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Chapter 2. The Finnish se että initiated expressions

NPs or not?
  • Karita Suomalainen , Anna Vatanen and Ritva Laury
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The ‘Noun Phrase’ across Languages
This chapter is in the book The ‘Noun Phrase’ across Languages

Abstract

This paper concerns the grammatical category of Finnish expressions initiated with se että (lit. ‘it that’). In earlier studies based on written data, they have been considered clausal NPs functioning as subjects, objects and complements. In our spoken data, both present-day and older, se että initiated expressions have a wider range of functions. We show that some se että expressions have characteristics of NPs, but others are unlike NPs in certain ways, concluding that the category of NP is not binary, but rather a continuum with fuzzy boundaries. We also show that se että has been grammaticized into a projector phrase which does not initiate complement clauses but rather functions as a sedimented formula in the service of interactional practices.

Abstract

This paper concerns the grammatical category of Finnish expressions initiated with se että (lit. ‘it that’). In earlier studies based on written data, they have been considered clausal NPs functioning as subjects, objects and complements. In our spoken data, both present-day and older, se että initiated expressions have a wider range of functions. We show that some se että expressions have characteristics of NPs, but others are unlike NPs in certain ways, concluding that the category of NP is not binary, but rather a continuum with fuzzy boundaries. We also show that se että has been grammaticized into a projector phrase which does not initiate complement clauses but rather functions as a sedimented formula in the service of interactional practices.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  4. Part I. Languages from Europe
  5. Chapter 2. The Finnish se että initiated expressions 11
  6. Chapter 3. Emergent complex noun phrases 43
  7. Chapter 4. The noun phrase as an emergent unit in Finnish 71
  8. Chapter 5. Noun phrases in other-repetitions 93
  9. Chapter 6. Asserting no-problemness in Spanish 119
  10. Chapter 7. Multimodal noun phrases 153
  11. Chapter 8. Nouns and noun phrases in other-initiated repair in English atypical interaction 179
  12. Part II. Languages from other parts of the world
  13. Chapter 9. Multiple nominal expressions in Garrwa conversation 211
  14. Chapter 10. The pragmatics of ‘light nouns’ in Besemah 237
  15. Chapter 11. NP clustering in Mandarin conversational interaction 271
  16. Chapter 12. What can Japanese conversation tell us about ‘NP’? 315
  17. Chapter 13. Robust argument phrases (DPs) but unruly NPs in Maa 329
  18. Index 363
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.128.02suo

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  4. Part I. Languages from Europe
  5. Chapter 2. The Finnish se että initiated expressions 11
  6. Chapter 3. Emergent complex noun phrases 43
  7. Chapter 4. The noun phrase as an emergent unit in Finnish 71
  8. Chapter 5. Noun phrases in other-repetitions 93
  9. Chapter 6. Asserting no-problemness in Spanish 119
  10. Chapter 7. Multimodal noun phrases 153
  11. Chapter 8. Nouns and noun phrases in other-initiated repair in English atypical interaction 179
  12. Part II. Languages from other parts of the world
  13. Chapter 9. Multiple nominal expressions in Garrwa conversation 211
  14. Chapter 10. The pragmatics of ‘light nouns’ in Besemah 237
  15. Chapter 11. NP clustering in Mandarin conversational interaction 271
  16. Chapter 12. What can Japanese conversation tell us about ‘NP’? 315
  17. Chapter 13. Robust argument phrases (DPs) but unruly NPs in Maa 329
  18. Index 363
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