Extraposition constructions in the deontic domain: state-of-affairs (SoA)-related versus speaker-related uses

Abstract

This study examines how extraposition constructions with adjectives, such as it is important to honour those who have done honour to us (CB) function in the deontic and directive domain. It is found that in these two domains, which correlate with different sets of adjectives, the adjectival expressions can function on two distinct levels, either relating to the real world (State of Affairs [SoA]-related), or relating to the speaker's argumentative goals (speaker-related). These levels have also been noted for other linguistic categories, such as interclausal relations (e.g., Davies, On the semantics of syntax: Mood and condition in English, Croom Helm, 1979; Sweetser, From etymology to pragmatics, Cambridge University Press, 1990; Verstraete, Rethinking the coordinate–subordinate dichotomy: Interpersonal grammar and the analysis of adverbial clauses in English, Mouton de Gruyter, 2007). Within the set of speaker-related uses, a further distinction will be proposed between text-building uses and mental focus on a proposition uses. The first type serves to build arguments, or to specify or justify the organization of a text. The second type is used to make the hearer focus mentally on a propositional content. It will be argued that this latter type is a partially filled construction in the sense of Goldberg (Constructions: A construction grammar approach to argument structure, University of Chicago Press, 1995). In this sense, this study proposes a constructionally motivated typology of extraposition constructions in the deontic-directive domain.