23.3065, Books: Gradient acceptability at the grammar-pragmatics interface: a study of the constraints on middle formation in English: de la Maza

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LINGUIST List: Vol-23-3065. Sun Jul 15 2012. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 23.3065, Books: Gradient acceptability at the grammar-pragmatics interface: a study of the constraints on middle formation in English: de la Maza

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Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2012 19:19:05
From: Ulrich Lueders [lincom.europa at t-online.de]
Subject: Gradient acceptability at the grammar-pragmatics interface: a study of the constraints on middle formation in English: de la Maza

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Title: Gradient acceptability at the grammar-pragmatics interface: a
study of the constraints on middle formation in English 
Series Title: LINCOM Studies in English Linguistics 17  

Publication Year: 2012 
Publisher: Lincom GmbH
	   http://www.lincom-shop.eu
	
Author: Casilda García de la Maza

Paperback: ISBN:  9783862883073 Pages: 147 Price: Europe EURO 62.80


Abstract:

It is not always clear what counts as a good middle sentence in English. 
Whereas examples like 'This book reads well' or 'Roald Dahl translates easily' 
seem to be readily acceptable, the same cannot be said of others like 'This 
book reads' or 'French acquires easily'. This book offers a comprehensive 
account of the English middle construction and the restrictions on its 
formation. 

Based on a careful analysis of the semantic idiosyncrasy and the 
grammatical properties of the construction, the author investigates the 
manner in which middles are spreading and shows that not all new middles 
exhibit the same degree of acceptability. A number of constraints are 
identified as being responsible for this gradience. The extent to which each of 
them affects middle acceptability and the way in which they interact with one 
another is investigated, leading to an amendment of some of the existing 
proposals regarding the issue of what a middle sentence can or cannot be. 
The analysis relies on a substantial amount of data obtained by eliciting 
acceptability judgements from native speakers, on a theory of gradient 
acceptability, and on a consideration of aspects of language use and 
sentence-processing, and not of language-internal aspects only. 



Linguistic Field(s): Pragmatics
                     Semantics

Subject Language(s): English (eng)


Written In: English  (eng)

See this book announcement on our website: 
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/books/get-book.cfm?BookID=61197




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