ManneradverbsandmannersChristopherPi - PDF document

ManneradverbsandmannersChristopherPiñónUniversitédeLille3/STLUMR8163http://pinon.sdf-eu.org/7.Ereignissemantik-Konferenz,SchlossHohentübingen,20.21.12.20071IntroductionTheleadingquestion,whichismoretobeaskedthananswered:Isthereasemantic/ontologicalperspectiveonmanneradverbsthattreatstheirmean-ingsasessentiallydierentfromthemeaningsofverbs?Onastandardeventsemanticapproach(e.g.,neo-Davidsonian;Parsons1990),bothman-neradverbsandverbsaretreatedaspredicatesofeventswhicharethensimplyconjoined:(1)a.Rebeccawroteillegibly.b.e:write()^agent(rebecca)()^illegible()Thestandardapproachisattractivebecauseofitssimplicityandbecauseitnaturallyaccountsforthefactthataclausewithamanneradverbentailsthecorrespondingclausewithoutamanneradverb.Forexample,(1a)entailsthecorrespondingclausewithoutillegibly:(2)a.Rebeccawrote.b.e:write()^agent(rebecca)()Ingeneral,onceaneventsemanticapproachisavailable,areturntoanoperatorap-proachsuchasthatofParsons(1972)orStalnakerandThomason(1973)fortheanalysisofmanneradverbswouldappeartobeastepbackward(Eckardt1998,chap.1).However,observethat,onthestandardeventsemanticapproach,manneradverbsaresemanticallyonaparwithverbs,whicharealsoanalysedaspredicatesofevents.Consequently,thedierencebetweenmanneradverbsandverbsislargelyifnotwhollysyntacticthereisnosharpsemanticdierencebetweenthem.Whilethismaybecorrect,itisnotobviouslycorrect,asIwillnowsuggest.2ThreeissuesManneradverbswithscopeNotallmanneradverbscanbetreatedassimplepredicatesofevents,e.g.,painstakinglyorcarefully(Parsons1972,Peterson1997,chap.10,Schäfer2005,chap.6,Schäfer2007):(3)a.Rebeccapainstakinglywroteillegibly6!Rebeccawrotepainstakinglyb.Malikacarefullyspokesoftly6!Malikacarefullyspoke1 Inotherwords,certainmanneradverbsmaysometimestakescopeoverothermanneradverbs,whichisnotcapturedbythestandardeventsemantictreatment:(4)e:write()^agent(rebecca)()^painstaking()^.Standardanalysisof(3a)illegible()VerbsofperceptionHowshouldthedierencebetweenthefollowingpairsofsentencebecaptured?(5)a.MalikasawRebeccawriteillegibly.b.MalikasawhowRebeccawrote.(6)a.RebeccaheardMalikaspeaksoftly.b.RebeccaheardhowMalikaspoke.OnthestandardeventsemanticapproachtoverbsofperceptionwithabareIPcomplement,(5a)wouldbeanalyzedasinvolvingavisuallyperceivedevent:(7)e:see()^experiencer(malika)()^.Standardanalysisof(5a)90(write(0)^agent(rebecca)(0)^illegible(0)^stimulus(0)())However,itisnotevidenthowtotreat(5b)and(6b)inthestandardframework.Note,moreover,that(5b)and(6b)alsoneedtobedistinguishedfromthecasewhereseeandheartakeacanonicalpropositionalcomplement:(8)a.MalikasawthatRebeccahadwrittenillegibly.b.RebeccaheardthatMalikahadspokensoftly.Minimally,itisclearthat(5b)and(6b)arenotequivalentto(5a)/(8a)and(6a)/(8b),respectively.Paraphrasewiththeway...Ingeneral,aclausewithamanneradverbcanbeappropri-atelyparaphrasedbyoneinwhichthecorrespondingadjectiveispredicatedofacomplexNPheadedbytheway,illustratedasfollows(cf.Schäfer's(2005)test3.1):1(9)a.RebeccawroteillegiblyThewayRebeccawrotewasillegibleb.MalikaspokesoftlyThewayMalikaspokewassoftMoreinterestingisthecasewheretherearetwomanneradverbs,withonetakingscopeovertheother:(10)a.RebeccapainstakinglywroteillegiblyThewayRebeccawrotewaspainstakinglyillegibleb.MalikacarefullyspokesoftlyThewayMalikaspokewascarefullysoftThisdiersfromthecasewherethetwomanneradverbsdonotstandinascopalrelation:(11)a.RebeccawrotepainstakinglyandillegiblyThewayRebeccawrotewaspainstakingandillegibleb.MalikaspokecarefullyandsoftlyThewayMalikaspokewascarefulandsoft 1Schäfer(2007)claimsthatunleserlichisanimplicitresultativeandnotamanneradverbafterall.AlthoughIdisagreewithhimaboutthis(itseemstomethatitcanbeamanneradverb),anotherexamplecouldbechosentomakethesamepoint,ifnecessary.2 Thequestioniswhythistestworks,i.e.,whysuchaparaphraseisappropriate.Thestandardeventsemantictreatmentseemstooernoreadyanswerhere.3ReifyingmannersTheleadingideaofthenewapproachistoreifymanners,i.e.,totakemannersasobjectsintheirownright.Likeordinaryindividuals,events,andtimes,mannersareconcreteparticulars,buttheydierfromordinaryobjects,events,andtimesintheirontologicalstatus.Inparticular,mannersdiereventsinthattheyareontologicallydependentoneventsandeventtypes,i.e.,theycouldnotexistifeventsofaparticulartypedidnotexist.Inwhatfollows,thevariablesm,m0,...standformanners.Manners,ITakingillegiblyasanillustration,theproposalistotreatitscorelexicalsemanticmeaningasapredicateofmanners.However,somethinghastobesaidabouthowsuchmannersrelatetoevents.Theideaisthat(e.g.)writingeventshaveaformimaginethetrajectoryofmotionofthepointofthewritinginstrument(e.g.,apen)inawritingevent.Itisthistrajectorythatmaybesaidtolegibleorillegible.Thisisonemannerofawritingeventinfact,itistheform-mannerofawritingevent.Suppose,then,thatthereisafunctionformthatyieldstheform-mannerofawritingevent,asin(12b):(12)a.Ee:form(E)().Functionfromeventtypesandeventstoform-mannersb.e:form(e0:write(0))().Functionfromeventstoform-mannersforthewritingeventtypeWeneedtoensurethattheparticulareventsappliedtoarereallyoftheeventtypeE:(13)8E8(9m(form(E)()=m)!E()).AxiomArguably,iftheeventtypeisoneofwritingbyhand,thenitalwayshasaform-manner:(14)8E8(E=[e0:write(0)^by-hand(0)]^E()!9m(form(E)()=m)).AxiomItisquestionablewhetherallwritingeventshaveaform-mannerinthesenseintendedhere.Forexample,ifonewritesapaperusingacomputer,itmaynotbepossibleto(literally)writeillegibly.Inanycase,Iwillassumethatweareconcernedwitheventsofwritingbyhand.Sincemanners,asconcreteparticulars,areintimatelytiedtotheparticulareventsthattheyaremannersof,notwowritingeventscanhavethesameform-manner:(15)880(9m(form(e00:write(00))()=m^form(e00:write(00))(0)=m)!.Axiom=0)Ifwenowintroduceillegibleasapredicateofmanners,thenansomewhatoversimpliedstatement2oftheontologicaldependenceofsuchmannersonthewritingeventtypeandaparticular(writing)event(nottomentiontheformfunction)isasfollows:(16)8m(illegible(m)!9(form(e0:write(0))()=m)).AxiomWithmannersinplace,thesemanticanalysisof(1a)isasin(17). 2Itisoversimpliedbecauseontologicaldependenceisamodalnotion,butthemodaldimensionissuppressedhere.3 (17)Rebeccawrite-illegibly;.Cf.(1)e:agent(rebecca)()^write()^illegible(form(e0:write(0))())IfweassumethatillegiblyissyntacticallyaVP-modier,thentheVPin(17)maybederivedasin(18):(18)1:[VPwrite-];e:write()2:illegibly;Ee:E()^illegible(form(E)())3:[VP[VPwrite-]illegibly];e:write()^illegible(form(e0:write(0))())Ifwewantedtotakeintoaccounttheimplicitincrementalthemeofwrite,thisanalysiscouldberened.Forexample,itmightbepreferabletotakeillegiblemannerstobeontologicallydependentonarelationbetweenincrementalthemesandwritingevents(aswellasaparticularwritingeventandaincrementaltheme).Tosummarize,mannersareconcreteparticularsontologicallydependentonaneventtypeandeventaswellasafunction(e.g.,form)thatdeterminesthesortofmannerstheyare.Manners,IIThetreatmentofpainstakinglyissimilarinthatthemannersdenotedareontologicallydependentonaneventtypeandaneventaswellasafunctiondeterminingthekindofmannerstheyare.Inthiscase,supposethatthefunctionatissueiseortandthemannersinquestionareeort-manners:(19)Ee:eort(E)().Functionfromeventtypesandeventstoeort-mannersArguably,eortisdenedjustincasetheeventtypeEimpliesanagent:(20)8E8((E()!9x(agent(x)()))$9m(eort(E)()=m)).AxiomAnanalogueoftheaxiomin(15)isneeded,andoncethepredicatepainstakingisintroducedananalogueof(16)isalsodesirable:(21)a.8E880(9m(eort(E)()=m^eort(E)(0)=m)!=0).Axiomb.8m(painstaking(m)!9E9(eort(E)()=m)).AxiomAsimpleexamplewithpainstakinglyisanalyzedasfollows:(22)Rebeccawrite-painstakingly;e:agent(rebecca)()^write()^painstaking(eort(e0:write(0))())ThederivationoftheVPin(22)parallelstheonein(18).However,themoreinterestingcaseiswhenpainstakinglytakesscopeoverillegibly,seenearlierin(3a):(23)Rebeccapainstakinglywrite-illegibly;.Cf.(3a)e:agent(rebecca)()^write()^illegible(form(e0:write(0))())^painstaking(eort(e0:write(0)^illegible(form(e00:write(00))(0)))())Toobtainthisresult,weneedtoassumethattheeventtypetowhichthemeaningofpainstakinglyappliesisthatofwritingillegibly.Observethatthisanalysiscorrectlypredictsthatthissentencedoesnotentailtheonein(22)(cf.(3a)).Insum,manneradverbswithscopereceiveanaturaltreatmentinthenewapproach.Indeed,ifmanneradverbsarebasicallypredicatesofmannersandmannersareontologi-callydependentonaneventtype(aswellasonaneventandafunctiondeterminingthe4 sortofmannersinquestion),thenitisexpectedthatthecomplexityoftheeventtypemayvary,otherthingsbeingequal.Inclosing,IaddabriefcomparisonofthepresenttreatmentwithSchäfer's(2005,2007)proposalsfortheanalysisofsuchexamples:Noneedforcontextualparametersforthisphenomenon(Schäfer2005assumestwocontextualparameters)Noneedtoproliferateeventsforthisphenomenononlyoneeventisneededtotreatthesentencein(23)(Schäfer2007assumesthreeeventsforsuchsentences)Noneedtoshiftactivitiesintoaccomplishmentsforthisphenomenonthesentencein(23)remainsanactivity(Schäfer2007requiressuchsentencestobeshiftedintoaccomplishments)4ExtensionsThenewapproachalsoshedslightontheothertwoissuesforthestandardapproach.PerceivingmannersSincemannersareconcreteparticulars,theymaybeperceived.Thisdoesnotmeanthattheymaybeperceivedincompleteisolationfromtheeventsthattheyontologicallydependon,buttheycanbeperceivednonetheless.Thesentencein(5b)receivesthefollowinganalysisinthepresentapproach:(24)Malikasee-howRebeccawrite-;.Cf.(5b)e:see()^experiencer(malika)()^stimulus(m(90(write(0)^agent(rebecca)(0)^form(e00:write(00))(0)=m)))()Observethattherstargumentofstimulusisamannertermcorrespondingtothehow-clause:(25)howRebeccawrite-;m(90(write(0)^agent(rebecca)(0)^form(e00:write(00))(0)=m))Itshouldbeacknowledgedthatthemeaningof(5b)isactuallyunderspeciedwithrespecttotheexactmannerthatisvisuallyperceived,asisshownbythefollowingtwowaysofspecifyingthemanner:(26)a.MalikasawhowRebeccawrote,namely,illegibly.b.MalikasawhowRebeccawrote,namely,painstakingly.Infact,thehow-clausecanalsorefertoacomplexmannersuchaspainstakinglyillegibly:(27)a.MalikasawhowRebeccawrote,namely,painstakinglyillegibly.b.painstakinglyillegibly;.Eandareanaphoricherem(painstaking(eort(e0:illegible(form(E)(0))))()=m))Whytheparaphrasewiththeway...worksTheideathattherearedenitedescrip-tionsofmannersisalsousefulforshowingwhyamanneradverbcanbeappropriatelyparaphrasedwiththecorrespondingadjectivepredicatedofanNPheadedbytheway....Inanutshell,suchNPscanbetreatedasdenitedescriptionsofmanners.Theparaphrasein(9a)receivesthefollowinganalysis:5 (28)ThewayRebeccawrite-be-illegible;.Cf.(9a)illegible(m(9(agent(rebecca)()^form(e0:write(0))()=m)))NoticethattheargumentofillegibleisamannertermcorrespondingtotheNPheadedbytheway:(29)thewayRebeccawrite-;m(90(agent(rebecca)(0)^form(e00:write(00))(0))=m)Itisnowstraightforwardtoseewhyaparaphrasewiththeway...isagoodtestformanneradverbs,providedthattheeventreferredtoinbothinstancesisthesame(cf.(17)and(28)):(30)a.Rebeccawrite-illegiblyThewayRebeccawrite-be-illegible(Cf.(9a))b.8(agent(rebecca)()^write()^illegible(form(e0:write(0))()))$illegible(m(agent(rebecca)()^form(e0:write(0))()=m)).FactIendwithatreatmentoftheparaphrasein(10a):(31)ThewayRebeccawrite-be-painstakinglyillegible;illegible(m(agent(rebecca)()^form(e0:write(0))())=m)^painstaking(m0(agent(rebecca)()^eort(e0:illegible(form(e00:write(00))(0)))()=m0))ReferencesBartsch,Renate.1976.TheGrammarofAdverbials.Amsterdam:NorthHollandPublishingCom-pany.Eckardt,Regine.1998.Adverbs,Events,andOtherThings:IssuesintheSemanticsofMannerAdverbs.Tübingen:MaxNiemeyerVerlag.Ernst,Thomas.2002.TheSyntaxofAdjuncts.CambridgeUniversityPress.Geuder,Wilhelm.2000.OrientedAdverbs:IssuesintheLexicalSemanticsofEventAdverbs.Doctoraldissertation,UniversitätTübingen.Parsons,Terence.1972.Someproblemsconcerningthelogicofgrammaticalmodiers.SemanticsofNaturalLanguage,ed.DonaldDavidsonandGilbertHarman,127141.Dordrecht:D.ReidelPublishingCompany.Parsons,Terence.1990.EventsintheSemanticsofEnglish:AStudyinSubatomicSemantics.Cambridge,MA:TheMITPress.Peterson,PhilipL.1997.FactPropositionEvent.Dordrecht:Kluwer.Rothstein,Susan.2004.StructuringEvents:AStudyintheSemanticsofLexicalAspect.BlackwellPublishing.Schäfer,Martin.2005.GermanAdverbialAdjectives:SyntacticPositionandSemanticInterpreta-tion.Doctoraldissertation,UniversitätLeipzig.Schäfer,Martin.2007.Resolvingscopeinmannermodication.Handout,CSSP2007,4Oct.2007.URLhttp://www.martinschaefer.info/talks/cssptalk.ps&#x-49.;rStalnaker,RobertandRichmondThomason.1973.Asemantictheoryofadverbs.LinguisticInquiry4,195220.6