Frequency of person/number

[Östen Dahl]

Another hopefully relevant reference:

 

 

Dahl, Östen. Egophoricity in Discourse and Syntax. Functions of

Language 7.1: 37-77. 

 

Abstract:

Egophoricity in discourse and syntax

Östen Dahl

 

Egophoric reference is defined as reference to speech

act participants and generic reference. As shown by

adult conversational data from Swedish, English, and

Spanish, and longitudinal data from one Swedish child,

the majority of all animate arguments of verbs in

conversation are egophoric. This percentage varies

quite considerably between different types of subject

and between subjects and objects. Positions

representing essentially animate roles — agents,

experiencers, and recipients — have a high incidence

of egophoric reference and a high egophoric/animate

ratio. Positions allowing both animate and inanimate

reference have relatively low egophoric percentages,

absolutely and relative to animates. The explanation

of these patterns is not to be found not so much in

the way in which information is presented but rather

in the intrinsic content of the information that is

conveyed. The presence/absence of an essentially

animate argument may be a more fundamental distinction

for a taxonomy of predication types than transitivity.

 

 

- Östen

 

 

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