Negative polarity is one of the more elusive aspects of linguistics and a subject which has been gaining in importance in recent years. Written from within the well-defined theoretical frameword of Generalized Quantifiers, the three main areas considered in this study are: collocations, polarity items, and multiple negations. It takes into account not only semantic and syntactic considerations but also, to a large extent, pragmatic ones, illustrating a wide range of linguistic approaches.
Negative polarity is one of the more elusive aspects of linguistics and a subject which has been gaining in importance in recent years. Written from w...
This study presents a semantic framework for analysing all aspectual constructions in terms of the event-state distinction, and describes the grammatical expression of aspectual meanings in terms of a theory of grammatic constructions.
This study presents a semantic framework for analysing all aspectual constructions in terms of the event-state distinction, and describes the grammati...
Intensifiers play a profoundly important role in many areas of grammar, notably reflexivity. This volume represents a study of this neglected area. It explores the syntax and semantics of intensifiers and offers a contrastive analysis of the properties of these expressions in English and German. Such little work has been done on intensifiers that not even their basic categorical status is agreed on. Previous studies have subsumed them under classes as heterogeneous as personal pronouns, reflexives and adverbs, with all of these labels highlighting relevant aspects of their distribution and...
Intensifiers play a profoundly important role in many areas of grammar, notably reflexivity. This volume represents a study of this neglected area. It...
Constructions such as 'make an accusation against', or 'give one's approval for' can be seen as 'stretched' versions of simple verbs, such as 'accuse' or 'approve of'. What is the precise linguistic nature of stretched verbs, and how many basic types are there? What kinds of grammatical connections are involved, and what lexical limits are there on these constructions? What is their precise semantic value? These are some of the questions that this book sets out to answer in its investigation of stretched verb constructions.
Constructions such as 'make an accusation against', or 'give one's approval for' can be seen as 'stretched' versions of simple verbs...
Despite the advances of radio and television and increasing mobility and urbanization, spoken English is by no means becoming more like the written standard. English dialect grammar, however, is still a new and relatively undeveloped area of research, and most studies to date are either restricted regionally, or based on impressionistic statements. This book provides the first thorough empirical study of the field of non-standard negation across Great Britain.
Despite the advances of radio and television and increasing mobility and urbanization, spoken English is by no means becoming more like the written st...
English self-forms and related words from other Germanic languages (e.g. Dutch zelf, Swedish sjalv, etc.) are used in two different functions: as 'intensifiers' (e.g. The president himself made the decision) and as markers of reflexivity (John criticized himself). On the basis of a comparative syntactic and semantic analysis, this book addresses the question of why two such apparently different functions can be expressed by the same word. This question is answered by showing that both intensifying and reflexive self-forms can be...
English self-forms and related words from other Germanic languages (e.g. Dutch zelf, Swedish sjalv, etc.) are used in two differ...
Tense is one of the central issues of linguistics, and has been the focus of much attention in recent years. In this book, Declerck offers a detailed discussion of the temporal structures that are expressed by the combination of tense forms with the conjunction when.
Tense is one of the central issues of linguistics, and has been the focus of much attention in recent years. In this book, Declerck offers a detailed ...
This study provides an illuminating and ground-breaking account of the complex interaction of intonational phenomena, semantics and pragmatics. Based on examples from German and English, and centred on an analysis of the fall-rise intonation contour, a semantic interpretation for two different pitch accents - Focus and Topic - is developed. The cross-sentence, as well as the sentence internal semantic effects of these accents, follow from the given treatment. The account is based on Montogovian possible world semantics and Chomskian generative syntax.
This study provides an illuminating and ground-breaking account of the complex interaction of intonational phenomena, semantics and pragmatics. Based ...
In this book, contributors have been brought together to discuss the role of two major factors shaping the grammars of different varieties of English (and of other languages) all over the world: so-called vernacular universals and contact-induced change. Rather than assuming a general typological perspective, the studies in this volume focus on putative universal vernacular features - significant phonological or (morpho-) syntactic parallels found in non-standard varieties of English, English-based Creoles, and also varieties of other languages, all of which represent widely differing...
In this book, contributors have been brought together to discuss the role of two major factors shaping the grammars of different varieties of Engli...
Although the grammatical expression of reciprocal (or 'mutual') situations in the languages of the world has received a surprising amount of attention in recent years, so far no comprehensive study specifically dealing with the historical development and synchronic structure of English reciprocal constructions has been published. This book takes into consideration insights from the three major research projects on reciprocity in the languages of the world as well as the rich literature on more specific aspects of reciprocity. Assuming a usage-based model of grammar, the development of the...
Although the grammatical expression of reciprocal (or 'mutual') situations in the languages of the world has received a surprising amount of attent...
