Specificational and Predicative Clauses : : A Functional-Cognitive Account / / Wout Van Praet.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DG Plus DeG Package 2022 Part 1
• VerfasserIn: Van Praet, Wout,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin ;, Boston : : De Gruyter Mouton, , [2022]; ©2022
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Series: Topics in English Linguistics [TiEL] , 112
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (XI, 329 p.)

In studies of copular clauses, the relation between specificational and predicative clauses has been a contentious issue. While most studies agree on the analysis of predicative clauses, specificational clauses have sparked much debate. A key concern is how specificational clauses with indefinite ‘variable’ NP (e.g. "A popular holiday go-to is Rome") compare to, and contrast with, other copular clauses, especially specificational clauses with definite ‘variable’ NP (e.g. "The main can’t-miss in Italy is Rome") and predicative clauses with indefinite predicate nominative (e.g. "Rome is a great city"). This book addresses this concern by offering a functional-structural analysis of these three clause types in terms of their common characteristics and distinguishing features. The analysis of the clauses’ structure and meaning is substantiated by evidence from corpus research which probes into various aspects of their actual usage (e.g. information structure and prosody, discourse-embedding). In doing so, the book offers an empirical basis for testing existing assumptions about predicative and specificational clauses, while also providing new insights into the interaction between the grammar and discourse usage of copular clauses.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Acknowledgements -- Abstract -- Contents -- Key to transcription conventions -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- Chapter 2 Corpus compilation and methodology -- Chapter 3 A functional-structural analysis of predicative and specificational clauses -- Chapter 4 The indefinite NP in predicative and specificational copular clauses -- Chapter 5 Aspect and modality in the copular clause -- Chapter 6 The prosodically coded information structure of specificational and predicative copular clauses -- Chapter 7 The discourse embedding of predicative and specificational clauses -- Conclusion -- References -- Index