LINGUIST List 13.1655

Tue Jun 11 2002

Books: Syntax:Atemporal Complement Clauses in English

Editor for this issue: Dina Kapetangianni <dinalinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. LINCOM EUROPA, Atemporal Complement Clauses in English:A Cognitive Grammar Analysis byZeki Hamawand

Atemporal Complement Clauses in English:A Cognitive Grammar Analysis

Zeki Hamawand

University of Hamburg

This book deals with verbal complementation in English, namely the
introduction of a complement clause into the immediate domination of
the verb phrase of a main clause. Its scope of analysis is confined
primarily to atemporal (non-finite) complement clauses represented by
infinitives, participles and gerunds. The notion atemporal refers to a
complement clause that is not grounded in time, and so not anchored
with respect to elaborated reality. The framework in which the
analysis is conducted is Cognitive Grammar (henceforth CG). The
general goal of the analysis is to emphasise the importance of
cognitive processes in motivating the linguistic structures of
language, regard the syntactic form of an expression as reflecting its
conceptual organisation and recognise the speaker's capacity to
express a situation in alternate ways. Each expression imparts a
particular meaning which is distinguishable from the other.


The specific goal of the analysis is to account for the selection of a
type of a complement clause construction, which is a function of both
meaning and distribution. The meaning of a complement clause
construction, which determines its form, is the result of the
particular construal the speaker imposes on its conceptual
content. Conceptual content refers to the context of knowledge against
which the meaning of the construction is characterised. Construal
refers to the particular image the speaker selects from a range of
alternatives to structure the content of the
construction. Distribution is the result of the semantic compatibility
that exists between the internal parts of the construction. By
integrating all the variables relevant for complement selection, the
book presents a unified account of aspects of verbal complementation,
and so represents the first in-depth cognitive analysis of atemporal
complement clauses in English.

ISBN 3 89586 753 5.

LINCOM Studies in English Linguistics 01

350pp. USD 68 / EUR 70 / £ 45.

Free copies of LINCOM's catalogue 2002 (project line 12)
are now available from

LINCOM.EUROPAt-online.de

LINCOM electronic n.e.w.s.l.e.t.t.e.r.: New books in June 2002.

http://www.lincom-europa.com

LINCOM EUROPA, Freibadstr. 3, D-81543 Muenchen, Germany; 
FAX +49 89 62269404; 
http://www.lincom-europa.com
LINCOM.EUROPAt-online.de.