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Article published In:
Constructional Approach(es) to Discourse-Level Phenomena: Theoretical challenges and empirical advances
Edited by Renata Enghels and María Sol Sansiñena
[Constructions and Frames 13:1] 2021
► pp. 126–159

Funny you should say that

On the use of semi-insubordination in English

| University of Graz

This paper investigates the formal and functional properties of so-called semi-insubordination (SIS), i.e. complex sentences with an ‘incomplete’ matrix clause (e.g. Funny that you should say that), on the basis of corpus data. It is shown that SIS differs in its function from the structurally related constructions it-extraposition and exclamatives, exhibiting its own functional profile: viz. expressing a subjectivizing speaker evaluation which is non-exclamative, deictically anchored, and relates to a non-presupposed proposition. Given these functional idiosyncrasies it is argued that SIS is best analysed as a construction in its own right (in terms of Construction Grammar) rather than simply an incomplete elliptical structure.

Keywords: semi-insubordination, exclamative, it-extraposition, ellipsis, constructional network
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Delimiting the class
  • 3.Corpus data
  • 4.Formal properties
    • 4.1Attested syntactic patterns
    • 4.2Structural overlaps with related constructions
  • 5.Functional properties
    • 5.1Subjective speaker evaluation
      • A.Non-generic interpretation
      • B.Deictic anchoring
      • C.Informative rather than expressive
    • 5.2Erosion of presupposition structure
      • A.‘Flattening’ of the hierarchical structure of an it-extraposition
      • B.Absence of the ‘presupposed open proposition’ structure of an exclamative
    • 5.3Conspectus: The discourse functions of SIS
  • 6.Grammatical modelling
    • 6.1Ellipsis account
    • 6.2A constructional account
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 2 August 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cf.00049.kal
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