Call for contributors: Book 'Meaning Changes in Approximatives'

[Paul Hopper]

I was like to faint, not seeing the work of Tania Kuteva and of Suzanne Romaine mentioned.

Paul

 

> BOOK PROPOSAL: MEANING CHANGES IN APPROXIMATIVES (Proposal submitted to
> John Benjamins Publisher)
> 
> Salvador Pons Bordería Val.Es.Co Research Group. University of Valencia,
> Spain http://www.uv.es/~ponss
> 
> This is a call for contributions to the book `Meaning Changes in
> Approximatives'  edited by S. Pons Bordería, which will be submitted to
> John Benjamins publisher.
> 
> This volume aims at describing a process of semantic-pragmatic change
> which affects the word class of approximatives (almost, hardly, barely,
> and so on). The semantic change involved implies a reverse in the polarity
> of the approximatives, whereby almost assumes the meaning of barely, and
> viceversa (see a more detailed description in the outline below). 
> Literature on approximatives has focussed on English (Sadock 1981, Horn
> 2000) or on Romance languages (Schwenter 2002, Pons & Schwenter 2005,
> Albelda forthcoming, Matos Amaral forthcoming). There is evidence,
> however, that this phenomenon, albeit hardly studied, has a wider
> typological extension (Li 1976, Ziegler forthcoming). This volume intends
> to explore the spread of such a change by collecting a wide array of 
> papers dealing with approximatives in different, typologically unrelated
> languages. Contributions should conform to the following features: -provide
> the description of an approximative. -show that there is/has been a
> semantic change, whereby an approximative with positive meaning comes to
> express negative meaning. Also, changes like “still” ‡ “not yet”, or 
> “since” ‡ to, are welcome (if you have different cases in mind, you can
> contact me). -discuss the implications of the meaning change you have
> studied, either for the language described (especially if it is a minority
> language), or for the field of approximatives.
> 
> Interested contributors, please send Salvador Pons Bordería, before
> DECEMBER, 15th, an abstract containing: –Full name, email and academic
> address –Title –Summary of your paper (outline of the problem, its relation
> to the issue of approximatives and, when possible, possible conclusions)
> 
> Salvador Pons Bordería Val.Es.Co Research Group. University of Valencia,
> Spain Salvador.pons at uv.es http://www.uv.es/~ponss
> 
> MEANING CHANGES IN APPROXIMATIVES (OUTLINE)
> 
> The literature on pragmatic scales has paid attention to certain elements
> which signal proximity to a limit, called approximatives (Sadock 1981).
> Approximatives usually belong to the word class of adverbs (Engl. almost,
> barely, hardly, Sp. casi, apenas, por poco, Port. mal, and so on). 
> Literature on approximatives has dealt mainly with the semantic vs.
> pragmatic character of the relation they entertain with negation. For
> instance, ex. (1) means that the speaker did not lose the train:
> 
> 1.	I almost lost the train Meaning relationship (I did not lose the train)
> 
> 
> It seems that an approximative (entails/presupposes
) a meaning
> relationship with its host proposition p, so that
> 
> Approximative (p) ‡ ~p Approximative (~p) ‡ p
> 
> Nevertheless, recent research on approximatives has raised an interesting
> issue: some approximatives can invert this meaning relationship (ex. 2):
> 
> 2. Por poco no se mata “She was almost not-killed” Meaning rel.: 	No se ha
> matado “She wasn’t killed
> 
> giving rise to a different relationship between the approximative and its
> host utterance: Approximative (~p) ‡ ~p
> 
> Here a polysemy has arosen, which can be diachronically studied as a
> process of grammaticalization (Pons & Schwenter 2005). In this new
> meaning, the approximative “inverts” its reading, showing that the border
> between positive and negative has been exceeded (Horn 2000). The literature
> on approximatives has reported similar paths of change in other
> particles: ~p to p (Chinese cha-yadar –Li 1976–, Valencian Spanish casi
> –Schwenter 2002–, Portuguese mal –Matos Amaral 2005–); not yet p to still
> p (Andean Spanish todavía –Pons 2005–) or even to p to from p (Mexican
> Spanish hasta):
> 
> 3. (The speaker is trying to get out of his car. When he finally gets
> out, he says): ¡Casi salgo! “I-almost-get-out” Meaning relationship: “I was
> about not getting out (of the car)” (Schwenter 2002)
> 
> 4. O João mal acabou de jantar. ‘João barely finished dinner.’ Meaning
> relationship: “João  finished dinner” 4’. Mal sabia eu que havia de morar
> aqui! ‘I hardly knew that I was going to live here!’ Meaning relationship:
> “I did not know that I was going to live here”
> 
> 5. A: ¿Has acabado de comer? “Have you finished eating? B: Todavía “Still” 
> Meaning relationship: “I still have not finished eating” (Pons 2005)
> 
> 6. Las tiendas están abiertas hasta las 9 de la mañana “The shops are open
> to 9 o’clock in the morning” Meaning relationship: “The shops are open
> since 9 o’clock in the morning”
> 
> The polysemies developed in these particles seem to be part of a wider,
> not described yet, set of phenomena. The aim of this book is to shed light
> on the nature of this reversing process, by collecting a set of papers
> which study different (kinds of) approximatives in typologically unrelated
> languages.
> 
> 
> -- -- ******************************** Salvador Pons Bordería Dpto. Filología
> Española Avda. Blasco Ibáñez, 32 46010 Valencia salvador.pons at uv.es 
> ********************************
> 
> 
>