The Progressive in 19th-century English: A Process of IntegrationThe present volume is an empirical, corpus-based study of the progressive in 19th-century English. As the 1800s have been relatively neglected in previous research, and as the study is based on a new cross-genre corpus focusing on this period (CONCE = A Corpus of Nineteenth-Century English), the volume adds significantly to our knowledge of the historical development of the progressive. The use of two separate measures enables an accurate account of the frequency development of the progressive, which is also related to multi-feature/multi-dimensional analyses. Other topics covered include the complexity of progressive verb phrases and the distribution of the construction across linguistic parameters such as clause type. Special attention is paid to progressives that express something beyond purely aspectual meaning. The results show that the progressive became more fully integrated into English grammar over the 19th century, but also that linguistic and extralinguistic parameters affected this integration process; for instance, the construction was more common in women's than in men's private letters. Owing to the wide methodological scope of the study, it is of interest to linguists specializing in corpus linguistics, language variation and change, verbal syntax, the progressive, or the linguistic expression of aspect, either in synchrony or diachrony. |
Contents
Material and data | 17 |
The frequency of the progressive in 19thcentury | 39 |
Variation with linguistic parameters | 147 |
An analytical | 207 |
Concluding discussion | 243 |
References | 255 |
The CONCE corpus | 271 |
Textlevel codes used in CONCE | 277 |
Other editions - View all
The progressive in 19th-century English: A process of integration Erik Smitterberg Limited preview - 2016 |
The Progressive in 19th-century English: A Process of Integration Erik Smitterberg No preview available - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
19th century 19th-century English Aktionsart ALWAYS-type adverbials analysis Arnaud's aspectual functions Biber classified co-occur coefficients CONCE corpus constructions with future context Corpus Linguistics decrease Denison diachrony differences dimension scores distribution early Modern English English English English Language expository genres finite progressives frequencies of progressives future reference Geisler genre parameter genres in CONCE gerund grammaticalization History imperfective aspect increase indicate infinitive constructions instance integration interpretative progressives language late Modern English letter-writers Letters linguistic features main clauses main verbs Middle English modal auxiliaries modified by ALWAYS-type non-agentive subjects non-expository genres non-finite non-finite verb non-progressive not-solely-aspectual functions passive progressive percentages within brackets period and genre potentially experiential progressives present participle present study Present-Day English previous research progressive verb phrases progressives in CONCE progressives modified progressives occurring S-coefficient subcorpus Science Section semantic situation types situation-dependent reference statistically significant temporal adverbials tense texts Trials variation verb density ratios women Word count
Popular passages
Page 8 - Not all variability and heterogeneity in language structure involves change; but all change involves variability and heterogeneity.
References to this book
Progressives, Patterns, Pedagogy: A Corpus-driven Approach to English ... Ute Römer Limited preview - 2005 |
Der am-Progressiv: Struktur und parallele Entwicklung in den ... Jeroen Van Pottelberge Limited preview - 2004 |