The papers collected in this volume (including a comprehensive introduction) investigate semantic and discourse-related aspects of subordination and coordination, in particular the relationship between subordination/coordination at the sentence level and subordination/coordination - or hierarchical/non-hierarchical organization - at the discourse level. The contributions in part I are concerned with central theoretical questions; part II consists of corpus-based cross-linguistic studies of clause combining and discourse structure, involving at least two of the languages English, German, Dutch, French and Norwegian; part III contains papers addressing specific - predominantly semantic - topics relating to German, English or French; and the papers in part IV approach the topic of subordination, coordination and rhetorical relations from a diachronic (Old Indic and Early Germanic) perspective. The book aims to contribute to a better understanding of information packaging on the sentence and text level related, within a particular language as well as cross-linguistically.

Provides a cutting-edge yet accessible introduction to connectives and discourse relations, with examples from a range of languages.

Recent studies on the syntax and semantics of complex sentences have dealt with several challenges to the traditional boundaries between coordination and subordination. Some constructions belong to one of the two types according to syntactic criteria but relate to the other type on semantic grounds, whereas other constructions are not compatible with either the canonical syntactic or semantic tests traditionally employed to establish this distinction. Other constructions, by contrast, seem to have evolved in such a way that they now cross the divide between both types. The collection of papers in this volume delves further into the theoretical implications of previous analyses and focuses on a wide array of data from different languages, taking those challenges as a point of departure to develop innovative perspectives and to advance thought-provoking ideas.

This book presents corpus-based research on functional syntax. It is the first book to present a comprehensive investigation into grammatical metaphor in English clause combining in large-size corpora. By providing a systematic illustration of features such as parataxis, hypotaxis and embedding, it fills a gap in the systemic functional literature. It also offers insights into testing grammatical metaphors using a corpus linguistics methodology. The book is a useful resource for anyone interested in writing development.

This volume assembles eleven articles addressing current concerns in discourse studies from an empirical perspective. Engaging with highly topical issues, they indicate the potential of an approach to the construction of discourse via corpus-based analysis, experimentation, or combined methodologies. The subject matters of the contributions, delivered by renowned scholars and dealing with either one or several languages, range from mechanisms through which information structure, connection and discourse organization are realized, to prosody as a determinant of hierarchy and specific functions of discourse markers, as well as innovative tools for visualizing discourse structure. The resulting volume addresses scholars working in a variety of topics, who either wish to incorporate empirical methods to their research or whose work is already empirically oriented and wish to gain insight into empirical evidence on state-of-the-art discursive phenomena.

This volume presents a collection of papers from the second Interfaces in Language conference, hosted from 5–7 May 2009 at the University of Kent at Canterbury by the University’s Centre for Language and Lingustic Studies (CLLS). Borne of a dissatisfaction with the rigid division of linguistics into sub-disciplines, Interfaces 2 offered specialists a platform to explore links between different approaches, and attracted participation from ten countries on four continents, addressing a wide range of themes. Contributions are arranged under three thematic headings: Categories and Orthodoxies; Contact, Conflict and Repertoire; and Language and Cognition. All, in their different ways, offer a challenge to received thinking or the rigidity of established categories. The papers explore a range of linguistic interfaces, probing the frontiers at the structural level between semantics and pragmatics, or challenging the notion of a clear division between semantics and syntax. A number of papers examine, in different ways, the interface between speech and writing, while other contributors apply the techniques of linguistic analysis to the study of translation, or to the stylistics of literature or journalism. The rejection of rigid modes of thinking has produced, in Interfaces in Language 2, an eclectic collection of thought-provoking papers of rare originality and quality.

This book combines studies on referential as well as relational coherence and includes approaches to written and to spoken language, to production and to comprehension, to language specific and to cross-linguistic issues, to monolingual, bilingual and L2-acquisition. The theoretical issues and empirical findings discussed are of importance not only for theoretical linguistics, but also have a broad potential of practical implication.