Ronald W. Langacker
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195331967
- eISBN:
- 9780199868209
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331967.003.0004
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
The standard doctrine that basic grammatical classes (parts of speech) are not semantically definable rests on erroneous assumptions about the nature of linguistic meaning. With a proper view of ...
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The standard doctrine that basic grammatical classes (parts of speech) are not semantically definable rests on erroneous assumptions about the nature of linguistic meaning. With a proper view of meaning, basic categories—notably noun and verb—have plausible conceptual characterizations at both the prototype level (for typical examples) and the schema level (valid for all instances). The prototypes are based on conceptual archetypes: objects for nouns, and actions for verbs. The schemas are independent of any particular conceptual content, residing instead in basic cognitive abilities immanent in the archetypes: for nouns, grouping and reification; in the case of verbs, the ability to apprend relationships and to track their evolution through time. An expression's grammatical category specifically depends on the nature of its profile (not its overall content). Thus a noun profiles a thing (defined abstractly as any product of grouping and reification), while a verb profiles a process (a relationship tracked through time). Expressions that profile non-processual relationships include adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, infinitives, and participles. Relational expressions can be categorized in different ways, depending on factors like the number and type of focused participants, whether the profiled relation is simplex or complex, and whether it is apprehended holistically or sequentially. These characterizations prove efficacious in describing how relational expressions function as noun modifiers and in clausal organization.Less
The standard doctrine that basic grammatical classes (parts of speech) are not semantically definable rests on erroneous assumptions about the nature of linguistic meaning. With a proper view of meaning, basic categories—notably noun and verb—have plausible conceptual characterizations at both the prototype level (for typical examples) and the schema level (valid for all instances). The prototypes are based on conceptual archetypes: objects for nouns, and actions for verbs. The schemas are independent of any particular conceptual content, residing instead in basic cognitive abilities immanent in the archetypes: for nouns, grouping and reification; in the case of verbs, the ability to apprend relationships and to track their evolution through time. An expression's grammatical category specifically depends on the nature of its profile (not its overall content). Thus a noun profiles a thing (defined abstractly as any product of grouping and reification), while a verb profiles a process (a relationship tracked through time). Expressions that profile non-processual relationships include adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, infinitives, and participles. Relational expressions can be categorized in different ways, depending on factors like the number and type of focused participants, whether the profiled relation is simplex or complex, and whether it is apprehended holistically or sequentially. These characterizations prove efficacious in describing how relational expressions function as noun modifiers and in clausal organization.
REGINA PUSTET
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199258505
- eISBN:
- 9780191717727
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199258505.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Syntax and Morphology
This book discusses copulas and their function, their morphosyntactic properties, their syntagmatic properties such as their compatibility with different parts of speech, their historical origin, and ...
More
This book discusses copulas and their function, their morphosyntactic properties, their syntagmatic properties such as their compatibility with different parts of speech, their historical origin, and their distribution in discourse. Copulas are thought to be meaningless, that is, ‘semantically empty’. This leads to one of the central questions the present study is concerned with: if the existence of copulas cannot be accounted for in terms of meaning, how can it be accounted for? Usually, the existence of linguistic items of whatever kind can be motivated through the meanings they carry. Moreover, the fact that copulas are lacking entirely in certain languages, such as Tagalog, indicates that languages can operate effectively without copulas. This book covers the following topics about copulas: copulas in cross-linguistic perspective, copularization and lexical semantics, the multi-factor model of copularization, parts of speech, nouns, verbs, adjectives, markedness, time-stability, and lexical class formation.Less
This book discusses copulas and their function, their morphosyntactic properties, their syntagmatic properties such as their compatibility with different parts of speech, their historical origin, and their distribution in discourse. Copulas are thought to be meaningless, that is, ‘semantically empty’. This leads to one of the central questions the present study is concerned with: if the existence of copulas cannot be accounted for in terms of meaning, how can it be accounted for? Usually, the existence of linguistic items of whatever kind can be motivated through the meanings they carry. Moreover, the fact that copulas are lacking entirely in certain languages, such as Tagalog, indicates that languages can operate effectively without copulas. This book covers the following topics about copulas: copulas in cross-linguistic perspective, copularization and lexical semantics, the multi-factor model of copularization, parts of speech, nouns, verbs, adjectives, markedness, time-stability, and lexical class formation.
David Langslow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198153023
- eISBN:
- 9780191715211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198153023.003.0013
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced, and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and ...
More
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced, and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and Hermann Paul is discussed. The chapter illustrates (Lectures 9–11) various types of syntactic assimilation (of number, gender, case, the relative pronoun,mood, tense), and (Lecture 12) of syntactic interference by association of ideas, and reviews (Lectures 12–13) three recent introductions to syntax (especially that of Wilhelm Kroll). The general introduction concludes with a few pages on the parts of speech and the permeable boundaries between them (verbs from nouns, and nouns from verbs).Less
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced, and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and Hermann Paul is discussed. The chapter illustrates (Lectures 9–11) various types of syntactic assimilation (of number, gender, case, the relative pronoun,mood, tense), and (Lecture 12) of syntactic interference by association of ideas, and reviews (Lectures 12–13) three recent introductions to syntax (especially that of Wilhelm Kroll). The general introduction concludes with a few pages on the parts of speech and the permeable boundaries between them (verbs from nouns, and nouns from verbs).
David Langslow (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198153023
- eISBN:
- 9780191715211
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198153023.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book offers an English version of two series of highly-acclaimed introductory lectures given by the Swiss linguist and classical philologist Jacob Wackernagel (1853–1938) at the University of ...
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This book offers an English version of two series of highly-acclaimed introductory lectures given by the Swiss linguist and classical philologist Jacob Wackernagel (1853–1938) at the University of Basel in 1918/19 on aspects of the morphosyntax of Greek, Latin, and the Germanic languages, and published at his students' prompting. The subjects covered — after a long introduction to the study of syntax and the parts of speech — are: number, person, voice, tense, mood, infinitive, supine and gerund, participles, case, gender, nouns and adjectives, pronouns, articles, prepositions, and negation. This is a book about grammar, but a grammar-book which talks and charms, and which makes an adventure of the workings of the classical languages. Ninety years after they were first delivered, Wackernagel's Lectures are still among the best available introductions, in any language, to Greek, Latin, and comparative syntax and to many aspects of the history, pre-history, stylistics, and socio-linguistics of Greek and Latin and their relations with other languages — not to mention other subjects brilliantly introduced, such as the history of grammatical terminology. This new edition supplements the German original by providing: a translation of all quotations and examples (and of Wackernagel's additions and corrections — both those printed at the end of the second Swiss edition and some of those left in his manuscript notes), a large number of detailed footnotes offering background information and suggestions for further reading, and a single bibliography which brings together Wackernagel's references and those in the notes.Less
This book offers an English version of two series of highly-acclaimed introductory lectures given by the Swiss linguist and classical philologist Jacob Wackernagel (1853–1938) at the University of Basel in 1918/19 on aspects of the morphosyntax of Greek, Latin, and the Germanic languages, and published at his students' prompting. The subjects covered — after a long introduction to the study of syntax and the parts of speech — are: number, person, voice, tense, mood, infinitive, supine and gerund, participles, case, gender, nouns and adjectives, pronouns, articles, prepositions, and negation. This is a book about grammar, but a grammar-book which talks and charms, and which makes an adventure of the workings of the classical languages. Ninety years after they were first delivered, Wackernagel's Lectures are still among the best available introductions, in any language, to Greek, Latin, and comparative syntax and to many aspects of the history, pre-history, stylistics, and socio-linguistics of Greek and Latin and their relations with other languages — not to mention other subjects brilliantly introduced, such as the history of grammatical terminology. This new edition supplements the German original by providing: a translation of all quotations and examples (and of Wackernagel's additions and corrections — both those printed at the end of the second Swiss edition and some of those left in his manuscript notes), a large number of detailed footnotes offering background information and suggestions for further reading, and a single bibliography which brings together Wackernagel's references and those in the notes.
Andrew Stewart Skinner
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198233343
- eISBN:
- 9780191678974
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198233343.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
One of the first major problems that Adam Smith addressed in the Rhetoric was that of language. Smith believes that the parts of speech should be studied in an analytical manner, and that the ...
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One of the first major problems that Adam Smith addressed in the Rhetoric was that of language. Smith believes that the parts of speech should be studied in an analytical manner, and that the development of the means of communication reveals important features of human nature, most notably with regard to the role of analogy, the capacity for classification, abstraction, and reflection. Smith's interest in language effectively illustrates his own preoccupation with grammar. Having disposed of the issues of language and style, Smith then proceeded to consider the forms of discourse that were employed in the communication of ideas through the medium of the spoken or written word. In Smith's view, all examples of the written word could be reduced to four broad types: the poetical, the historical, the didactic, and the oratorical. Smith also claimed that existing ‘systems’ of rhetoric showed a preoccupation with figures of speech.Less
One of the first major problems that Adam Smith addressed in the Rhetoric was that of language. Smith believes that the parts of speech should be studied in an analytical manner, and that the development of the means of communication reveals important features of human nature, most notably with regard to the role of analogy, the capacity for classification, abstraction, and reflection. Smith's interest in language effectively illustrates his own preoccupation with grammar. Having disposed of the issues of language and style, Smith then proceeded to consider the forms of discourse that were employed in the communication of ideas through the medium of the spoken or written word. In Smith's view, all examples of the written word could be reduced to four broad types: the poetical, the historical, the didactic, and the oratorical. Smith also claimed that existing ‘systems’ of rhetoric showed a preoccupation with figures of speech.
David Langslow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198153023
- eISBN:
- 9780191715211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198153023.003.0058
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of ...
More
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of adjectives as nouns and of nouns as adjectives (including the example of Lat. uber). Lecture 7 concludes the discussion of the boundary line between noun and adjective,and the frequent shifts between the two classes, with special reference to proper names and adjectives. The chapter then offers further observations on nouns and adjectives, in particular on proper names and appellatives, and on certain special uses of derived adjectives: among the latter, the use of a derived adjective in alternation with a genitive, in Greek, Latin, Germanic, and other languages, occupies all of Lecture 8.Less
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of adjectives as nouns and of nouns as adjectives (including the example of Lat. uber). Lecture 7 concludes the discussion of the boundary line between noun and adjective,and the frequent shifts between the two classes, with special reference to proper names and adjectives. The chapter then offers further observations on nouns and adjectives, in particular on proper names and appellatives, and on certain special uses of derived adjectives: among the latter, the use of a derived adjective in alternation with a genitive, in Greek, Latin, Germanic, and other languages, occupies all of Lecture 8.
David Langslow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198153023
- eISBN:
- 9780191715211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198153023.003.0012
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced, and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and ...
More
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced, and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and Hermann Paul is discussed. The chapter illustrates (Lectures 9–11) various types of syntactic assimilation (of number, gender, case,the relative pronoun, mood, tense), and (Lecture 12) of syntactic interference by association of ideas, and reviews (Lectures 12–13) three recent introductions to syntax (especially that of Wilhelm Kroll). The general introduction concludes with a few pages on the parts of speech and the permeable boundaries between them (verbs from nouns, and nouns from verbs).Less
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced, and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and Hermann Paul is discussed. The chapter illustrates (Lectures 9–11) various types of syntactic assimilation (of number, gender, case,the relative pronoun, mood, tense), and (Lecture 12) of syntactic interference by association of ideas, and reviews (Lectures 12–13) three recent introductions to syntax (especially that of Wilhelm Kroll). The general introduction concludes with a few pages on the parts of speech and the permeable boundaries between them (verbs from nouns, and nouns from verbs).
David Langslow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198153023
- eISBN:
- 9780191715211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198153023.003.0057
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of ...
More
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of adjectives as nouns and of nouns as adjectives (including the example of Lat. uber). Lecture 7 concludes the discussion of the boundary line between noun and adjective, and the frequent shifts between the two classes, with special reference to proper names and adjectives. The chapter then offers further observations on nouns and adjectives, in particular on proper names and appellatives, and on certain special uses of derived adjectives: among the latter, the use of a derived adjective in alternation with a genitive, in Greek, Latin, Germanic, and other languages, occupies all of Lecture 8.Less
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of adjectives as nouns and of nouns as adjectives (including the example of Lat. uber). Lecture 7 concludes the discussion of the boundary line between noun and adjective, and the frequent shifts between the two classes, with special reference to proper names and adjectives. The chapter then offers further observations on nouns and adjectives, in particular on proper names and appellatives, and on certain special uses of derived adjectives: among the latter, the use of a derived adjective in alternation with a genitive, in Greek, Latin, Germanic, and other languages, occupies all of Lecture 8.
David Langslow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198153023
- eISBN:
- 9780191715211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198153023.003.0009
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced,and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and Hermann ...
More
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced,and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and Hermann Paul is discussed. The chapter illustrates (Lectures 9–11) various types of syntactic assimilation (of number, gender, case, the relative pronoun, mood, tense), and (Lecture 12) of syntactic interference by association of ideas, and reviews (Lectures 12–13) three recent introductions to syntax (especially that of Wilhelm Kroll). The general introduction concludes with a few pages on the parts of speech and the permeable boundaries between them (verbs from nouns, and nouns from verbs).Less
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced,and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and Hermann Paul is discussed. The chapter illustrates (Lectures 9–11) various types of syntactic assimilation (of number, gender, case, the relative pronoun, mood, tense), and (Lecture 12) of syntactic interference by association of ideas, and reviews (Lectures 12–13) three recent introductions to syntax (especially that of Wilhelm Kroll). The general introduction concludes with a few pages on the parts of speech and the permeable boundaries between them (verbs from nouns, and nouns from verbs).
REGINA PUSTET
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199258505
- eISBN:
- 9780191717727
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199258505.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Syntax and Morphology
The point of departure for this book on copularization had been the discovery of a prospective language universal, that is the scale NOMINALS > ADJECTIVALS > VERBALS, which translates the existing ...
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The point of departure for this book on copularization had been the discovery of a prospective language universal, that is the scale NOMINALS > ADJECTIVALS > VERBALS, which translates the existing distributional patterns of copularizing vs. non-copularizing lexemes into a compact formula. In the extant literature on the pails-of-speech issue, this scale has been proposed repeatedly as it can be used to describe certain aspects of the morphosyntactic properties of lexical items at the universal level. This scale also lends itself to a general characterization in terms of the semantic parameter of time-stability. The possibility of explaining the behavior of copulas by means of a model that redefines the semantic macro-classes of nominals, verbals, and adjectivals in terms of the more profound semantic dimension of time-stability is taken into consideration. This book also considers markedness as a key factor in the copula paradox and a new approach to the issue regarding parts of speech.Less
The point of departure for this book on copularization had been the discovery of a prospective language universal, that is the scale NOMINALS > ADJECTIVALS > VERBALS, which translates the existing distributional patterns of copularizing vs. non-copularizing lexemes into a compact formula. In the extant literature on the pails-of-speech issue, this scale has been proposed repeatedly as it can be used to describe certain aspects of the morphosyntactic properties of lexical items at the universal level. This scale also lends itself to a general characterization in terms of the semantic parameter of time-stability. The possibility of explaining the behavior of copulas by means of a model that redefines the semantic macro-classes of nominals, verbals, and adjectivals in terms of the more profound semantic dimension of time-stability is taken into consideration. This book also considers markedness as a key factor in the copula paradox and a new approach to the issue regarding parts of speech.
David Langslow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198153023
- eISBN:
- 9780191715211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198153023.003.0059
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of ...
More
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of adjectives as nouns and of nouns as adjectives (including the example of Lat. uber). Lecture 7 concludes the discussion of the boundary line between noun and adjective, and the frequent shifts between the two classes,with special reference to proper names and adjectives. The chapter then offers further observations on nouns and adjectives, in particular on proper names and appellatives, and on certain special uses of derived adjectives: among the latter, the use of a derived adjective in alternation with a genitive, in Greek, Latin, Germanic, and other languages, occupies all of Lecture 8.Less
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of adjectives as nouns and of nouns as adjectives (including the example of Lat. uber). Lecture 7 concludes the discussion of the boundary line between noun and adjective, and the frequent shifts between the two classes,with special reference to proper names and adjectives. The chapter then offers further observations on nouns and adjectives, in particular on proper names and appellatives, and on certain special uses of derived adjectives: among the latter, the use of a derived adjective in alternation with a genitive, in Greek, Latin, Germanic, and other languages, occupies all of Lecture 8.
Jeanne Fahnestock
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199764129
- eISBN:
- 9780199918928
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199764129.003.0004
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Applied Linguistics and Pedagogy
The set of words making up a text can be classified in different ways depending on an analyst's goals. Critics often intuitively select certain words for attention. This chapter covers explicit ...
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The set of words making up a text can be classified in different ways depending on an analyst's goals. Critics often intuitively select certain words for attention. This chapter covers explicit categories of word analysis. Words can, for example, be grouped into lexical or semantic fields; these are large fuzzy sets of terms that collocate in the same area of meaning and are retrieved in word association tests. Decisions about the subject of a text depend on the frequency of words from the same lexical field, and the interspersion of terms from other fields can help or harm the persuasiveness of a text. Words can also be related, especially within lexical fields, according to whether they are more or less abstract or concrete, that is, distant or proximate from physical referents. Concrete words, contrary to the advice in many style books, are not critical in rhetorical effectiveness, and in fact rhetorical manuals advised arguers to switch levels and support both particular and general versions of the same claim. The words in a text can also be assigned to functional classes (parts of speech) as a way to inspect how speakers or writers use these available roles. This kind of analysis is performed on paired passages from early twentieth-century nature writing. The chapter closes by reviewing the categories for language analysis created by twentieth-century rhetoricians Kenneth Burke (positive, dialectical, and ultimate terms) and Richard Weaver (god, devil, and charismatic terms).Less
The set of words making up a text can be classified in different ways depending on an analyst's goals. Critics often intuitively select certain words for attention. This chapter covers explicit categories of word analysis. Words can, for example, be grouped into lexical or semantic fields; these are large fuzzy sets of terms that collocate in the same area of meaning and are retrieved in word association tests. Decisions about the subject of a text depend on the frequency of words from the same lexical field, and the interspersion of terms from other fields can help or harm the persuasiveness of a text. Words can also be related, especially within lexical fields, according to whether they are more or less abstract or concrete, that is, distant or proximate from physical referents. Concrete words, contrary to the advice in many style books, are not critical in rhetorical effectiveness, and in fact rhetorical manuals advised arguers to switch levels and support both particular and general versions of the same claim. The words in a text can also be assigned to functional classes (parts of speech) as a way to inspect how speakers or writers use these available roles. This kind of analysis is performed on paired passages from early twentieth-century nature writing. The chapter closes by reviewing the categories for language analysis created by twentieth-century rhetoricians Kenneth Burke (positive, dialectical, and ultimate terms) and Richard Weaver (god, devil, and charismatic terms).
Rita Copeland and Ineke Sluiter (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199653782
- eISBN:
- 9780191803628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199653782.003.0009
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory, Early and Medieval Literature
This chapter discusses Institutiones grammaticae (Institutes of grammar) and Institutio de nomine pronomine verbo (Instruction on the Noun, Pronoun, and Verb), two handbooks written by Priscian of ...
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This chapter discusses Institutiones grammaticae (Institutes of grammar) and Institutio de nomine pronomine verbo (Instruction on the Noun, Pronoun, and Verb), two handbooks written by Priscian of Caesarea, a professor of grammar in the Roman Empire, ca. 520. Institutiones grammaticae deals with vox (voice, sound), letters, and syllables. Priscian's discussion of all parts of speech is supplemented with Regulae-style morphological information. Institutio de nomine pronomine verbo, a beginners' textbook in medieval grammatical teaching, presents the morphology of the noun, pronoun, and verb in a systematic manner.Less
This chapter discusses Institutiones grammaticae (Institutes of grammar) and Institutio de nomine pronomine verbo (Instruction on the Noun, Pronoun, and Verb), two handbooks written by Priscian of Caesarea, a professor of grammar in the Roman Empire, ca. 520. Institutiones grammaticae deals with vox (voice, sound), letters, and syllables. Priscian's discussion of all parts of speech is supplemented with Regulae-style morphological information. Institutio de nomine pronomine verbo, a beginners' textbook in medieval grammatical teaching, presents the morphology of the noun, pronoun, and verb in a systematic manner.
David Langslow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198153023
- eISBN:
- 9780191715211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198153023.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced, and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and ...
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In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced, and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and Hermann Paul is discussed. The chapter illustrates (Lectures 9–11) various types of syntactic assimilation (of number,gender, case, the relative pronoun, mood, tense), and (Lecture 12) of syntactic interference by association of ideas, and reviews (Lectures 12–13) three recent introductions to syntax (especially that of Wilhelm Kroll). The general introduction concludes with a few pages on the parts of speech and the permeable boundaries between them (verbs from nouns, and nouns from verbs).Less
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced, and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and Hermann Paul is discussed. The chapter illustrates (Lectures 9–11) various types of syntactic assimilation (of number,gender, case, the relative pronoun, mood, tense), and (Lecture 12) of syntactic interference by association of ideas, and reviews (Lectures 12–13) three recent introductions to syntax (especially that of Wilhelm Kroll). The general introduction concludes with a few pages on the parts of speech and the permeable boundaries between them (verbs from nouns, and nouns from verbs).
David Langslow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198153023
- eISBN:
- 9780191715211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198153023.003.0011
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced, and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and ...
More
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced, and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and Hermann Paul is discussed. The chapter illustrates (Lectures 9–11) various types of syntactic assimilation (of number, gender,case, the relative pronoun, mood, tense), and (Lecture 12) of syntactic interference by association of ideas, and reviews (Lectures 12–13) three recent introductions to syntax (especially that of Wilhelm Kroll). The general introduction concludes with a few pages on the parts of speech and the permeable boundaries between them (verbs from nouns, and nouns from verbs).Less
In Lecture 9, the Indo-European comparative syntax of Berthold Delbrück and Karl Brugmann in introduced, and the psychological approach to language (Völkerpsychologie) of Heymann Steinthal and Hermann Paul is discussed. The chapter illustrates (Lectures 9–11) various types of syntactic assimilation (of number, gender,case, the relative pronoun, mood, tense), and (Lecture 12) of syntactic interference by association of ideas, and reviews (Lectures 12–13) three recent introductions to syntax (especially that of Wilhelm Kroll). The general introduction concludes with a few pages on the parts of speech and the permeable boundaries between them (verbs from nouns, and nouns from verbs).
Dunstan Brown
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- December 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198712329
- eISBN:
- 9780191780882
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198712329.003.0004
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Theoretical Linguistics
Inflectional classes are an instance of autonomous morphology, where expression in form cross-cuts syntactically relevant distinctions. However, most analyses assume some kind of ‘containment’, where ...
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Inflectional classes are an instance of autonomous morphology, where expression in form cross-cuts syntactically relevant distinctions. However, most analyses assume some kind of ‘containment’, where choice of inflectional allomorphs is largely restricted to a part of speech. In default inheritance accounts of morphology higher defaults are assumed to correspond to recognizable parts of speech. Data from Archi and Noon indicate that violations of containment are not so implausible, but even here there is a role for principles, such as Network Morphology’s ‘morphological projection’, or Spencer’s ‘morpholexically coherent lexicon’, that entail a relationship between parts of speech and default morphological classes.Less
Inflectional classes are an instance of autonomous morphology, where expression in form cross-cuts syntactically relevant distinctions. However, most analyses assume some kind of ‘containment’, where choice of inflectional allomorphs is largely restricted to a part of speech. In default inheritance accounts of morphology higher defaults are assumed to correspond to recognizable parts of speech. Data from Archi and Noon indicate that violations of containment are not so implausible, but even here there is a role for principles, such as Network Morphology’s ‘morphological projection’, or Spencer’s ‘morpholexically coherent lexicon’, that entail a relationship between parts of speech and default morphological classes.
D.N.S. BHAT
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199230242
- eISBN:
- 9780191710124
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230242.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics
Languages differ in the kind of distinctions they show in either of the two elements that constitute proforms. In the case of the pronominal element that indicates their function, languages may show ...
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Languages differ in the kind of distinctions they show in either of the two elements that constitute proforms. In the case of the pronominal element that indicates their function, languages may show no distinction whatsoever, or may show several distinctions. In the case of the general term that denotes the scope of proforms also, there is variation among languages, which, however, is correlatable to a certain extent, with the part of speech distinctions that occur in them. There is also some overlap between pronominal elements and general terms in some languages.Less
Languages differ in the kind of distinctions they show in either of the two elements that constitute proforms. In the case of the pronominal element that indicates their function, languages may show no distinction whatsoever, or may show several distinctions. In the case of the general term that denotes the scope of proforms also, there is variation among languages, which, however, is correlatable to a certain extent, with the part of speech distinctions that occur in them. There is also some overlap between pronominal elements and general terms in some languages.
David Denison
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265666
- eISBN:
- 9780191771927
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265666.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
The ‘parts of speech’ which have played a fundamental role in most descriptions of grammar, from primary school curriculum to advanced linguistic theory, are explored in this article, which considers ...
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The ‘parts of speech’ which have played a fundamental role in most descriptions of grammar, from primary school curriculum to advanced linguistic theory, are explored in this article, which considers some intriguing changes in recent everyday English that challenge traditional assumptions about the definition and usefulness of word classes such as ‘pronoun’, ‘adjective’ and ‘noun’. The article raises important questions about what happens at the boundaries between these word classes and looks at how we can answer these questions—potentially changing the direction of both future linguistic research and pedagogical practice.Less
The ‘parts of speech’ which have played a fundamental role in most descriptions of grammar, from primary school curriculum to advanced linguistic theory, are explored in this article, which considers some intriguing changes in recent everyday English that challenge traditional assumptions about the definition and usefulness of word classes such as ‘pronoun’, ‘adjective’ and ‘noun’. The article raises important questions about what happens at the boundaries between these word classes and looks at how we can answer these questions—potentially changing the direction of both future linguistic research and pedagogical practice.
Wolfram Hinzen and Michelle Sheehan
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199654833
- eISBN:
- 9780191747977
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654833.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Theoretical Linguistics, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
What are the effects of grammar on the organization of meaning? A logically possible answer is: none. But this answer seems far too radical: on a number of grounds, it seems implausible that grammar ...
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What are the effects of grammar on the organization of meaning? A logically possible answer is: none. But this answer seems far too radical: on a number of grounds, it seems implausible that grammar would have no such effect on the organization of our rational minds. So what is the effect, exactly? Chapter 2 begins from a form of semantics already present in pre-linguistic perception. But as percepts become lexicalized as words, and as words start to develop grammatical functions, the organization of meaning changes again. We specifically develop an account of the kind of semantics associated with lexical atoms and with part of speech distinctions: the distinction, say, between how the word run functions when read as a noun or as a verb. Once we have arrived there, we argue, we have already arrived at grammar, and the semantics in question reflects how words implement grammatical functions: grammatical semanticsLess
What are the effects of grammar on the organization of meaning? A logically possible answer is: none. But this answer seems far too radical: on a number of grounds, it seems implausible that grammar would have no such effect on the organization of our rational minds. So what is the effect, exactly? Chapter 2 begins from a form of semantics already present in pre-linguistic perception. But as percepts become lexicalized as words, and as words start to develop grammatical functions, the organization of meaning changes again. We specifically develop an account of the kind of semantics associated with lexical atoms and with part of speech distinctions: the distinction, say, between how the word run functions when read as a noun or as a verb. Once we have arrived there, we argue, we have already arrived at grammar, and the semantics in question reflects how words implement grammatical functions: grammatical semantics
Matthew Williams
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781529200201
- eISBN:
- 9781529200225
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781529200201.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter examines changes in Parliament's use of language by analysing every word enacted between 1900 and 2015. It begins with a discussion of four components of legislative language that ...
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This chapter examines changes in Parliament's use of language by analysing every word enacted between 1900 and 2015. It begins with a discussion of four components of legislative language that correspond to the primary parts of speech: adjectives and adverbs can elasticate the substance of policy; conditional conjunctions affect the substance and the procedure by which law is implemented; the extent and timing of policy implementation is implicated by which modal verbs are used; other verbs used also establish discretion, but are more important for changing policy substance. The chapter goes on to explain the data and the methodology used in the study before summarising the results. The evidence shows that there was a significant change in the degree of legislative indeterminacy, and that legislation has changed not only in degree but also in kind. Adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions were the primary drivers of changes in indeterminate legislation.Less
This chapter examines changes in Parliament's use of language by analysing every word enacted between 1900 and 2015. It begins with a discussion of four components of legislative language that correspond to the primary parts of speech: adjectives and adverbs can elasticate the substance of policy; conditional conjunctions affect the substance and the procedure by which law is implemented; the extent and timing of policy implementation is implicated by which modal verbs are used; other verbs used also establish discretion, but are more important for changing policy substance. The chapter goes on to explain the data and the methodology used in the study before summarising the results. The evidence shows that there was a significant change in the degree of legislative indeterminacy, and that legislation has changed not only in degree but also in kind. Adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions were the primary drivers of changes in indeterminate legislation.