英语论文网

摘要：本文是一篇英语语法论文，本文以语法化为理论依据，借助COHA（美国历史英语语料库）、EEBO（早期英文图书在线）和OED（电子牛津词典）所提供的从14世纪到现在的语料，重点考察英语话题转换标记(by the way,incidentally,parenthetically)的历史演化路径及其背后的动因机制。

4.1 The Grammaticalization of By the way

4.1.1 The Historical Changes of By the way

In modern English,by the way mainly indicates the DM of topic deviation,whichcan be learned from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and the Cambridge EnglishDictionary.Merriam-Webster dictionary defines by the way according to its pragmaticfunction of“by way of interjection or digression”,and proposes its synonym asincidentally.According to this definition,we can deduce that the main pragmaticfunction of by the way is a TCM,which is used to introduce a new topic in thediscourse.Moreover,the Cambridge English Dictionary lists two different meanings ofby the way:one based on the definition of British English and the other based on thedefinition of American English.In British English,by the way is usually used tointroduce a new subject or to provide further information.From this definition,we candraw out two subtly different functions of by the way,namely,an elaboration markerand a TCM.In American English,by the way is used to introduce a statement or topicthat may not be directly related to previous discourse.This definition again enables usto conclude that the main function of by the way is to serve as a marker for a digression,indicating an abrupt change from the current topic.Therefore,the pragmatic functionof by the way is a TCM,as shown in(1)and(2).

英语语法论文参考

Chapter Five Conclusion

5.1 Main Findings of the Study

Based on the data from OED,COHA and EEBO,this thesis discusses thegrammaticalization of by the way,incidentally and parenthetically.The three majorfindings are summarized below according to research questions in this study.

Firstly,this research discovers three distinctive developmental paths of EnglishTCMs(by the way,incidentally and parenthetically),by tracing their historical paths tothe origin.First of all,four stages are involved in the grammaticalization of by the wayfrom a historical point of view.In stage I,by the way1 shows its first appearance at theend of the main clause in the beginning of 14th century.It is used as a locative adverbto express the propositional meaning of“along the road”in this period.Stage II is atransitional period when by the way2 becomes a manner adverb with the propositionalmeaning of“in passing”.Later,by the way3 in stage III still remains as a manneradverb,but its domain has expanded from modifying the verbs to the wholesubordinate clause.When the use of by the way4 develops into the stage IV,it is usedas a TCM to perform the function of topic deviation.Second,the historical pathwaysof incidentally and parenthetically are similar to each other.They point to a cline froma manner adverb to a TCM that indicates the topic shift.They both undergo thechanges involving three stages.In particular,the initial propositional meaning ofincidentally1 is“in an incidental manner”or“as a chance occurrence”,while the initial conceptual meaning of parenthetically1 refers to“in a parenthetical manner”or“by aparenthesis”.

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