[Ads-l] weird "which"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Thank *you*!

JL

On Tue, Jun 23, 2020 at 6:42 PM Bethan Tovey-Walsh <accounts at bethan.wales>
wrote:

> Ah, okay; I see what you mean. Given what you’ve outlined, if it isn’t
> just an accidental omission of a word, perhaps this is a further step in
> normalising a kind of “conjunctive which”? It’s absolutely fascinating!
> Thanks for the example, and for unpacking how it differs from the type I
> cited.
>
> ___________________________________________________
> Dr. Bethan Tovey-Walsh
>
> Myfyrwraig PhD | PhD Student CorCenCC
> Prifysgol Abertawe | Swansea University
>
> CV: LinkedIn
>
> Croeso i chi ysgrifennu ataf yn y Gymraeg.
> On 23 Jun 2020, 13:35 +0100, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>,
> wrote:
> > This seems even weirder to me, Bethan. The examples you give are of a
> kind
> > familiar to me from my university teaching days in the late '70s.
> > Whatever the syntactical explanation, both "whiches" can be replaced by
> > (and defined as) 'but.' Exx. meaning 'and' are also possible.
> >
> > But the current case is not subject to an exclusively lexical analysis.
> > The sentence might be normalized in these ways and maybe others:
> >
> > 1. "Including a full-size leave-in elixir, which nine out of ten women
> > said made their hair appear thicker and fuller in just one week!"
> >
> > 2. "Including a full-size leave-in elixir, and nine out of ten women said
> > it made their hair appear thicker and fuller in just one week!"
> >
> > No. 2 is stylistically awkward but perfectly correct. But to get from one
> > of these normal constructions to the Viviscal version requires a
> > strange shift in understanding the meaning of "which." In No. 1 the
> elixir
> > is the focus; in No. 2 both the elixir and the comments are equally in
> > focus.
> >
> > But the Viviscal version seems to focus equally on the elixir and on the
> > hair. It feels like something between subordination and conjunction.
> > A simple "and" or "but" won't fix it. And, as I suggested, it's
> appearance
> > in a TV commercial is, well, astounding, because it suggests that a
> number
> > of copywriters agreed that it sounded just fine.
> >
> > JL
> >
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Jun 23, 2020 at 7:09 AM Bethan Tovey-Walsh <accounts at bethan.wales
> >
> > wrote:
> >
> > > I've noticed this one a lot online, apparently from U.S.-English
> speakers
> > > in particular. I suspect that it's a reanalysis of the standard
> "which" as
> > > a relative pronoun into "which" as a conjunction meaning approximately
> "in
> > > relation to which", "as a result of which", etc.. So instead of
> > > understanding "which" as the object of the main clause, it's
> understood as
> > > a conjunction linking a main clause to the preceding noun phrase. I've
> seen
> > > quite a few examples along the lines of:
> > >
> > > "She told me to go, which I was not going to do that."
> > > "They said they were stealing, which my kids would totally not steal
> > > anything."
> > >
> > > It seems to me that the step from "[noun phrase], which I wasn't going
> to
> > > do" to "[noun phrase], which I wasn't going to do that" is a fairly
> small
> > > one. I'd be interested to hear your opinions.
> > >
> > > BTW
> > >
> > > ___________________________________________________
> > > Dr. Bethan Tovey-Walsh
> > >
> > > Myfyrwraig PhD | PhD Student CorCenCC
> > > Prifysgol Abertawe | Swansea University
> > >
> > > CV: LinkedIn
> > >
> > > Croeso i chi ysgrifennu ataf yn y Gymraeg.
> > > On 23 Jun 2020, 10:55 +0100, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
> >,
> > > wrote:
> > > > Weird to me, anyway, especially in a pricey, presumably carefully
> edited
> > > TV
> > > > commercial for a glamour hair product:
> > > >
> > > > "Including a full-size leave-in elixir which nine out of ten women
> said
> > > > their hair appeared thicker and fuller in just one week!"
> > > >
> > > > JL
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > > truth."
> > > >
> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org