The history ofvery: the directionality of functional shift and (inter)subjectification

Abstract

On the basis of extensive corpus analysis, we reconstruct the history ofveryand the paths of change along which it acquired new meanings. We propose an analytical model that, firstly, assigns general semantic functions to the (sub)modifier relations in the English noun phrase and, secondly, identifies subsenses of these functions on the basis of collocational, semantic and pragmatic distinctions observed in different contexts. Thus, we arrive at a comprehensive description of the various (sub)modifier relations in whichveryhas functioned in its history. Having been borrowed into English as part of fixed collocations such asvery Ihus(‘the true Jesus’) andcroice verra(‘the true cross’),verysuccessively acquired the functions of descriptive modifier, noun-intensifier, focus marker, adjective-intensifier, classifier, postdeterminer-intensifier, quantifier-intensifier and postdeterminer. This description allows us to interpret the history ofveryas a paradigm case of progressive grammaticalization and (inter)subjectification involving leftward movement in the English NP (Adamson 2000). Our analytical model allows us to capture finer mechanisms of change such as collocational extension, pragmatically driven host class expansion, invited inferences and analogy.