domain of the vocabulary of Christian clergy 99
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Part III. Word-formation
- Abstract noun ‘suffixes’ and text type in Old English 119
- The lexicalisation of syncope 133
- Oriented - ingly adjuncts in Late Modern English 147
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Part IV. Textlinguistics, text types, politeness
- Historical text linguistics 167
- Repetitive and therefore fixed? 189
- Politeness strategies in Late Middle English women’s mystical writing 209
- A diachronic discussion of extenders in English remedies found in the Corpus of Early English Recipes (1350–1850) 223
- “It is with a trembling hand I beg to intrude this letter” 237
- Genre analysis 255
- Index 267
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & acknowledgements vii
- List of abbreviations ix
- Editors’ introduction xi
-
Part I. Etymology
- Etymology and the OED 3
- On the etymological relationships of wank , swank , and wonky 21
- Base etymology in the historical thesauri of deverbatives in English 29
-
Part II. Semantic fields
- The global organization of the English lexicon and its evolution 65
- Repayment and revenge 85
- Semantic change in the domain of the vocabulary of Christian clergy 99
-
Part III. Word-formation
- Abstract noun ‘suffixes’ and text type in Old English 119
- The lexicalisation of syncope 133
- Oriented - ingly adjuncts in Late Modern English 147
-
Part IV. Textlinguistics, text types, politeness
- Historical text linguistics 167
- Repetitive and therefore fixed? 189
- Politeness strategies in Late Middle English women’s mystical writing 209
- A diachronic discussion of extenders in English remedies found in the Corpus of Early English Recipes (1350–1850) 223
- “It is with a trembling hand I beg to intrude this letter” 237
- Genre analysis 255
- Index 267
