Functions of Language - Volume 10, Issue 1, 2003

This study investigates the interpersonal functions of basic and reversed wh-clefts extracted from the Freiburg LOB corpus of written English (FLOB). It shows that, within the framework of appraisal (Martin 2000, White 2001), wh-clefts function in the heteroglossic system of engagement. They allow writers to acknowledge the existence of divergent positions in the text. At the same time they are dialogistically contractive. They close down discussion by expressing the authorial position in preference to all other alternative positions. This rhetorical strategy increases the argumentative force of the authorial position. Basic wh-clefts tend to express newsworthy, often contrastive, authorial positions, whereas reversed wh-clefts tend to negotiate, confirm and sometimes challenge already established authorial positions.

This paper examines the comparative frequency of two complementation patterns (that-clause and wh-clause) with the different wordforms of twenty-six verb lemmas. It is found that in the majority of cases the patterns co-occur differentially with the different word forms. In particular, the wh- clause tends to occur most frequently with the base form while the that-clause occurs with the -ed form. This is explained in terms of the phraseology of the larger unit of which wordform and pattern are a part and in terms of what is construed by the complementation clause. Not all verbs conform to this pattern, however, and alternative combinations of wordform and pattern are also discussed. This paper is intended to test quantitatively the hypothesis that the wordforms comprising lemmas behave differently in terms of their preferred grammatical context. This hypothesis in turn is part of a more general theory that argues for the interdependence of lexis and grammar.