[Lingtyp] Terminology for concessive constructions

[Bastian Persohn]

Dear fellow typologist,

I wonder if anyone has ever come up with a terminology for the two clauses that make up a concessive construction, as in (1).

Crucially, I am looking for a terminology that can be employed in cross-linguistic comparisons.

(1) Although Peter studied hard, he still failed the exam.

I try to avoid naming the clause that expresses the clause depicting the opposing circumstance a „concessive clause“, as this is usually associated with syntactic subordination, whereas the same semantic relationship may also be expressed by two clauses of the same structural level, as in (2). What is more, I am not aware of any good, let alone well-established, term for the second clause.

(2) Peter studied hard. Nonetheless, he failed the exam.

I’ve been toying around with „concessive antecedent“ and „concessive consequent“ as labels. This would have the advantage of covering concessive conditionals, as in (3). But then, it is somewhat strange to use these terms outside of the realm of conditionals. What is more, the „antecedent“ may be postponed, as in (4).

(3) Even if Peter studies hard, he will fail the exam.

(4) German
Peter ist sicher in der Prüfung durchgefallen. Obwohl … bei dem Dusel den der zuletzt hat…
‚Peter surely failed the exam. Come to think of it, though, seen how lucky he has been as of late…'

 To cut a long story short, are there any studies out there that have established useful labels for concessives?

Best,
Bastian
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