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Article published In: Studies in Language
Vol. 47:1 (2023) ► pp.32–78

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Manner of motion in Estonian

A descriptive account of speed

ORCiD logo with link | University of Tartu
ORCiD logo with link | Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage (CNRS & Université de Lyon)
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 16 March 2022
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https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.21038.tar
Abstract
Recent decades have witnessed an increasing interest in motion events resulting in thorough knowledge about expressions of manner. However, the individual dimensions of manner of motion have been investigated less extensively. In this study, we focus on one particular dimension of manner: speed. By analysing the Estonian language and applying corpus methods, we show that speed is one of the core dimensions of manner. In Estonian, speed can be expressed with motion verbs and various types of manner modifiers. Speed modifiers can have a function of compensation (providing information that is not present in the verb), specification (providing additional details), and/or intensification (strengthening the meaning conveyed by the verb). Moreover, compared to slow motion, the expression of fast motion in modifiers is more frequent and more diverse in terms of semantic distinctions and morphosyntactic realisations. Drawing on these results, we frame a hypothesis of the fast-over-slow bias.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1Typological perspective: Manner and lexicalisation patterns
    • 2.2The semantics of manner: Situating speed in the context of manner
    • 2.3Speed of motion
    • 2.4The Estonian language
  • 3.Data & methodology
    • Verbs
    • Corpus data
    • Coding procedure and variables
    • Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Speed modifiers in the context of manner modifiers
    • 4.2The expression of speed-related information
      • 4.2.1Speed expressed in motion verbs
      • 4.2.2Speed expressed in manner modifiers
        • Morphosyntactic properties of speed modifiers
      • 4.2.3Interrelations between verbs and modifiers
        • The use of speed modifiers across manner and path verbs
        • The use of speed modifiers across motion verbs with different speed ratings
        • Functions of speed modifiers
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
References (57)
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