Complex prepositions and variation within the PNP construction
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Adam Smith
Abstract
This study looks at the variations within preposition + noun + preposition (PNP) sequences such as at (the) risk of, commonly classified as complex prepositions (CPs). The current literature suggests that the more indivisible the structure, the more grammaticalised the unit. Representations of complex prepositions within contemporary grammars indicate that the most common intruder within the fixed PNP sequence is the definite article. Synchronic and diachronic corpus studies were carried out to assess how fixed the form with the definite article is, and whether any CPs have shown a recent tendency to lose it. Decategorialisation was found to be only a minor factor for the CPs investigated, with a combination of semantic and grammatical factors featuring in the grammaticalisation process.
Abstract
This study looks at the variations within preposition + noun + preposition (PNP) sequences such as at (the) risk of, commonly classified as complex prepositions (CPs). The current literature suggests that the more indivisible the structure, the more grammaticalised the unit. Representations of complex prepositions within contemporary grammars indicate that the most common intruder within the fixed PNP sequence is the definite article. Synchronic and diachronic corpus studies were carried out to assess how fixed the form with the definite article is, and whether any CPs have shown a recent tendency to lose it. Decategorialisation was found to be only a minor factor for the CPs investigated, with a combination of semantic and grammatical factors featuring in the grammaticalisation process.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Introduction 1
-
Sequence and order
- Sequence and order 13
- Mom and Dad but Men and Women 35
- Sequences of size adjectives in text 47
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Competing constructions
- The competition between the intensifiers dead and deadly 71
- Has go -V ousted go-and -V? 91
- The construction cannot help -ing and its rivals in Modern English 113
- From reduction to emancipation 133
- Complex prepositions and variation within the PNP construction 153
-
Emerging patterns
- A finer definition of neology in English 177
- A corpus-based study of gender assignment in recent English loanwords in Norwegian 209
- The return of the prefix? New verb-particle combinations in blogs 223
-
Correlating patterns and meaning
- Modality and the V wh pattern 247
- Assessing corpus search methods in onomasiological investigations 271
- Author index 293
- Subject index 297
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Introduction 1
-
Sequence and order
- Sequence and order 13
- Mom and Dad but Men and Women 35
- Sequences of size adjectives in text 47
-
Competing constructions
- The competition between the intensifiers dead and deadly 71
- Has go -V ousted go-and -V? 91
- The construction cannot help -ing and its rivals in Modern English 113
- From reduction to emancipation 133
- Complex prepositions and variation within the PNP construction 153
-
Emerging patterns
- A finer definition of neology in English 177
- A corpus-based study of gender assignment in recent English loanwords in Norwegian 209
- The return of the prefix? New verb-particle combinations in blogs 223
-
Correlating patterns and meaning
- Modality and the V wh pattern 247
- Assessing corpus search methods in onomasiological investigations 271
- Author index 293
- Subject index 297
