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- Volume 18, Issue, 2011
Functions of Language - Volume 18, Issue 1, 2011
Volume 18, Issue 1, 2011
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Grammatical metaphor in Chinese: A corpus based study
Author(s): Yanning Yangpp.: 1–28 (28)More LessThis article investigates Grammatical Metaphor (GM) in Chinese by analyzing the use of GM instances in a data set formed by 37 extracts from scientific textbooks. The article first develops a framework for the identification and categorization of GM in Chinese. It then explores the distribution of GM categories and GM syndromes. For this aim, the instances in data are identified and quantified in terms of thirteen basic categories and seven types of syndromes. The article also investigates the impacts of generic structure and language development on the deployment of GM. The relationship between GM deployment and generic structure is explored by comparing the degree of GM in extracts drawn from different genres. The effect of language development on GM deployment is explored by comparing the extent of metaphor in extracts representing different levels of writing. It is found that GM distribution in Chinese is not random but determined jointly by the general tendency of GM construction and the typological properties of Chinese. Moreover, this study shows that the deployment of GM is affected by generic structure and language development.
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Alors between discourse and grammar: The role of syntactic position
Author(s): Liesbeth Degand and Benjamin Fagardpp.: 29–56 (28)More LessThis paper presents an in-depth study of the semantics of the French discourse marker alors ‘at that time, then, so’. Its evolution from temporal adverbial with local anaphoric meaning to polysemous marker including conversation management uses in spoken French is traced through a systematic diachronic corpus analysis. Of particular interest in this perspective is the relationship between the different meanings of alors and the position it occupies in the sentence. Our main hypothesis is that the semantic evolution of alors goes hand in hand with grammatical and functional changes leading to new discourse functions, viz. from sentence adverbial to discourse structuring marker. We show that semantic meaning is driven by syntactic position changes which gradually evolve over time.
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The syntactic flexibility of (new) verbs of instrument of communication: A corpus-based study
Author(s): Bernard De Clerck, Filip Verroens, Dominique Willems and Timothy Collemanpp.: 57–86 (30)More LessIn this paper, the structural possibilities of well-established ‘verbs of instruments of communication’ (Levin 1993) such as telephone, fax and telegraph are compared with the syntactic possibilities of recent newcomers to the field such as skype and blackberry. The analysis, which is based on extensive web-based material shows that the structural possibilities of older members are more diverse than reported in previous studies, while the recent Verbs of Instrument of Communication display a set of structural possibilities that is similar to those of the older members, despite their relatively low(er) token frequency. In this way, the data neither entirely refute nor fully corroborate observed links between token frequency (Hollmann 2007) and social distribution (Barðdal 2003, 2008), on the one hand, and syntactic possibilities (e.g. the occurrence in double object constructions), on the other hand. They do show, however, that there is substantial internal variation between individual members of this category in terms of structural preferences, depending on the kinds of events that are depicted. This attested variation also leads us to question the boundaries of this verb category as a whole.
Volumes & issues
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Volume 31 (2024)
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Volume 30 (2023)
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Volume 29 (2022)
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Volume 28 (2021)
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Volume 27 (2020)
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Volume 26 (2019)
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Volume 25 (2018)
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Volume 24 (2017)
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Volume 23 (2016)
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Volume 22 (2015)
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Volume 21 (2014)
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Volume 20 (2013)
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Volume 19 (2012)
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Volume 18 (2011)
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Volume 17 (2010)
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Volume 16 (2009)
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Volume 15 (2008)
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Volume 14 (2007)
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Volume 13 (2006)
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Volume 12 (2005)
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Volume 11 (2004)
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Volume 10 (2003)
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Volume 9 (2002)
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Volume 8 (2001)
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Volume 7 (2000)
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Volume 6 (1999)
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Volume 5 (1998)
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Volume 4 (1997)
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Volume 3 (1996)
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Volume 2 (1995)
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Volume 1 (1994)
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Language patterns and ATTITUDE
Author(s): Monika Bednarek
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