Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T12:26:31.289Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

English proforms: an alternative account

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2011

EVELIEN KEIZER
EVELIEN KEIZER*
Affiliation:
Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik/Department of English, Universität Wien, Campus d. Universität Wien, Spitalgasse 2–4/Hof 8.3, 1090 Vienna, [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In most theoretical and descriptive treatments of English proforms it seems to be accepted that proforms replace constituents in underlying structure (i.e. phrases or clauses). The aim of the present article is to challenge this assumption. It will be demonstrated that a great many fully acceptable uses of proforms turn out to be quite problematic for the view of proforms as corresponding either to constituents or to semantic and/or syntactic units in underlying representation; nor, it turns out, do proforms necessarily refer to or denote a single (identifiable, retrievable or inferrable) entity. After a brief summary of the relevant literature, the article presents a detailed examination of the actual function and use of English proforms, focusing on a number of frequently used proforms: (i) the indefinite pronoun one, (ii) the predicative proform do so, (iii) the demonstrative pronouns that and those and (iv) certain uses of the personal pronouns we/us and you. On the basis of attested examples, it is argued that these proforms do not necessarily express a unit at any level of underlying representation. Instead an alternative account of the use of proforms is suggested, using the theory of Functional Discourse Grammar, which, with its four different levels of analysis (representing pragmatic, semantic, morphosyntactic and phonological information), possesses the kind of flexibility needed to deal with English proforms in a consistent and unified manner. Finally, an attempt is made to explain some of the constraints on the flexible system proposed.

Type
Research Article
Information
English Language & Linguistics , Volume 15 , Issue 2: The structure of the noun phrase in English: synchronic and diachronic explorations , July 2011 , pp. 303 - 334
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Corpora

Davies, Mark. 2004–. BYU-BNC: The British National Corpus. http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc.Google Scholar
Davies, Mark. 2008−. The Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). www.americancorpus.org.Google Scholar

References

Aarts, Bas & Haegeman, Liliane. 2006. English word classes and phrases. In Aarts, Bas & MacMahon, April (eds.), The handbook of English linguistics, 117–45. Oxford: Blackwell.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Abney, Steven. 1987. The English noun phrase in its sentential aspect. PhD dissertation, MIT.Google Scholar
Acuña-Fariña, Juan Carlos. 1996. The puzzle of apposition: On so-called appositive structures in English. Monografías da Universidade de Santiago de Compostela 190, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela.Google Scholar
Acuña-Fariña, Juan Carlos. 2009. Aspects of the grammar of close apposition and the structure of the noun phrase. English Language and Linguistics 13 (3), 453–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ariel, Mira. 1990. Accessing noun phrase antecedents. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Broekhuis, Hans & Keizer, M. Evelien. Forthcoming. Modern grammar of Dutch: Nouns and noun phrases, part 1.Google Scholar
Burton-Roberts, Noel. 1975. Nominal apposition. Foundations of Language 13, 391–419.Google Scholar
Burton-Roberts, Noel. 1986. Analysing sentences: An introduction to English syntax. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Burton-Roberts, Noel. 1994. Apposition. In Asher, R. E. & Simpson, J. M. Y. (eds.), The encyclopaedia of language and linguistics, vol. 1, 184–7. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Butler, Christopher S. 2003. Structure and function: A guide to three major structural–functional theories. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Cornish, Francis. 1986. Anaphoric relations in English and French: A discourse perspective. London: Croom Helm.Google Scholar
Cornish, Francis. 1999. Anaphora, discourse, and understanding: Evidence from English and French. Oxford: Clarendon Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Croft, William. 2001. Radical Construction Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curme, George O. 1931. Syntax. Boston: Heath and Co.Google Scholar
Déchaine, Rose-Marie & Wiltschko, Martina. 2003. On pro-nouns and other ‘pronouns’. In Coene, Martine & D'hulst, Yves (eds.), From NP to DP, vol 1: The syntax and semantics of noun phrases, 71–98. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dik, Simon C. 1978. Functional Grammar. Amsterdam: North Holland.Google Scholar
Dik, Simon C. 1997. The theory of Functional Grammar, vol. 2: Complex and derived constructions. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Evans, Vyvyan & Green, Melanie. 2006. Cognitive linguistics: An introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Finch, Geoffrey. 2005. Key concepts in language and linguistics, 2nd edn.London: Palgrave.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fortescue, Michael, Harder, Peter & Kristoffersen, Lars (eds.). 1992. Layered structure and reference in a functional perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Francis, W. Nelson. 1958. The structure of American English. New York: Ronald.Google Scholar
Fries, Udo. 1989. The crew have abandoned the ship: Concord with collective nouns revisited. Arbeiten aus Anglistik und Amerikanistik 13, 98–104.Google Scholar
Gundel, Jeanette K., Hedberg, Nancy & Zacharski, Ron. 1993. Cognitive status and the form of referring expressions in discourse. Language 69, 274–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haugen, Einar. 1953. On resolving the close apposition. American Speech 28, 165–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hengeveld, Kees. 1992. Non-verbal predication: Theory, typology, diachrony. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hengeveld, Kees. 2008. Prototypical and non-prototypical noun phrases in Functional Discourse Grammar. In Rijkhoff, Jan & García-Velasco, Daniel (eds.), The noun phrase in F(D)G, 43–62. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Hengeveld, Kees & Mackenzie, J. Lachlan. 2008. Functional Discourse Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hockett, Charles F. 1955. Attribution and apposition in English. American Speech 30, 99–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huddleston, Rodney. 1984. An introduction to the grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huddleston, Rodney & Pullum, Geoffrey K. et al. 2002. The Cambridge grammar of the English language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keizer, M. Evelien. 1992a. Reference, predication and (in)definiteness in Functional Grammar: A functional approach to English copular sentences. PhD dissertation, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Keizer, M. Evelien. 1992b. Predicates as referring expressions. In Fortescue et al. (eds.), 1–27. Reprinted in Anstey, Matthew & Mackenzie, J. Lachlan (eds.). 2005. Crucial readings in Functional Grammar, 109–36. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Keizer, M. Evelien. 2004. Postnominal PP complements and modifiers: A cognitive distinction. English Language and Linguistics 8 (2), 1–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keizer, M. Evelien. 2005. The discourse function of close appositions. Neophilologus 89, 447–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keizer, M. Evelien. 2007. The English noun phrase: The nature of linguistic categorization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keizer, M. Evelien. 2010. We teachers, you fools: Pronouns in close appositions. Presented at the International Conference on Functional Discourse Grammar (IC-FDG-2010), Centro Científico e Cultural de Macau, Lisbon.Google Scholar
Keizer, M. Evelien. To appear. English pronouns in Functional Discourse Grammar. Language Sciences (special issue).Google Scholar
Kroon, Caroline. 1995. Discourse particles in Latin. Amsterdam: Gieben.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langacker, Ronald W. 2002. Concept, image, and symbol: The cognitive basis of grammar, 2nd edn.Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Lee, D. W. 1952. Close apposition: An unresolved problem. American Speech 27, 268–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leech, Geoffrey. 2006. A glossary of English grammar. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leech, Geoffrey & Svartvik, Jan. 1994. A communicative grammar of English, 2nd edn.London: Longman.Google Scholar
Pearce, Michael. 2007. The Routledge dictionary of English language studies. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Quirk, Randolph, Greenbaum, Sidney, Leech, Geoffrey & Svartvik, Jan. 1985. A comprehensive grammar of the English language. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Radford, Andrew. 1988. Transformational Grammar: A first course. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Radford, Andrew. 1997. Syntactic theory and the structure of English: A minimalist approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rijkhoff, Jan. 2002. The noun phrase. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saxena, Anju. 2006. Pronouns. In Brown, Keith (ed.), Encyclopedia of language and linguistics, 2nd edn.131–3. Oxford: Elsevier.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sopher, H. 1971. Apposition. English Studies 52, 401–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van der Auwera, Johan. 1992. Free relatives. In Fortescue, et al. (eds.), 329–54.Google Scholar
Van Valin, Robert D. 1993. A synopsis of Role and Reference Grammar. In Van Valin, Robert D. (ed.), Advances in Role and Reference Grammar, 1–164. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Van Valin, Robert D. 2001. An introduction to syntax. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Valin, Robert D. & LaPolla, Randy J.. 1997. Syntax. structure, meaning and function. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wales, Katie. 1996. Personal pronouns in present-day English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar