Cover not available
Part of
Theory and Practice in Functional-Cognitive Space
Edited by María de los Ángeles Gómez González, Francisco José Ruiz de Mendoza Ibáñez and Francisco Gonzálvez-García
[Studies in Functional and Structural Linguistics 68] 2014
► pp. 33–52

Giving it my best shot

Towards a coherent functional analysis of metaphorically-derived processes with particular attention to the ‘light verb’ expressions

In this article I explore the extent to which the analysis of metaphoricallyderivedexpressions, such as “give someone a hug”, differs from that assigned tothe prototypical sense associated with the main verb in question. Taking expressionsinvolving the verb “give”, I consider a range of semantic departures fromprototypical “give”, in respect of the process type (material, mental, relationalprocess etc.) and the participant roles present. Using a Systemic FunctionalGrammar framework, I analyse candidate expressions according to their lexicogrammaticalpotential (e.g. associated syntactic alternation potential) and aset of tests to establish the participant roles present. The results of the analysisindicate a cline of differing degrees of lexicogrammatical departure from theprototype, reflecting their respective semantic departure.

Keywords: lexicogramm, metaphorical derived expressions, participant roles, process types, prototype, semantic
Published online: 22 July 2014
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sfsl.68.02tuc
References
Aston, G., & B.L
(1998)  The BNC handbook: Exploring the British National Corpus with SARA . Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Austin, J.L
(1962)  How to do things with words . Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Butler, C
(2001) “A matter of GIVE and TAKE: Corpus linguistics and the predicate frame.” In María Jesús Pérez Quintero (Ed.), Challenges and developments in Functional Grammar. Monographic section of Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses, 42 , 55–78.Google Scholar
Chomsky, N
(1981)  Lectures on Government and Binding . Dordrecht: Foris.Google Scholar
Dowty, D
(1991) Thematic proto-roles and argument selection. Language , 67(3), 547–619. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fawcett, R.P
(1987) The semantics of clause and verb for relational processes in English. In M.A.K. Halliday, & R.P. Faw­cett (Eds.), New developments in sys­temic linguistics, Vol 1: Theory and descrip­tion (pp. 130–183). London: Frances Pinter.Google Scholar
(2000)  A theory of syntax for systemic functional linguistics . (Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 206). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011) Problems and solutions in identifying processes and participant roles in discourse analysis. Part 1: Introduction to a systematic procedure for identifying processes and participant poles. In Annual Review of Functional Linguistics , 3, 34–87.Google Scholar
Fawcett, R.P., Tucker, G.H., & Lin, Y
(1993) How a systemic functional grammar works; the role of realization in realization. In H. Horacek, & M. Zock (Eds.), New concepts in natural language generation: planning realization and systems (pp. 114–186). London: Pinter.Google Scholar
Gleason, H.A
(1965)  Linguistics and English grammar . New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Google Scholar
Grady, J
(1998) The conduit metaphor revisited: A reassessment of metaphors for mental processes. In J.P. Koenig (Ed.), Discourse and Cognition: Bridging the Gap (pp. 1–16). Stanford: CSLI.Google Scholar
Halliday, M.A.K., & Matthiessen, C.M.I.M
(2004)  An introduc­tion to Func­tional Grammar . 3rd edition. London: Arnold.Google Scholar
Kilgarriff, A., Rychly, P., Smrz, P., & Tugwell, D
(2004) The sketch Engine. In Proc EURALEX 2004 (pp. 105–116). Lorient, France. Also at ([URL]).Google Scholar
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M
(1980)  Metaphors we live by . Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Levin B
(1993)  English verb classes and alternations: A preliminary investigation . Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
O’Donnell, M., Zappavigna, M., & Whitelaw, C
(2009) A survey of process type classification over difficult cases. In C. Jones, & E. Ventola (Eds.), New developments in the study of ideational meaning: From language to multimodality (pp. 47–64). London: Continuum.Google Scholar
Reddy, M
(1979) The conduit metaphor. InA. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp. 284–310). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Searle, J.R
(1969)  Speech acts: An essay in the philosophy of language . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Siewierska. A., & Hollmann, W
(2007) Ditransitive clauses in English with special reference to Lancashire dialect. In M. Hannay, & G.J. Steen (Eds.), Structural-functional studies in English grammar (pp. 83–102). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Whorf, B.L
(1956)  Language, thought, and reality . Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Suñer, Ferran & Jörg Roche
2021. Embodiment in concept-based L2 grammar teaching: The case of German light verb constructions. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 59:3 ► pp. 421 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 11 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.