UID:
almafu_9959236255802883
Umfang:
1 online resource (382 pages) :
,
illustrations.
Ausgabe:
1st ed.
ISBN:
90-272-6907-6
Serie:
Human Cognitive Processing, volume 50
Inhalt:
This book investigates French impersonals as a functional category. Any structure whose agent is defocused and whose predicate describes a situation stable enough to be generally available should be considered impersonal. In addition to il impersonals, the category also includes demonstrative (ce/ça), middle (se), and indefinite (on) structures. These different forms belong to the same functional category because they systematically code general and predictable events that cannot be imputed to a specific cause. Because generality and predictability are gradual notions, impersonals can only be identified within the context of specific constructional islands which therefore constitute the organizing principle of the French impersonal category.Conducted in Cognitive Grammar, the analysis follows the functional tradition in expanding the scope of French impersonals beyond il constructions, but also proposes a way of precisely delineating the category. This book will be of interest to anyone interested in impersonal constructions and French linguistics.
Anmerkung:
Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
,
Impersonals and other Agent Defocusing Constructions in French -- Editorial page -- Title page -- LCC data -- Table of contents -- Preface -- Chapter 1. Narrow and broad impersonals: Definitions and scope of analysis -- 1. Beyond structural analyses -- 2. Toward a French impersonal functional category -- 3. The French impersonal category -- 4. A constructional proposal -- 5. Recapitulation and discussion -- 6. Outline of the following chapters -- Chapter 2. A cognitive approach to French impersonals -- Chapter 3. The semantic range of impersonals -- Chapter 4. Simple impersonals: Patterns of usage -- Chapter 5. Complex impersonals -- Chapter 6. Demonstrative (ça) impersonals -- Chapter 7. Middle (se) impersonals -- Chapter 8. Indefinite (on, ils) impersonals -- Chapter 9. Recapitulation and conclusion -- 7. A note on the methodology and data -- Chapter 2. A cognitive approach to French impersonals -- 1. A symbolic view of language -- 1.1 Conceptual semantics -- 1.2 The conceptual base of clause structure -- 1.3 The prototypical coding of clause structure: The transitive clause -- 2. Defocusing strategies -- 2.1 Alternative trajector selection -- 2.2 Identification and delimitation -- 3. Grammatical constructions -- 4. Recapitulation and conclusion -- Chapter 3. The semantic range of il impersonals -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Simple and complex impersonals -- 3. Status of impersonal il -- 3.1 "Dummy" il? -- 3.2 The field -- 3.3 Semantics and Information structure -- 4. The semantic range of simple impersonals -- 4.1 Distribution of predicates with simple impersonals -- 4.2 Presence of the setting in the predicates' lexical semantic structure -- 4.3 Comparison with structural accounts -- 5. Recapitulation and conclusion -- Chapter 4. Simple impersonals: Patterns of usage -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Usage and grammar -- 2.1 Usage and idioms.
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2.2 The core and periphery of simple impersonal usage -- 3. The core: Existential predicates -- 3.1 Exister -- 3.2 Relative existence: Rester and manquer -- 3.2.1 Rester -- 3.2.2 Manquer -- 3.3 Recapitulation -- 4. Il y a: Existence and location -- 4.1 Existence -- 4.2 Location -- 4.3 The field -- 5. The periphery: Arriver, venir, passer -- 5.1 Arriver -- 5.2 Venir -- 5.3 Passer -- 6. Recapitulation: Simple impersonals -- Chapter 5. Complex impersonals -- 1. Introduction. Complex impersonals: Forms and functions -- 2. Epistemic evaluation: Reality, events, and propositions -- 3. The complex impersonal domain -- 4. Complement forms: Events and proposition -- 5. Predicates, events, and propositions -- 5.1 Deontic predicates -- 5.2 Evaluative predicates -- 5.3 Epistemic predicates -- 5.4 Occurrence predicates -- 5.5 Recapitulation -- 6. Impersonal passives -- 7. Recapitulation and conclusion -- Chapter 6. Demonstrative impersonals -- 1. Introduction: Il and ça impersonals -- 2. Semantic function of demonstratives: Identification, categorization, and evaluation -- 3. Semantic properties of demonstratives -- 3.1 Ça and flexible reference -- 3.2 A subjective construal of the referent -- 3.3 Ça has no strict cataphoric sense -- 4. Two impersonal constructions in the copular complement construction -- 5. Distribution of il and ça impersonals -- 5.1 Il and ça in Les mandarins -- 5.2 Vrai -- 6. Recapitulation and conclusion -- Chapter 7. Middle impersonals -- 1. Introduction -- 2. French pronominal verbs -- 2.1 Constructions neutres and moyennes -- 2.2 The French "middle domain" -- 3. From spontaneous events to impersonals -- 3.1 Two main groups of predicates -- 3.2 Conceptual structure of the two classes -- 3.3 Generality and responsibility -- 4. Two impersonal constructions -- 5. Discussion -- 6. Recapitulation and conclusion.
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Chapter 8. Indefinite impersonals -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Pronouns and other nominals: Semantic functions -- 2.1 Layered semantic functions -- 2.2 Grounding: Subjectivity and dynamicity -- 2.3 Pronouns as nominals -- 2.4 On: Minimal specification -- 3. Patterns of use: From personal to indefinite -- 4. Indefinite impersonals -- 4.1 Minimal delimitation by homogenization -- 4.2 Delimitation by generalization of individual experience (virtualization) -- 5. Recapitulation and conclusion -- Chapter 9. Concluding remarks -- 1. Recapitulation -- 2. Do we need a French impersonal class? -- 3. Advantages of the analysis -- References -- Index.
,
English
Weitere Ausg.:
ISBN 90-272-4666-1
Sprache:
Englisch
Schlagwort(e):
Electronic books.
