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Article published In: Diachronica
Vol. 35:1 (2018) ► pp.107–143

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Near done; awful stable; really changing

The suffixless adverb in dialects of the UK

 | University of Toronto
Published online: 16 April 2018
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https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.16027.tag
Abstract
This paper examines adverb formation with -ly, e.g., slow/slowly, and uses a large archive of synchronic dialects to uncover the current state and historical trajectory of this process. The results reveal that English adverbs are a variegated system. The intensifying adverb really is a frequent form while sentential adverbs appear to be a newer layer in the system. In contrast, manner adverbs are constrained by the semantic interpretation of the adverb as abstract or concrete. These results expose the complexity of the English adverb system and demonstrate that adverb formation is an ideal site for uncovering historical processes in synchronic data.
Résumé
Cet article examine la formation d’adverbes en -ly, par exemple slow/slowly, et utilise une grande archive de dialectes (en synchronie) pour découvrir l’état actuel et la trajectoire historique de ce processus. Les résultats révèlent que les adverbes anglais sont un système varié. L’adverbe intensifiant really est une forme fréquente tandis que les adverbes de phrase semblent être une couche plus récente dans le système. En revanche, les adverbes manuels sont contraints par l’interprétation sémantique de l’adverbe comme abstraite ou concrète. Ces résultats exposent la complexité du système de l’adverbe anglais et démontrent que la formation des adverbes est un site idéal pour découvrir les processus historiques dans les données synchroniques.
Zusammenfassung
Dieser Artikel untersucht Adverbien, die mit der Endung -ly gebildet werden, wie z. B. slow/slowly. Die Daten stammen aus einem umfangreichen Archiv an synchronen Dialekten, das es möglich macht, sowohl den aktuellen Stand als auch die historische Entwicklung des Systems aufzuzeigen. Die Ergebnisse belegen die Vielfalt englischer Adverbien. Das intensivierende Adverb really kommt in den untersuchten Daten häufig vor, während Satzadverbien eine relativ neue Erscheinung sind. Im Gegensatz dazu hängt der Gebrauch von Adverbien der Art und Weise (Modaladverbien) sehr von der semantischen Interpretation des Adverbs als abstrakt oder konkret ab. Diese Ergebnisse verdeutlichen die Komplexität des englischen Adverbialsystems und zeigen, dass Adverbien sich sehr gut dazu eignen, historische Prozesse in synchronen Datensätzen aufzuzeigen.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Historical perspective
  • 3.Constraints on adverb form
    • 3.1Adverb function
    • 3.2Semantics of manner adverbs
    • 3.3Syntactic position
    • 3.4Summary
  • 4.Synchronic perspective – UK
  • 5.The present study
  • 6.Data and methods
    • 6.1Circumscribing the variable context
    • 6.2Exceptional distributions
  • 7.Results
    • 7.1Distributional analysis
    • 7.2Semantics of manner adverbs
    • 7.3Syntactic position
    • 7.4Mixed effects modelling
    • 7.5Conditional inference tree
  • 8.Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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[no author supplied]
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