LE 56: Factual Concessive Connectors

Product no.: ISBN 9783895863516
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Factual Concessive Connectors

A contrastive analysis in Italian and Polish

Agnieszka Latos
Università degli Studi di Pavia

The aim of the study entitled Factual concessive connectors. A contrastive analysis in Italian and Polish is to examine and compare the use and functions of the factual concessive connectors in two European languages: Italian and Polish. The comparison is based on a detailed analysis of the syntax, meaning and synchronic usage patterns of these connective expressions. Contrary to most of the studies devoted to this issue so far, the analysis is not restricted to ideal sentences, but rather accounts for the distribution of factual concessive connectors in real examples provided by linguistic corpora.

The theoretical starting point of the research is the framework of Functional Grammar (FG), especially the theory concerning the hierarchical structure of discourse (Dik, 1997; Hengeveld, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1997, Crevels, 1998, 1999). After the discussion on some theoretical proposals regarding different semantic-functional levels of adverbial connection, two main domains of concessive connection, ‘representational’ relations versus ‘interpersonal’ ones, have been distinguished.

The analysis carried out on a corpus of authentic texts of written and spoken language in relation to the previously identified semantic and pragmatic parameters shows a number of correlations existing in both languages and confirms the main hypothesis of the research: not all concessive connectors are identical in meaning and use.

The analysis also focuses on some historical aspects concerning the diachronic origins of concessive connectors. The synchronic distribution of Italian and Polish concessive connectors that emerges from the corpus-based analysis is reviewed from the diachronic perspective and this re-examination indicates the existence of some interesting correlations between the diachronic origins of concessive connectors and their synchronic usage patterns.

ISBN 9783895863516. Linguistics Edition 56. 216pp. 2006.

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