Contextualizing dual-form adverbs in the Old Bailey Corpus: An assessment of semantic, pragmatic, and sociolinguistic factors
-
Ruth Möhlig-Falke
Abstract
This article is concerned with the so-called dual-form adverbs of English, which are a group of adverbs that may occur both with and without the adverbial suffix -ly in similar syntactic environments. Based on data taken from the Old Bailey Corpus 2.0 for the period between c. 1730-1910, this study explores the impact of micro- and macro-context on variable adverb marking with the aim of identifying factors that explain why these adverbs have resisted the general trend towards -LY-marking for so long, with some of them still appearing with variable adverb marking up to today. The main reasons for this variability are identified to be the semantic-pragmatic orientation of individual adverbs to different entities in the clause, the general fuzziness of the category boundary between adjective and adverb, and the adverbs’ highly context-sensitive interpretation. Sociolinguistic aspects, mentioned as possible additional factors in the literature on variable adverb marking, are identified as only secondarily responsible.
Abstract
This article is concerned with the so-called dual-form adverbs of English, which are a group of adverbs that may occur both with and without the adverbial suffix -ly in similar syntactic environments. Based on data taken from the Old Bailey Corpus 2.0 for the period between c. 1730-1910, this study explores the impact of micro- and macro-context on variable adverb marking with the aim of identifying factors that explain why these adverbs have resisted the general trend towards -LY-marking for so long, with some of them still appearing with variable adverb marking up to today. The main reasons for this variability are identified to be the semantic-pragmatic orientation of individual adverbs to different entities in the clause, the general fuzziness of the category boundary between adjective and adverb, and the adverbs’ highly context-sensitive interpretation. Sociolinguistic aspects, mentioned as possible additional factors in the literature on variable adverb marking, are identified as only secondarily responsible.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- List of tables and figures VII
- Grammar – discourse – context: Grammatical variation and change and the usage-based perspective 1
- Contextualizing Old English noun phrases 15
- Syntax, text type, genre and authorial voice in Old English: A data-driven approach 49
- The intensifier system of the Ormulum and the interplay of micro-level and macro-level contexts in linguistic change 93
- Constructional change across the lifespan: The nominative and infinitive in early modern writers 125
- Contextualizing dual-form adverbs in the Old Bailey Corpus: An assessment of semantic, pragmatic, and sociolinguistic factors 157
- Bridging contexts in the reanalysis of naturally as a sentence adverb: A corpus study 191
- From parataxis to amalgamation: The emergence of the sentence-final is all construction in the history of American English 221
- The role of context in the entrenchment of new grammatical markers in World Englishes 249
- Paradigms, host classes, and ancillariness: A comparison of three approaches to grammatical status 277
- The motivated unmotivated: Variation, function and context 305
- Grammar in context: On the role of hypercharacterization in language variation and change 333
- List of contributors 365
- Index 367
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- List of tables and figures VII
- Grammar – discourse – context: Grammatical variation and change and the usage-based perspective 1
- Contextualizing Old English noun phrases 15
- Syntax, text type, genre and authorial voice in Old English: A data-driven approach 49
- The intensifier system of the Ormulum and the interplay of micro-level and macro-level contexts in linguistic change 93
- Constructional change across the lifespan: The nominative and infinitive in early modern writers 125
- Contextualizing dual-form adverbs in the Old Bailey Corpus: An assessment of semantic, pragmatic, and sociolinguistic factors 157
- Bridging contexts in the reanalysis of naturally as a sentence adverb: A corpus study 191
- From parataxis to amalgamation: The emergence of the sentence-final is all construction in the history of American English 221
- The role of context in the entrenchment of new grammatical markers in World Englishes 249
- Paradigms, host classes, and ancillariness: A comparison of three approaches to grammatical status 277
- The motivated unmotivated: Variation, function and context 305
- Grammar in context: On the role of hypercharacterization in language variation and change 333
- List of contributors 365
- Index 367
