LINGUIST List 11.1856

Fri Sep 1 2000

Books: Corpus Based Linguistics

Editor for this issue: Naomi Ogasawara <naomilinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Eric van Broekhuizen, Corpus Based Ling: Multi-word Verbs in Early Modern English, Claridge

CLAUDIA CLARIDGE 
Multi-word Verbs in Early Modern English 
A Corpus-based Study. 
Amsterdam/Atlanta, GA 2000. 336 pp. 
(Language and Computers 32)

ISBN: 90-420-0459-2	Bound Hfl. 175,-/US-$ 74.- 
ISBN: 90-420-0449-5	Paper Hfl. 60,-/US-$ 26.50

The topic of this book fits in with the recently growing interest in
phraseology and fixedness in English. It offers a description of multi-word
verbs in the language of the 17th and 18th centuries, an important formative
period for Modern English. For the first time, multi-word verbs are treated
together as a group, as it is argued that phrasal verbs, prepositional
verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs, verb-adjective combinations and
verbo-nominal combinations share defining characteristics. These
characteristics are also reflected in similar possibilities of usage, in
particular the subtle modification of verbal meaning and these verbs'
potential for topicalization structures, both leading to a greater
expressiveness.

Using a new text collection, the Lampeter Corpus of Early Modern English
Tracts (1640-1740), the study provides a description of the multi-word verb
types found, their syntactic behaviour, and their semantic structure. The
composition of the corpus also allowed the examination of the development of
these verbs over time and in different registers. The corpus study is
supplemented by an investigation of attitudes towards multi-word verbs with
the help of contemporary works on language, leading to a more speculative
discussion of the factors influencing the choice between multi-word and
simplex verbs.

List of contents:
1. Introduction: Aims and Scope of the Study
2. The Lampeter Corpus of Early Modern English Tracts
3. Multi-word Verbs as a Group
4. Categories of Multi-word Verbs
5. History of Multi-word Verbs
6. Patterns of the Past: Multi-word Verbs in the Lampeter Corpus 
7. Frequencies and Tendencies
8. Attitudes and Alternatives
9. Making a Choice
10. Conclusion
Appendices (lists of all multi-word verbs found)
References



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