Academic Paper |
|
|
|
|
| Title: | Beyond aspect: <i>will be -ing</i> and <i>shall be -ing</i> |
| Author: | Agnès Celle |
| Institution: | Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 |
| Author: | Nicholas Smith |
| Institution: | University of Salford |
| Linguistic Field: | Historical Linguistics; Syntax |
| Subject Language: |
English
|
| Abstract: | 'This article discusses the synchronic status and diachronic development of 'will be -ing' and 'shall be -ing' (as in 'I'll be leaving at noon'). Although available since at least Middle English, the constructions did not establish a significant foothold in standard English until the twentieth century. Both types are also more prevalent in British English (BrE) than American English (AmE). We argue that in present-day usage 'will/shall be -ing' are aspectually underspecified: instances that clearly construe a situation as future-in-progress are in the minority. Similarly, although volition-neutrality has been identified as a key feature of 'will/shall be -ing', it is important to take account of other, generally richer meanings and associations, notably ‘future-as-matter-of-course’ (Leech 2004), ‘already-decided future’ (Huddleston & Pullum et al. 2002) and non-agentivity. Like volition-neutrality, these characteristics appear to be relevant not only in contemporary use, but also in their historical expansion. We show that the construction has evolved from progressive aspect towards more subjectivised evidential meaning. |
|
|
|
|
This article appears in English Language and Linguistics Vol. 14, Issue 2, which you can read on Cambridge's site or on LINGUIST . |
|
|
|
|
Back
Add a new paper Return to Academic Papers main page Return to Directory of Linguists main page |
|
|
About LINGUIST
|
Contact Us
|
Report Broken Link
While the LINGUIST List makes every effort to ensure the linguistic relevance of sites listed on its pages, it cannot vouch for their contents. |
|
