English small clauses: The life and perambulations of a construction
This paper studies the development of the “predicate + Small Clause”-construction in English from
ME to LModE (1150-1914). Small clauses (SCs) as in (1-2) involve a subject-predicate relation
between an NP and a phrasal projection XP.
(1) We consider [prompt actionNP invariably better than quiet reflectionXP]. (PPCMBE, 1908)
(2) I will prove [ youNP the notoriousest TraitorXP (...)]. (PPCEME2, 1570-1639)
While the existing literature has approached SCs predominantly as a unitary, synchronic
construction, little attention has gone to its historical development. This paper aims to redress this
situation through a diachronic, corpus-based analysis of the “predicate + SC”-construction.
The diachronic analysis is based on the PENN-parsed corpora (3607 tokens for ME, 5106 for
EModE and 2447 for LModE). The data reveal a complex diachronic development, involving shifts in
productivity as well as shifts in the construction's semantics. As such, the findings confirm Colleman
& De Clerck's (2011) claim that constructions as a whole can undergo semantic change, albeit that
the changes observed are in fact more complex.
For a start, the predicate + SC-construction has become semantically more restricted as to
the predicate types it allows: while examples like (3) were acceptable in ME, they are no longer
tolerated by LModE:
(3) (…)þai delyuerede þe lande clene of here enemys . ('they delivered the land clean of their
enemies.') (causative predicate + SC)(PPCME3, 1350-1420)
However, these losses appear to have affected predicate types that only marginally occurred with
SCs to begin with, such as voluntative verbs or verbs of communication. Much more dramatic is the
shift at the construction's semantic core. Specifically, it is found that the core of the construction has
shifted from one predicate type to another in terms of token frequency. While SCs were initially
concentrated around causative verbs (4) and labelling verbs (5), they gradually gravitated towards
depictive verbs denoting mental representation (6) and perception (7).
(4) make me strong ðurh ðire mihte. ('make me strong through your power.') (PPCME3,
1150-1250)
(5) Aftir þis þe kyng dubbid his son knyte. (PPCME3, 1420-1500)
(6) I found Ly Gordon's manners as pleasing as they had been described. (PPCMBE, 17701839)
(7) the patient feels himself remarkably debilitated. (PPCMBE, 1770-1839)
Finally, losses of marginal types notwithstanding, the predicate + SC construction has on the whole
become more productive, as shown by changes in type frequency, primarily due to the depictive
verbs. In other words, the data indicate that the predicate + SC construction has semantically
specialized despite increasing productivity. This dissociation of productivity and semantic change
makes an important addition to Colleman & De Clerck’s research.
In sum, the history of the predicate + SC construction shows that the construction underwent
semantic change, reflected in a shifting semantic core and a loss of semantically marginal uses. This
semantic change is only partly matched by changes in the construction's productivity.
References
Colleman, T. & B. De Clerck. 2011. Constructional semantics on the move. Cognitive Linguistics 22:
183–209.