Category-free complement selection in causal adjunct phrases

Bibliographic Data

ID21695503
AuthorsSadayuki Okada (The University of Osaka, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume25
Issue4
Pages719-741
Publication date2021-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnglish Language and Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1360-6743 • E-ISSN: 1469-4379
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1360674320000295
OpenAlexW3083861691
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited14

In English there are a variety of causal adjunct phrases such as because of , as a result of , on account of and in spite of. It was reported recently that a new structure because X is thriving in colloquial registers including conversations and blogs. The complement X is not only restricted to nominals but also includes other lexical categories such as adjectives, adverbs and even verbs. This article delves into the history of this usage and its reasoning, and conducts a survey on other causal adjuncts to determine whether the same kind of innovation is observed with other adjunct phrases. The survey shows that the new usage started from NP complements and has been extended to include complements of other lexical categories, and that the new usage attested in because X is also observed with in case X . The truncation of the final preposition is verified with all the adjunct phrases in the survey, but the category of the complement is basically restricted to nominals in the case of other phrases. We will look into the factors segregating the two groups of adjuncts, namely because/in case X , and other causal adjuncts

Adjunct · Linguistics · Natural language processing · Computer Science · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Natural Language Processing Techniques · Philosophy · Psychology · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation · Artificial Intelligence

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