Existential There-constructions Research Articles

The Constraint on Predicate Types of Korean EFL Learners in Existential There-Constructions

The Constraint on Predicate Types of Korean EFL Learners in Existential There-Constructions

Definiteness Effect and Korean EFL Learners’ Distributional Patterns in Existential There-Constructions

This study seeks to explore the discrepancies in grammatical judgments between native English speakers and Korean EFL learners when it comes to definite and indefinite NPs in existential there-constructions (ETCs). The experimental results indicate that Korean EFL learners do not exhibit the definiteness effect observed in native speakers. In the experiment, while native English speakers consistently distinguished between definite and indefinite NPs in ETCs, Korean EFL learners displayed varied grammatical judgments, especially concerning definite NPs. Diesing’s (1992) mapping hypothesis provides the theoretical foundation for the constraint that definite NPs are not allowed in ETCs. According to her theory, indefinite NPs simply introduce variables rather than bearing quantificational force on their own, and these variables are bound by existential closure in the domain vP, yielding an existential reading.

Comprehension of Existential There-Constructions by Korean Learners of English

This study addresses the lack of comprehension data in second language acquisition research by focusing on English existential there-constructions (ETCs) with a locative extension (e.g., there is an X on the Y). The post-copular noun X used in the present study consisted of two types: actual and nonsense. Participants included 40 native speakers, as well as 40 advanced and 40 intermediate Korean learners of English, who completed an online picture selection task. In one picture, X was placed on the nearby Y; in another picture, X was placed on the far Y. The choice of both pictures was the correct response because ETCs are used to describe the existence of something regardless of its distance. There was a statistically significant relationship between English proficiency and the interpretation of ETCs. However, there was no relationship between the noun type and the interpretation of ETCs. In the Korean English curriculum, the distinction between expletive there and locative there must be emphasized.

Gendered Existence? Existential-There Construction in English-Polish Translation

This paper analyses a possible effect of the variable of gender on semantic enrichment of existential sentences translated from English to Polish. Existential-there clauses in English typically take the form there + be + indefinite NP (+place/time adverbial). Since there-constructions lack a structurally congruent counterpart in Polish, they can be rendered in Polish with several syntactic constructions ranging from the verb ‘być’ (E. to be) through ‘mieć’ (E. to have) to verbs semantically richer than ‘być’ (e.g., verbs of perception, verbs of location, etc). We ask the question of whether the gender factor is correlated with the factor of text type/genre. To this purpose, we compiled a corpus of English texts representing belles-lettres and popular science writing, male-authored, female-authored and multi-authored and translated by male and female translators. Our preliminary results show that the choice of Polish translations of English existential-there follows from the interplay of genre, narrative/descriptive modes of text, and the gender of the translator, with female translators tending to replace the simple copula ‘be’ with a full lexical verb more often than male translators in dialogic parts of belle-lettres.

Existential There-Construction in L2 Written English: Form and Functions

This paper explores the formal and functional aspects of the existential there-construction (ETC) in L2 argumentative writings, focusing on the interaction with L2 proficiency. An analysis of NS and NNS written texts has revealed that the NNS produced the ETC much more frequently than the NS, possibly utilizing it as a hedge marker to render their statements less direct and more tentative. The post-modifiers of the notional subject progressed from clausal to phrasal structures, conforming to the prediction of developmental trajectory of L2 written grammar. The patterns of definiteness and animacy of the notional subject in L2 as compared to L1 texts indicate that the acquisition of subtle semantic and pragmatic features interacting with the ETC is not an easy task and requires a sufficient level of L2 proficiency. Future research with a larger corpus should complement the findings of the current study.

Agreement Mismatch in Partitive Relatives

Agreement Mismatch in Partitive Relatives

A Study on the Pattern and Acquisition Level of Existential There-constructions in Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility

This study intends to find out the main function of existential there sentences and its acquisition level of learners of English. In order to do that, this paper researches Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility to see what kind of nominal phrases the expletive there sentences carry. And based on the result, there conducted an experiment on the acquisition of the expletives. The experiment tested 12 questions to 75 university students who were divided into two groups according to their Highschool GPA of English. After the research, the study found out that there are two main types of nominal phrases the expletives carry: the one with negative words and the other one with quantifiers. Also, in terms of the acquisition level of the two types of nominals in expletives, learners were more aware of the nominals with quantifiers than those with negative words.

The Cognitive Structure of Full-Verb Inversion and Existential Structures in English

The goal of this study is to build on the Cognitive Grammar analysis of full-verb inversion (FVI) and existential structures proposed by Chen (2003, 2011 and 2013). Close attention will be given to two characteristics of these constructions not discussed by this author – lack of subject-verb agreement and the type of pronominal forms that occur in them – and their consequences forFVI’s cognitive structure will be worked out. Further parallels betweenFVIand the existentialthere-construction will be brought to light concerning the type of verbal predicate allowed, negation, transitivity, agreement patterns, presentational function, pronominal forms and heaviness of postverbalNPs. The cognitive structure ofFVIwith lack of S-V concord is argued to be: (1) ground-setter, (2) verb heralding presence/appearance of a generic third-person figure in the ground, (3) nominal identifying the generic figure. Chen’s Invertability Hypothesis is shown to generate false predictions with fronted adjectives and adverbials, and the claim that the preverbal element is in focus is shown to be problematic in the light of its usual status as given information.FVIis argued to be a construction in Goldberg’s (2006) sense of the term, although it does not constitute a meaning-form pairing which is completely independent of the lexical items that instantiate it.

He Semantic-Pragmatic Analysis in the Existential There-Construction:

he Semantic-Pragmatic Analysis in the Existential There-Construction:

A Study on the Identity of the Existential There-Construction

A Study on the Identity of the Existential There-Construction

ON THE PRESENTATIONAL CAPACITY OF THETIC-LIKE SENTENCES

Within the Firbasian framework of the theory of FSP, sentences are understood to implement either the Presentation Scale or the Quality Scale; the author’s research into the area of FSP has recently dealt with the role of the English verb operating in Presentation Scale sentences (Pr-sentences) (Adam 2011, 2012; cf. 2009). In addition to the existential there-construction, it is the configuration of the rhematic subject in preverbal position that seems to convey existence/appearance on the scene most frequently in English (A cruel smile hovered over her face). The present corpus-based paper proposes to shed light on the structure and the function of a rather specific type of Pr-sentences patterning as relatively short structures with a tentatively context-independent subject (The potatoes are boiling). Such sentences functionally resemble statements that came to be labelled as “thetic” or sometimes “all-new sentences” (Mathesius 1975: 87, Firbas 1992: 86-87, cf. Kuroda 1972, Lewis 2001). The point is that even though from the static point of view (i.e. that of lexical semantics) such sentences do not suggest the characteristic of appearance/existence, they do not appear to be excluded from expressing presentation on the scene.

Existential There-Construction as A Means of Presentation in Narrative (A Corpus-Based Syntactic-Semantic Analysis)

The present paper looks at the role of the English verb operating in Presentation Scale sentences within fiction narrative from the point of view of both dynamic and static semantics. It is a part of a corpus-based research in the area of the sentences implementing the so-called Presentation Scale (Firbas, 1992; Svoboda, 2006), which is predominantly focused on the occurrence and the syntactic-semantic typology of Presentation sentences within narratives and the semantic as well as syntactic character of the English Presentation verb. It examines the most frequent structure that is capable of presenting a new phenomenon on the scene, viz, the existential construction. For the purpose of analysis, C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is used. Special attention is paid to the syntactic semantic character of the Pr-verbs that operate in the existential construction there + other verb than be.

Definiteness Effects in There-Constructions

It is well-known that the existential there-constructions are subject to the definiteness constraint, but intriguingly, the definiteness effect disappears when the post-copular NP is extraposed. The two phenomena are quite puzzling, in that they contradict each other. This paper explores the possibility of explaining the seemingly contradictory phenomena on the basis of the principle of economy. The main claim of this paper is that the definiteness effects of the existential there-sentences arises from the fact that there has a third person feature and no redundant feature checking is permitted, and the anti-definiteness effects of the presentational there-sentences follows from the fact that the extraposed constituent consists of a variable and its content.

The Subject-Predicate Theory of There

The “associate” NP in the English existential there-construction is a predicative NP, and there is its subject.

The convergent evolution of radial constructions: French and English deictics and existentials

Abstract English deictic and existential there-constructions have been analyzed as constituting a single radial category of form—meaning pairings, related through motivated links, such as metaphor (Lakoff 1987). By comparison, existentials and deictic demonstratives in French make use of two distinct radial categories. The current study analyzes the varied senses of French deictic demonstratives (voilà ‘there is’ and voici ‘here is’) and the existential (il y a ‘there is’). We argue that the syntactic behavior of each of their senses is best explained by the semantic and pragmatic function of that sense, in combination with constraints imposed by its relation to other senses. A cross-linguistic comparison of the deictic demonstrative and existential constructions in French and English supports this claim: despite the different historical origins of these forms in the two languages, they display a strikingly similar array of uses and formal constraints. The parallel evolution of deictics and existentials in these two languages is interpreted as a case of convergent evolution of linguistic items, much like convergent evolution in biological species.

A Corpus-Based Approach to Non-Concord in Present Day English Existential There-Constructions

(2003). A Corpus-Based Approach to Non-Concord in Present Day English Existential There-Constructions. English Studies: Vol. 84, No. 3, pp. 262-283.

On the nature of the verb in present day English (existential) there-constructions. Formal and communicative implications

There is general agreement that be is the verb 'par excellence' in so-called English existential there-constructions (existential TCs). In fact, on many occasions, a distinction is made between existential TCs -be TCs- and presentational TCs (non-be TCs). It is true, however, that other verbs may also occur in TCs. These are mainly intransitive verbs that express the ideas of permanence, being, existence, movement, position, entrance into the scene of discourse, arrival or continuation of an event (seem, come, remain, follow, develop, etc.). From a corpus-driven perspective, the proportion of non-be TCs in Present Day English (PDE) is analysed, granting special attention to their communicative value. It is hypothesised that even though, strictly speaking, non-be TCs do not primarily express existence, they do share with be TCs their main pragmatic function -i.e. signal function- a trait genuinely linked to the use of there. It is also examined whether any significant difference is observed between the use of non-be TCs in speech and writing, and what is the rationale for this difference (if any).

Present Day English Existential There-Constructions and their Pragmatics. Towards an Integrated Categorisation

This paper presents the pragmatics of there-constructions (henceforth TCs) as its main object of analysis. It seeks to provide the labels for a possible classification of TCs according to their communicative roles in their contexts of occurrence. A basic distinction is made between prospective and retrospective functions of TCs, whose most basic function is seen as helping on the informational progress and development of the text. A total of ten labels are here proposed for as many pragmatic roles. Although it is not definitive or fully developed, but open to reformulation and further research, the typology proposed may be the basis for an effective methodology. It is hoped that it deals with an aspect of TCs that seems to have received less attention than deserved.