From clause to adverb
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María José López-Couso
Abstract
This chapter is concerned with the origin and development of the English epistemic adverb maybe. Using various historical corpora, including the Helsinki Corpus and ARCHER as a baseline, we analyse a range of structures featuring the sequence (it) may be, paying special attention to those which may have contributed, in varying degrees, to the emergence of the adverb maybe. We argue that the development of maybe can be regarded as an instance of grammaticalization, whereby a matrix clause in a complementation structure (it may be (that)…) is downgraded to a parenthetical, thus losing its original clausal morpho-syntactic features, and eventually becoming an adverb. Therefore, the adverbialization of maybe seems to have followed a similar path of development to that of (quasi-)adverbs such as methinks and looks like. We also argue, however, that even though complement-taking-predicate clauses are the ultimate main source of the adverb, via an intermediate parenthetical stage, other constructions (e.g. it may be + phrasal constituent) may have played a role in its development.
Abstract
This chapter is concerned with the origin and development of the English epistemic adverb maybe. Using various historical corpora, including the Helsinki Corpus and ARCHER as a baseline, we analyse a range of structures featuring the sequence (it) may be, paying special attention to those which may have contributed, in varying degrees, to the emergence of the adverb maybe. We argue that the development of maybe can be regarded as an instance of grammaticalization, whereby a matrix clause in a complementation structure (it may be (that)…) is downgraded to a parenthetical, thus losing its original clausal morpho-syntactic features, and eventually becoming an adverb. Therefore, the adverbialization of maybe seems to have followed a similar path of development to that of (quasi-)adverbs such as methinks and looks like. We also argue, however, that even though complement-taking-predicate clauses are the ultimate main source of the adverb, via an intermediate parenthetical stage, other constructions (e.g. it may be + phrasal constituent) may have played a role in its development.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Extra-clausal constituents 1
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Part 1. The multifunctionality of ECCs
- Pragmatic markers as constructions. The case of anyway 29
- The (the) fact is (that) construction in English and Dutch 59
- Planning what to say 97
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Part 2. The diachronic development of ECCs
- Mirativity and rhetorical structure 125
- From clause to adverb 157
- Towards a unified constructional characterisation of the nonfinite periphery 177
- Left-dislocated strings in Modern English epistolary prose 203
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Part 3. ECCs in bilingual settings
- Extra-clausal constituents and language contact 243
- The role of extra-clausal constituents in bilingual speech 273
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Part 4. ECCs: a grammar of their own?
- The syntax of confirmationals 305
- On the grammatical status of insubordinate if-clauses 341
- Intensifying adverbs ‘outside the clause’ 379
- Aspects of discourse marker sequencing 417
- Index 447
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Extra-clausal constituents 1
-
Part 1. The multifunctionality of ECCs
- Pragmatic markers as constructions. The case of anyway 29
- The (the) fact is (that) construction in English and Dutch 59
- Planning what to say 97
-
Part 2. The diachronic development of ECCs
- Mirativity and rhetorical structure 125
- From clause to adverb 157
- Towards a unified constructional characterisation of the nonfinite periphery 177
- Left-dislocated strings in Modern English epistolary prose 203
-
Part 3. ECCs in bilingual settings
- Extra-clausal constituents and language contact 243
- The role of extra-clausal constituents in bilingual speech 273
-
Part 4. ECCs: a grammar of their own?
- The syntax of confirmationals 305
- On the grammatical status of insubordinate if-clauses 341
- Intensifying adverbs ‘outside the clause’ 379
- Aspects of discourse marker sequencing 417
- Index 447
