Appositive relative clauses in English : discourse functions and competing structures

Author(s)

• Loock, Rudy

Bibliographic Information

Appositive relative clauses in English : discourse functions and competing structures

Rudy Loock

（Studies in discourse and grammar / editors, Sandra A. Thompson, Paul J. Hopper, v. 22）

John Benjamins, c2010

Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. [219]-226) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This book sheds new light on Appositive Relative Clauses (ARCs), a structure that is generally studied from a merely syntactic point of view, in opposition to Determinative (or Restrictive) Relative Clauses (DRCs). In this volume, ARCs are examined from a discourse/pragmatic point of view, independently of DRCs, in order to provide a positive definition of the structure. After a presentation of the morphosyntactic, semantic and pragmatic characteristics of ARCs, a taxonomy of their functions in discourse is established for both written and spoken English based on the results of a corpus-based investigation. Constraints are then defined within an information-packaging approach to syntactic structures to show why speakers choose ARCs over other competing allostructures, i.e. syntactic structures that fulfil similar discourse functions (e.g. nominal appositives, independent clauses, adverbials, noun premodifiers, topicalization). The end result is a deeper understanding of the richness of ARCs in their natural contexts of use.

Table of Contents

• 1. Acknowledgements
• 2. Introduction
• 3. Part I. Appositive relative clauses (ARCs): Definitions, previous studies, typical and atypical syntactic realizations
• 4. Chapter 1. Definitions and previous studies
• 5. Chapter 2. Atypical appositive relative clauses
• 6. Part II. The discourse functions of ARCs: A suggested taxonomy for written and spoken English
• 7. Chapter 3. The corpus: ARCs in usage
• 8. Chapter 4. The discourse functions of ARCs: A taxonomy
• 9. Part III. ARCs and their competing "allostructures"
• 10. Chapter 5. Definition of ARCs' allostructures, with particular emphasis on nominal appositives
• 11. Chapter 6. Appositive relative clauses and their other competing allostructures
• 12. Conclusion
• 13. References
• 14. Appendix
• 15. Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

• NCID: BB01815419
• ISBN:
  • 9789027226327
• LCCN: 2010002102
• Country Code: ne
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: Amsterdam ; Philadelphia
• Pages/Volumes: xii, 232 p.
• Size: 25 cm
• Classification:
  • LCC : P297
  • DC22 : 425
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Grammar, Comparative and general -- Relative clauses
  • LCSH : Discourse analysis
  • LCSH : English language -- Semantics
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BA18951276