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Micro- and Macro-variation of Causal Clauses: Synchronic and Diachronic Insights
Edited by Łukasz Jędrzejowski and Constanze Fleczoreck
[Studies in Language Companion Series 231] 2023
► pp. 129–166

Chapter 5
English rationale since and a reassessment of the typology of adverbial clauses

| University of Geneva
| University of Geneva | Ghent University

This chapter examines the syntactic and semantic properties of English causal adverbial clauses, starting from the fact that the conjunctions since and as can both introduce either a temporal clause or a rationale clause. Where relevant, the material is supplemented with data from Dutch causal adverbial clauses, focusing on the interaction with the syntax of Verb Second. It is shown that the bipartite distinction between ‘central’ adverbial clauses and ‘peripheral’ adverbial clauses (Haegeman 1984a, 1991/2009, a.o.) should be reconsidered. Frey’s (2016, 2018) ternary distinction is adopted, which differentiates between central adverbial clauses (CACs) and peripheral adverbial clauses (PACs), both regarded as syntactically integrated, and non-integrated clauses. Evidence is provided for Frey’s hypothesis that PACs are related to JudgementP (Krifka 2017).

Keywords: causal conjunctions, central adverbial clause, peripheral adverbial clause, syntactic integration, orphan analysis
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction: aim and scope of the chapter
  • 2.A comparison
    • 2.1Scope effects: temporal, modal, negative, and interrogative operators
    • 2.2Information structure: focus, it-clefts, new information
    • 2.3VP ellipsis and VP anaphora
    • 2.4Argumental status/complement of P
    • 2.5Resumption
    • 2.6Embedding
    • 2.7Echoic adverbial clauses
    • 2.8Summary
  • 3.Re-assessing the typology and the analysis
    • 3.1Rationale clauses are syntactically integrated
    • 3.2An analysis: (rationale) since2/as2-clauses and JudgementP
    • 3.3A third type of adverbial clause: Speech-event modifiers
    • 3.4Some speculations on non-integration
  • 4.Summary
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 1 March 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.231.05hae
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