Modelling ‘selection’ between referents in the English nominal group
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Robin P. Fawcett
Abstract
This paper addresses two issues, one descriptive and one methodological. It offers a description of the English nominal group (aka noun phrase) that greatly extends the traditional concept of ‘determiner’. More specifically, it describes an integrated semantics and functional syntax for the quantifying and deictic determiners, based on the concept of ‘selection’. This approach has the advantage over standard representations that, when analyzing (1) five books, (2) those books and (3) five of those books, the words five, those and books expound the same element in each case. The paper then shows how this approach can be extended to eight other determiners and their associated uses of of (and, incidentally, the structure for its remaining uses). But there is equal emphasis on the methodology used to establish which of three possible types of structure should be used to model such examples, and the paper concludes by suggesting that the ultimate criteria are those of elegance in the operation of the grammar.
Abstract
This paper addresses two issues, one descriptive and one methodological. It offers a description of the English nominal group (aka noun phrase) that greatly extends the traditional concept of ‘determiner’. More specifically, it describes an integrated semantics and functional syntax for the quantifying and deictic determiners, based on the concept of ‘selection’. This approach has the advantage over standard representations that, when analyzing (1) five books, (2) those books and (3) five of those books, the words five, those and books expound the same element in each case. The paper then shows how this approach can be extended to eight other determiners and their associated uses of of (and, incidentally, the structure for its remaining uses). But there is equal emphasis on the methodology used to establish which of three possible types of structure should be used to model such examples, and the paper concludes by suggesting that the ultimate criteria are those of elegance in the operation of the grammar.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors ix
- Editorial introduction xvii
- Publications of Angela Downing xxvii
- Grammar as an adaptive evolutionary product 1
- Towards a cognitive-functional model of text comprehension 41
- Towards an integrational approach in linguistics 81
- Expressing past habit in English and Swedish 97
- Do cognate and circumstantial complements of intransitive verbs form one ‘Range’? 129
- The unconscious, irresponsible construction in Modern Icelandic 149
- Modelling ‘selection’ between referents in the English nominal group 165
- Problems in NP structure 205
- Double-possessive nominalizations in English 217
- Pragmatics, word order and cross-reference 233
- Patterns of multiple theme and their role in developing English writing skills 257
- Interactive solution-problems 279
- The English Contrastive Discourse Marker instead 301
- Global and local attention in task-oriented conversation 313
- Metadiscursive and interpersonal values of pronominal topics in spoken Spanish 327
- Phatic communion and small talk in fictional dialogues 349
- Mister so-called X 359
- ‘Sorry to muddy the waters’ 395
- The discourse functionality of adjectival and adverbial epistemic expressions 419
- Modality across World Englishes 447
- Name index 469
- Subject index 473
- Language index 481
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors ix
- Editorial introduction xvii
- Publications of Angela Downing xxvii
- Grammar as an adaptive evolutionary product 1
- Towards a cognitive-functional model of text comprehension 41
- Towards an integrational approach in linguistics 81
- Expressing past habit in English and Swedish 97
- Do cognate and circumstantial complements of intransitive verbs form one ‘Range’? 129
- The unconscious, irresponsible construction in Modern Icelandic 149
- Modelling ‘selection’ between referents in the English nominal group 165
- Problems in NP structure 205
- Double-possessive nominalizations in English 217
- Pragmatics, word order and cross-reference 233
- Patterns of multiple theme and their role in developing English writing skills 257
- Interactive solution-problems 279
- The English Contrastive Discourse Marker instead 301
- Global and local attention in task-oriented conversation 313
- Metadiscursive and interpersonal values of pronominal topics in spoken Spanish 327
- Phatic communion and small talk in fictional dialogues 349
- Mister so-called X 359
- ‘Sorry to muddy the waters’ 395
- The discourse functionality of adjectival and adverbial epistemic expressions 419
- Modality across World Englishes 447
- Name index 469
- Subject index 473
- Language index 481
