LINGUIST List 11.1803
Thu Aug 24 2000
Books: English Linguistics
Editor for this issue: Naomi Ogasawara <naomilinguistlist.org>
Links to the websites of all LINGUIST's supporting publishers are
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Directory
Gillian Caglayan, English Ling: English Abstract Nouns as Conceptual Shells, H.J. Schmid
Gillian Caglayan, English Ling: Emerging English Modals, M. Krug
Message 1: English Ling: English Abstract Nouns as Conceptual Shells, H.J. Schmid
Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 10:37:15 +0200
From: Gillian Caglayan <G.CaglayandeGruyter.de>
Subject: English Ling: English Abstract Nouns as Conceptual Shells, H.J. Schmid
New Publication from Mouton de Gruyter!
>From the Series
Topics in English Linguistics
Series Editors: Elizabeth Closs Traugott and Bernd Kortmann
Hans-J�rg Schmid
English Abstract Nouns as Conceptual Shells
>From Corpus to Cognition
2000. 23 x 15,5 cm. XI, 457 pages.
Cloth. DM 178,- /EUR 91,01 /�S 1299,- /sFr 158,- /approx. US$ 89.00
ISBN 3-11-0167670
(Topics in English Linguistics 34)
Being somewhat elusive, abstract nouns have never been very popular as
objects of linguistic research. English Abstract Nouns as Conceptual
Shells fills this long-standing gap in English and general
linguistics. Based on a systematic analysis of a very large corpus,
it introduces a conceptual and terminological framework for the
linguistic description of abstract nouns. The uses and meanings of 670
abstract English nouns are described, among them some of the most
frequently used nouns in English like thing, fact, case, point, idea,
reason, problem and question. Going beyond mere description, the book
then explains the ways in which speakers and writers of English
benefit from the use of these nouns. Semantic, pragmatic, rhetorical,
textual and cognitive functions of abstract nouns are discussed,
always with reference to the empirical observation and statistical
analysis of the corpus data. In this way, a link between the corpus
method and functional and cognitive theories of language is
established.
The central theoretical claim of the book is that there is a
functional class of abstract nouns which are used by speakers to
create conceptual shells for complex pieces of information. The latter
are expressed by clauses or even longer passages somewhere else in a
text or discourse. As a terminological reflection of this claim, the
nouns themselves are referred to as shell nouns and the passages to
which they are linked as shell contents.
The book includes an appendix giving statistical information on the
lexico-grammatical usage of the 670 nouns.
>From the contents:
Part I Foundations: Theory, terminology and methodology
Introduction
Approaching shell nouns
The links between shell nouns and contents
The systematic investigation of shell nouns
Semantic prerequisites
Part II The use of shell nouns
Describing shell-noun uses
Factual uses
Linguistic uses
Mental uses
Modal uses
Eventive uses
Circumstantial uses
Summary of Part II
Part III Functions of shell nouns
Introduction to Part III
Semantic functions
Pragmatic, rhetorical and textual functions
Conclusion and outlook
Appendix
Notes
References
Index of shell nouns
Index of subjects
For more information please contact the publisher:
Mouton de Gruyter
Genthiner Str. 13
10785 Berlin, Germany
Fax: +49 30 26005 222
e-mail: ordersdegruyter.de
Please visit our website for other publications by Mouton de Gruyter
http://www.degruyter.com
Message 2: English Ling: Emerging English Modals, M. Krug
Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 14:32:45 +0200
From: Gillian Caglayan <G.CaglayandeGruyter.de>
Subject: English Ling: Emerging English Modals, M. Krug
New Publication from Mouton de Gruyter!
>From the Series
Topics in English Linguistics
Series Editors: Elizabeth Closs Traugott and Bernd Kortmann
Manfred Krug
Emerging English Modals
A Corpus-Based Study of Grammaticalization
2000. 23 x 15,5 cm. XV, 332 pages.
Cloth. DM 148,- /EUR 75,67 /�S 1080,- /sFr 132,- /approx. US$ 74.00
ISBN 3-11-016654-2
(Topics in English Linguistics 32)
This is the first monograph to provide a detailed account of the
fundamental changes which have recently affected - and which are still
affecting - the system of English auxiliaries. In his investigation of
historical and contemporary data, the author focuses on highly
frequent constructions like have to, have got to, want to and be going
to (including contracted forms like gotta, wanna or gonna). Their role
in the genesis of a new category of modal expressions is elucidated,
and their interaction with more marginal members like need (to), ought
(to) and dare (to) is discussed.
One of the work's main merits is that it combines linguistic theory
(notably grammaticalization and functionalism) with refined methods of
linguistic analysis. The corpus-based techniques of investigation
include real-time and apparent-time approaches, as well as Labovian
sociolinguistic approaches to stylistic and regional variation.
This study improves our understanding of both the present and the past
of a central domain of the English grammar and will thus appeal to
historical linguists and linguists focusing on present-day English
alike.
On account of its innovative approach and empirical scope, it will serve
as the standard reference work on English modal constructions. The book
is also valuable for its proposal of two prototype-oriented models for
the emergence of a new verbal category. While it addresses primarily an
area of English grammar, as a study in grammaticalization it also
provides hypotheses (e.g. regarding reanalysis and unidirectionality)
which can be tested in work on grammatical change of any other language.
On a higher level of abstraction, then, this book offers new insights to
linguists and advanced students interested in any one of the following
areas: grammaticalization (phonological, morphological, syntactic and
semantic change), modality, functionalism, corpus linguistics, prototype
theory, iconicity, sociolinguistics and stylistics.
Manfred Krug is Associate Professor of English Linguistics at the
University of Freiburg, Germany.
>From the contents:
Preface
List of figures
List of tables
List of maps
1 Introduction
Subject-matter and central claims
Emerging modals and emergent grammar
Organization of the individual chapters
2 Theoretical, methodological and empirical foundations
Chapter outline
Functionalism, economy, frequency
Grammaticalization
Contact-induced change and sociolinguistic dialectology
A corpus-based approach
Scope and aims
The sources of the present study
Defining modality and auxiliarihood
The relevance of the history of English central modals to the study of
emerging modals
Previous research on emerging modals
3 HAVE GOT TO / GOTTA and HAVE TO / HAFTA
Chapter outline
History and grammatical (re-)analysis
Increase in discourse frequency
Syntax and semantics of HAVE TO and HAVE GOT TO
Stylistic variation
Regional variation
Summary
4 WANT TO AND WANNA
Chapter outline
The rise of WANT: Increase in discourse frequency and changing patterns
of complementation
Semantic developments
Phonological and morphosyntactic developments within present-day English
Social and stylistic variation in the British National Corpus
Regional variation in the British National Corpus
Summary
5 Models and motivations for emerging English modals
Chapter outline
Frequency
Mechanisms and pathways of change
Towards a model for natural change in spoken and written text types
The marginal modals NEED (TO), OUGHT (TO) and DARE (TO)
Motivations
Gravitation and categorization
Some implications of the gravitation model
6 Conclusion
Notes
Appendices
References
Index
For more information please contact the publisher:
Mouton de Gruyter
Genthiner Str. 13
10785 Berlin, Germany
Fax: +49 30 26005 222
e-mail: ordersdegruyter.de
Please visit our website for other publications by Mouton de Gruyter
http://www.degruyter.com
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