Variation and change at the interface of syntax and semantics
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Ole Schützler
Abstract
Based on the Corpus of Historical American English (COHA), this chapter inspects diachronic changes of constructions involving the concessive conjunctions although, though and even though from the 1860s to the present day. Following a short summary of changes in semantics and clause structures, the main focus lies on factors that have an effect on the position of the subordinate clause relative to the matrix clause. A Bayesian logistic regression model is used to investigate in how far the position of a subordinate clause can be predicted from the semantics of the entire construction, the connective that is used, and the weight (or length) of the complement, and whether the preferred positions of subordinate clauses change over time.
Abstract
Based on the Corpus of Historical American English (COHA), this chapter inspects diachronic changes of constructions involving the concessive conjunctions although, though and even though from the 1860s to the present day. Following a short summary of changes in semantics and clause structures, the main focus lies on factors that have an effect on the position of the subordinate clause relative to the matrix clause. A Bayesian logistic regression model is used to investigate in how far the position of a subordinate clause can be predicted from the semantics of the entire construction, the connective that is used, and the weight (or length) of the complement, and whether the preferred positions of subordinate clauses change over time.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- The dynamics of changes in the early English inflection 9
- “Subsumed under the dative”? 35
- ‘Thone vpon thother’ 57
- Leveraging grammaticalization 77
- Old English wolde and sceolde 111
- A corpus-based study on the development of dare in Middle English and Early Modern English 129
- Counterfactuality and aktionsart 149
- Conservatism or the influence of the semantics of motion situation in the choice of perfect auxiliaries in Jane Austen’s letters and novels 175
- Signs of grammaticalization 199
- From time-before-place to place-before-time in the history of English 223
- Variation and change at the interface of syntax and semantics 247
- Further explorations in the grammar of intensifier marking in Modern English 269
- The rivalry between far from being + predicative item and its counterpart omitting the copula in Modern English 287
- Index 309
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- The dynamics of changes in the early English inflection 9
- “Subsumed under the dative”? 35
- ‘Thone vpon thother’ 57
- Leveraging grammaticalization 77
- Old English wolde and sceolde 111
- A corpus-based study on the development of dare in Middle English and Early Modern English 129
- Counterfactuality and aktionsart 149
- Conservatism or the influence of the semantics of motion situation in the choice of perfect auxiliaries in Jane Austen’s letters and novels 175
- Signs of grammaticalization 199
- From time-before-place to place-before-time in the history of English 223
- Variation and change at the interface of syntax and semantics 247
- Further explorations in the grammar of intensifier marking in Modern English 269
- The rivalry between far from being + predicative item and its counterpart omitting the copula in Modern English 287
- Index 309
