Aspects of expressive strength reduction in British English and Castilian Spanish: a corpus-based analysis
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UNIVERSIDADE DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTEL A
Facultade de Filoloxía
Departamento de Filoloxía Inglesa
Aspects of Expressive Strength Reduction in British English
and Castilian Spanish: A corpus-based analysis
PhD dissertation submitted by Natali a Villar Conde and supervised by
Teresa Fanego Lema
2009
Visto e prace, a directora A doutoranda
Teresa Fanego Lema Natalia Villar Conde
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ 3
LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... 5
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 7
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 9
2. Survey of earlier research ........................................................................................ 23
2.1 Language, culture and thought ......................................................................... 23
2.2 English and Spanish in context ......................................................................... 30
2.3 Expressive strength reduction ........................................................................... 37
2.3.1 Theoretical considerations .......................................................................... 37
2.3.2 Expressive strength reduction in ge neral and in genres different from
press reportage, press edit orial and academic prose ........................................ 47
2.3.3 Expressive strength reduction in academic prose .................................... 52
2.3.4 Expressive strength reduction in press reportage and press editorial ... 56
3. Variables and methodology ..................................................................................... 61
3.1 Characteristics of the variables as a group ...................................................... 61
3.2 Characterisation of each variable ..................................................................... 75
3.2.1 Variable 1 (‘I think’) ................................................................................... 75
3.2.2 Variable 2 (‘it seems’) ................................................................................. 76
3.2.3 Variable 3 (‘probably’) ............................................................................... 78
3.2.4 Variable 4 (‘they say’) ................................................................................. 82
3.2.5 Variable 5 (‘as they say’) ............................................................................ 83
3.3 Methodology ........................................................................................................ 85
4. The corpus ................................................................................................................. 89
5. Analysis .................................................................................................................... 101
5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 101
5.1.1 The variables as a set: similarities and differences ................................ 102
5.1.2 Our expected contribution to the characterisation of English and
Spanish authorial stance .................................................................................... 107
5.1.3 Methodology ............................................................................................... 109
5.2 The variables as a group in English and Spanish .......................................... 112
5.3 The variables individually in English and Spanish ....................................... 114
5.3.1 Variable 1 (‘I think’) ................................................................................. 117
5.3.2 Variable 2 (‘it seems’) ............................................................................... 123
5.3.3 Variable 3 (‘probably’) ............................................................................. 131
5.3.4 Variable 4 (‘they say’) ............................................................................... 139
5.3.5 Variable 5 (‘as they say’) .......................................................................... 145
5.4 The variables as a group in Englis h and Spanish press reportage, press
editorial and academic prose: an overview .......................................................... 151
2
5.5 The individual variables in Englis h and Spanish press reportage, press
editorial and academic prose ................................................................................. 157
5.5.1 Variable 1 (‘I think’) ................................................................................. 162
5.5.2 Variable 2 (‘it seems’) ............................................................................... 174
5.5.3 Variable 3 (‘probably’) ............................................................................. 184
5.5.4 Variable 4 (‘they say’) ............................................................................... 197
5.5.5 Variable 5 (‘as they say’) .......................................................................... 216
5.6 English and Spanish press reportage, p ress editorial and acade mic prose in
terms of sentence-level expressive stren gth reduction: a profile for each genre
and language as regards the ‘I think’, ‘i t seems’, ‘probably’, ‘they say’ and ‘as
they say’ variables .................................................................................................. 225
6. Concluding remarks and suggestions for further resea rch ................................ 241
APPENDIX I: THE CORPUS OF TEXTS .............................................................. 247
APPENDIX II: SOURCES OF T EXTS IN THE CORP US ................................... 645
APPENDIX III: EXAMPLES OF VARI ABLES AND EXCLUDED
STRUCTURES ........................................................................................................... 673
APPENDIX IV: NUMBER OF EXAMPLES OF VARIABLES PER TEXT,
SAMPLE, GENRE AND LANGUAGE ................................................................... 737
References ................................................................................................................... 743
RESUMO EN GA LEGO ........................................................................................... 755
Acknowledgements
I am m ost indebted to my supervisor, Professor Teresa Fa nego, for invaluable
help and guidance at all stages.
Thanks are also due to Juan Carlos Ac uña Fariña and Ignacio Palacios Martínez
for their very useful comments on my initial thesis (TIT). For comm ents on m y MA
dissertation, I thank Francisco Xavier Fe rnández Polo, María Sol López Martínez,
Ignacio Palacios Martínez and María José R odríguez Espiñeira. I m ust also thank
Milagros Fernández Pérez for bibliogr aphical and methodological guidance.
For generous financial support, I am grat eful to the University of Santiago de
Compostela (travel grant November 2002) a nd the Autonomous Gove rnm ent of Galicia
(PGIDT01PXI20404PR 2001-2004; PhD grants October 1998-September 2000,
February 2001-September 2002).
Last but not least, my gratitude goes to m y parents, sister and boyfriend, for their
endless patience, support and encouragement.
LIST OF TABLES
T ABLE 2.1: O PPOSITE PAIR S OF PHILOSOPHICO - CULTURAL PRINCIP LES (Hernández
Sacristán 1999:86) .................................................................................................... p. 28
T ABLE 4.1 S AMPLES I N THE SUBCATEGORIES OF E NGLISH PRESS REPORTAGE ...... p. 96
T ABLE 5.1 O BSERV ED FREQU ENCIES , EXPECTED FREQUENCIE S AND DE VIANCE S OF
VARIABL ES IN E NGLISH AND S PANISH .................................................................... p. 118
T ABLE 5.2 O BSERV ED FREQU ENCIES , EXPECTED FREQUENCIE S AND DE VIANCE S OF
THE GROUP OF VAR IABLES IN E NGLISH AND S PANI SH PRESS RE PORT AGE , PR ESS
EDITORIAL AND ACADEMIC PROS E .......................................................................... p. 152
T ABLE 5.3 O BSERV ED FREQU ENCIES , EXPECTED FREQUENCIE S AND DE VIANCE S OF
VARIABL ES IN E NG LISH AND S PANISH PRESS REPORTAGE , PRESS EDITORIAL AND
ACADEMIC PROSE .................................................................................................... p. 158
T ABLE 5.4 V ARIABLES IN E NGLISH AND S PANISH PRESS REPORTAGE , PRESS E DITORIAL
AND ACADEMIC PROS E , IN DESCENDING ORDER OF FREQUENCY ........................... p. 224
T ABLE 5.5 V ARIABLES IN E NGLISH AND S PANISH , IN DESCEN DING ORDE R OF
FREQUENCY ............................................................................................................. p. 235
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Visual perception and con ceptualisation, Langacker (1999:205) ..... p. 44
Figure 5.1 The group of variables in English and Spanish ................................ p. 113
Figure 5.2 Expressive strength reduc tion in speech versus writing .................. p. 113
Figure 5.3.A Breakdown for th e variables in English ........................................ p. 115
Figure 5.3.B Breakdown for the variables in Spanish ........................................ p. 115
Figure 5.4 Comparative figures for th e variables in English and Spanish ...... p. 116
Figure 5.5 Tense of variable 1, I think, in English .............................................. p. 120
Figure 5.6.A Position of variable 1, I think, relative to modulated object, in English
.................................................................................................................................. p. 120
Figure 5.6.B Position of variable 1, I think, relative to modulated object, in Spanish
.................................................................................................................................. p. 123
Figure 5.7 Tense of variable 2, it seems, in English ............................................ p. 126
Figure 5.8.A Position of variable 2, it se ems, relative to modulated object, in
English .................................................................................................................... p. 127
Figure 5.8.B Position of variable 2, it se ems, relative to modulated object, in
Spanish .................................................................................................................... p. 131
Figure 5.9.A Position of variable 3, probab ly, relative to modulated object, in
English .................................................................................................................... p. 135
Figure 5.9.B Position of variable 3, probab ly, relative to modulated object, in
Spanish .................................................................................................................... p. 138
Figure 5.10 Tense of variable 4, they say, in English ......................................... p. 141
Figure 5.11.A Position of variable 4, they say, relative to modulated object, in
English .................................................................................................................... p. 142
Figure 5.11.B Position of variable 4, they say, relative to modulated object, in
Spanish .................................................................................................................... p. 144
Figure 5.12.A Position of variable 5, as they say, relative to modulated object, in
English .................................................................................................................... p. 148
Figure 5.12.B Position of variable 5, as th ey say, relative to modulated object, in
Spanish .................................................................................................................... p. 151
Figure 5.13.A The variables per genre in English .............................................. p. 151
Figure 5.13.B The variables per genre in Spanish .............................................. p. 152
Figure 5.14.A1 Variables in English press reportage ......................................... p. 159
Figure 5.14.A2 Variables in English press editorial ........................................... p. 159
Figure 5.14.A3 Variables in English academic prose ......................................... p. 159
Figure 5.14.B1 Variables in Spanish press reportage ........................................ p. 160
Chapter 1. Introduction
14
target questions of copyright or legal accountab ility for a text , or of freedom of speech.
Not being centred on authorship fro m the point of view of literary language, it will not
target the relationship between auth or and narrator, or au thority in the world of fiction.
Not being centred on authority as a moral question, it will not target the opposition
between sincerity and lying. This is not to say that there is an active determination not
to consider those aspects, that they cannot b ear some kind of relationship to the topic or
that they cannot turn out to be of some relevance, only that the focus is not on them.
The focus is on how, in terms of frequency, form and function, five optional
clause/sentence-level linguistic struct ures expressive of the process of
vision/conceptualisation/communication ch allenge authorial comm itment to the
message.
The preceding comments make it clear how certain aspects, not being linguistic
aspects proper, fall beyond the scope of th e present study. There are also some
linguistic aspects which fall beyond the scope of the present study too. First, this is not
a study on clause modality. Thus, it w ill not review the contrast between e.g.
interrogative and declarative clauses. Neither is this a study on the modals, so it will not
be concerned with th e contrast between e.g. pos sibility and proba bility or volitionality
and obligatoriness as expressed by modal verbs. Further, this is not a study of clause
mood. In this way, it will not tackle the contrast between e.g. the indicative and the
subjunctive or the imperative and the conditio nal. Finally, neithe r is this a study on
emphasis. Thus, it will n ot focus on devices used to highlight the form or content of the
message. Again, those aspects might turn ou t of relevance and be according l y dealt
with, but they are not central to the topic.
With the general and sp ecific objectives clarified, and the topic well delim ited,
let us consider the framew ork used. This is a study in contrastive (also called cross-
cultural ) pragmatics 8 . As a study in pragmatics, it will consider language in use or,
what amounts to the sam e thing, language in context. As a study in contrastive
pragmatics, it will contrast British E nglish and Castilian Span ish, and, within the se two,
the genres of press reportage, pres s editorial and academic prose. Fu rthermore, there
will also be som e discussion of the three subgen res conforming press editorial, namely
8 For the conce p tual characterisation of pragmatics a nd specifically contrastiv e pragmatics as well as for
analyses developed in t he latter framework, see Wi erzbicka (2003[ 1991]) and H ernández Sacristán
(1999); also chapter 2.
Chapter 1. Introduction
15
institutional editorial, personal ed ito rial, and letters to the editor . The gist of the work is
a corpus-based analysis scrutinising the oc currences of five linguistic variables,
commenting on quantitative and qualitative asp ects of the variables’ use -bas ically
aspects of frequency, form and function- from a comparative and contrastive
perspective. Let us consider some basic questions about the va riables, methodology and
corpus.
In this thesis, the unit of analysis is the linguistic va riable. Five linguistic
variables are distinguished. They modify a clause or a sentence . Because they can
modify a whole sentence, they can be called superordinate 9 . They are optional , in the
sense that their absence would not be consid ered incorrect or explained through ellipsis
or something of the sort by trad itio nal gramm a r. They function at clause/sentence-level .
This means that the variable and the clause/s entence modified by the variable form part
of one and the same clause or sentence. They allude to some aspect of the process of
vision/conceptualisa tion/communication . And they limit authorial commitment to the
information and/or opinion expressed in the cl ause/sen tence they modify. Those are, in
brief, the c haracteristics that the f i ve variable s share. What follows off ers a brief
definition of each variable (an in -depth discussion will be offered in sections 3.1-3.2):
-Variable 1 is a lso called the ‘I thin k’ variable, because the expression
epitomising it is I think . With varia ble 1 (‘I think’) th e add resser self-r efers through a
first person subject pronoun + predicator, as in I think Peter is righ t . See 3.1 and 3.2.1.
It must be noted tha t in this thesis predicator is “the function of a verb phrase in a larger
construction (so that in I saw the film , say, saw is predicator and the film object)”
(Huddleston 1984:9). In keeping predicator distinct from verb , a syntactic function the
form er, a form, syntactic class or p art of speech the latter, this thesis aligns its elf with
Huddleston (1984:9, 18-20, 62, 177, 183).
-Variable 2 is also called the ‘it seem s’ variable, becaus e the ex pression
epitomising it is it seems . Variable 2 (‘it seem s’) involve s the use of a cl ause with third
9 This part icular use of superordination is bo rrowed fro m Quirk et al. (1991[19 85]:613). Howeve r, in
this context the su perordination is to b e understood at the lev el of pragmatics rath er than grammar. Th us,
a variable can be subordinate in terms of grammar but, having a sentence in its sco pe, it will still be
superordin ate to that senten ce. This thesis will a lso make use of the opposition superord inate/subordinate
in terms of grammar.
Chapter 1. Introduction
16
person singular reference in a formally impersonal or passive structure, as in it seems
Peter is right . See 3.1 and 3.2.2.
-Variable 3 is also called the ‘proba bly’ variable, because the expression
epitomising it is probably . Variable 3 (‘probably’) consis ts of an adverbial expression
alluding to circumstances contraveni ng certainty or universality, as in Peter is probably
right . See 3.1 and 3.2.3.
-Variable 4 is also called the ‘they sa y’ variable, because the expression
epitomising it is they sa y . With variable 4 (‘the y say’) the addresser refers to a third
party through a third person subject noun phras e with human reference + predicator, as
in they say Peter is right . See 3.1 and 3.2.4.
-Variable 5 is also called the ‘as they say ’ variable, because the expression
epitomising it is as they say . This variable involves an elem ent marking subordinate
status and third person human reference, as in as they say , Peter is rig ht . See 3.1 and
3.2.5.
It will have been noticed that a v erb is essential in all variables exc ept for
variable 3 (‘probably’). Trad itional grammar te lls us that verbs convey actions, states
and processes, and the role of verbs in variables 1 (‘I th ink’), 2 (‘it seems’), 4 (‘they
say’) and 5 (‘as they say’) would thus be co nsistent with the role of the process of
vision/conceptualisation/communication in the reduction of expressive strength. As for
variable 3 (‘probably’), most of the structures conforming it correspond to adverbial
expressions conveying doubt or l ack of it. These expression s are in turn epitom ised by
modal adverbs , using Huddleston and Pullum’s (2002) term inology 10 . A minor
subgroup is conformed by adverbial expressions such as honestly or sincerely , which
suggest that the propositional c ontent of the modified clause /sentence is the product of
an individual process of thought or communi cation. Notice as well that the adverb
sincerely , for instance, is pragmatically e quivalent to the non-finite clause speaking
sincerely , or that honestly is pragm atically equivalent to speaking honestly 11 . The
10 This category is broadly equi valent to the Spani sh categor y of adverbios de dud a or adverbios mod a les .
The form er terminol ogy is used in Lázaro Carreter (1968[1 953]) s.v. adver bio , the latter in Kovacci
(1999: 707).
11 On the relationship between sen tence-level, au thorial responsibilit y-lowering adverbials and
metal anguage, see, for Engl ish, Greenbaum (1969:section 4. 4) and Quirk et al. (1991[1985]:sectio ns
8.124-8.126), and, for Spanish, Kovacci (1999:subsection 11.5.2).
Chapter 1. Introduction
17
versions involving speaking constitute expressions explic itly marking the process of
communication. With s i ncerely , honestly or probably in isolation the process can still
be intuitively f elt.
From all the above it will have becom e clear that this study does not intend to
analyse exhaustively all the possib le linguis tic ways of limiting authorial commitment
to information/opinion in the three genres under analys is in British English and
Castilian Spanish. Apart from the five variab les selected here, othe r strategies available
in the two languages under discussion can be us ed to m odify a clause or sentence with
an authorial responsibility-lim iting effect. But those other strategies do not focus upo n
the process of vision/conceptualisation/language in the sa m e way. These strategies
include the introduction of a m odal verb into an otherwise unm odalised predicator, the
selection of certain clause moods (especially in the case of Spanish, cf. Ferrari and
Gallardo 1999, and Haverkate 2004) or the use of a passive clause where the author is
not explicitly marked as against an active clause involving self-refe rence (especi ally in
the case of English, cf. Hernández Sacristán 1995). Furthermore, responsibility -limiting
structures can m odify structures whose le vels are higher or lower than the clause/
sentence. For instance, one can limit one’s commitment to a whole text by concluding
the text with at least, that’s my in tuition , or by beginning the text with this is what
happened if we are to trust the witness . Or one can lim it the commitment to an
adjective using quite in teresting instead of interesting , or, instead of deceptive , very
deceptive . Leaving out of the focus structures other than the five ling uistic variables
will allow for an important degree of detail in the analysis. Including in the focus no
less than the five variables will expe ctedly increase the number of relevant findings in
the compare-and-con trast approach.
It seems interesting now to go over the methodology that will be employed.
This has three axes, nam ely the comparative and contrastive perspective, the
examination of quantita tive and qualitative aspects, and the corpus . A com pare-and-
contrast approach will b e adopted, which means that data will be considered in co ntext.
The comparison and co ntrast will be centred on the five variables, the three genres and
the two languages. Thus, th e anal ysis will establish relevant points of comparis on
regarding the presen ce of all the variables per genre and language and the presence of
each individual variable per gen re and langua ge. The comparison and contrast will b e
Chapter 1. Introduction
18
complemented by considering different variants of one and the sam e variable. This is
especially, but by no m eans exclusively, the case with variable 5 (‘as th ey say’), which
has two variants, one involving a verb, as in as Mary says , and the other not involving a
verb, as in according to Mary . Another aspect in which the comparison and contrast
will be complemented is by also considering linguistic structures o ther than the five
variables chosen, genres other than press reportage, press editorial and academ ic prose,
and languages other than English and Spanish.
The analysis will be qua ntitative and quali tative. The quantitative aspect will be
based on the attested nu mber of occurrences of the variables. From this number we will
obtain frequencies and s tatistical tests which de term ine the statistical sign ificance of the
frequencies. Specifically, the statistical test s will take the form of the chi-square, or χ 2 ,
test, and, whenever appropriate , the so-called Yates’ corr ection (for details on the
statistics employed, see 5.1). The use of the ch i-square test is certa inly essen tial in a
study such as this thesis, an in-depth study involving five variable s, three genres and
two languages. On the other hand, while th e relevance of data would hardly be
appreciated without the quantitative approach, the analysis w ould not be complete in the
absence of a qualitative approach. Thus, the occurrences of variables will be examined
in terms of m eaning, form and function, an d matched, whenever appropriate, against
invented examples or against de finitions, classifications or ot her relevant concepts in the
linguistic literature.
The third axis of the methodology is the co rpus. The corpus-based analysis is
frequent in pragmatics. The reason for the predom inance of the corpus-based analysis
in pragmatics, hence its selecti on here, is that the intention is to study language in actual
use rather than potential grammatical struct ures, and corpora reflect actual linguistic
usage in real comm unicative events. Furtherm ore, typically a corpus is structured, in
other words, it consists of ordered and coherent samples of language which are
classified, something essential for the research er when handling the texts. The corpus in
the present study 12 com p rises some 180,000 words of authentic material, with som e
30,000 per genre and language. Th e corpus is representative of standard written British
English and standard written Castilian Spanish, as the samples belong to press
12 For an i n-depth discussio n of the c orpus, see chapt er 4.
Chapter 1. Introduction
19
reportage, press editorial and acad emic prose 13 . The English section of the corpus has
been taken from the FLOB corpus, a corpus of written British English from 1991 which
has been published in CD format. Com piling th e English section of the corpus for this
thesis has involved a partly random, partly conscious selection of samples from the
FLOB corpus. By far the most dem a nding as pect in the compilation of the corpus f or
this thesis, in terms of tim e and effort, has been the compilation of the Spanish section.
At the time of starting work f or this thes is, there was no organised corpus of written
Castilian Spanish with the required size in which one could access the whole texts; to
the best of my knowledge, this continues to be the case today 14 . Thus, for the Spanish
section of the corpus I started from scratch and, from authentic m aterial in the Internet
and in paper format, selected samples which m irror the samples of the English section
in genre and topic and transcribed them. In this way I com piled and organised a
180,000-word corpus of standard written Britis h English and standard written Castilian
Spanish, making it an ‘ordered and coheren t mass of language which is classified’ for
its handling in linguistic researc h. The corpus for th is thesis is given as appendix I (the
samples them selves) and appendix II (informati on on the samples, such as text title or
year of publication ). This thesis will thus enable othe r researchers to work on the
90,000 words of authentic material in Span ish or to work cr oss-linguistically by
comparing them to the parallel 90,000 words of authentic material in English.
Earlier preliminary pilot studies for this thesis were conducted in Villar Conde
(2001, 2002). There I analysed aspects of expressive st rength reduction in spoken
British English, Castilian Spanish and Gali cian, with more than 9,000 words per
language. That research showed that their common Indo-European origin and their
location in Western Europe does not precl ude British English, Castilia n Spanish and
Galician from presenting differences in communicative patterns suggestive of a cultural
distance logically stemming from varied contextual aspects. In Villar Conde
(2002:261), I concluded that
13 Inadequat e generalisati ons from corpora are complained against in Biber ( 1988:sections 3.1-3. 4 and
1995:27 and 37). The corpu s for this thesis comprises standard written British Eng lish and standard
written Castilian Span ish and that is wh at the corpus re presents, so the corpus is not meant to represen t
(spoken and written) Eng lish and Spanish in general.
14 Note in this conn ection that the CREA , a database of spok en and written Span ish carried ou t by the
Spanish R oyal Academy of Langua ge, is not a cor pus proper; see sect ion 3 .3.
Chapter 1. Introduction
20
[e]xpressive strength reduction through the use of perception/episte mic verbs in first
person singular subject reference appears to be pote ntiated in British English in direct
response to the values of individualism, non- interference in others’ affairs and veiled
self-exposure, whilst such a linguistic device is not so reinforced in Spanish and in
Galician, where the values of collectiv ism, solidarity and affectivity seem to have a
greater influence. Formality seems to run parallel to the rejection of the variable in
English, with professionalism similarly discar ding the variable in the three languages.
This conclusion concerns one additional language apart from the two languages under
analysis in this thesis. Furt hermore, it concerns linguistic st ructures which in this thesis
only partly conform variable 1 (‘I think’). Ho wever, this conclusion already points to
how philosophical principles and sociocultural values ( e.g. individualism versus
collectivism) as well as linguistic aspects ( e.g. form al versus familiar language) interact
in linguistic expression, and specifically in expressive strength reduction as brought
about by the marking of the vision/conceptualisa tion process. In this thesis, I have left
out Galician because of the add e d difficulty of com piling large corpor a for the three
languages.
To conclude this intro duction, let us outline the way in which this thesis is
structured . This introductory chap ter is follo wed by a chapter containing a survey of
earlier research. Section 2.1 of this chapte r explores the relationship between language,
culture and thought, reconciling cogn itivism a nd pragm atics in a comprehensive view of
language. Section 2.2 goes over features of th e English and Spanish languages-cultures.
The chapter is closed by section 2.3, whic h surveys expressive strength reduction.
Chapter 3 deals with the va riables and methodology. Secti on 3.1 offers an in-depth
discussion of the features shared by the five variables, while an in -depth discussion of
the features of each individual variable is offered in sec tion 3.2. Section 3.3 outlines the
foundations for the methodology. Chapter 4 cons iders the corpus. Chapter 5 offers the
analysis. This begins with the introductory section 5.1, which sketches the similarities
and differences between the five variables, th e expected contribution of the analys is to
the linguistic literature, and the methodol ogical underpinnings. Sections 5.2 and 5.3
respectively analyse the variables as a group a nd the individual variables in the English
and Spanish sections of the corpus. S ections 5.4 and 5.5 respectively analyse the
variables as a group and the in dividual variables in Englis h and Spanish press reportage,
press editorial and academic prose. Section 5.6 offers a profile of English and Spanish
Chapter 1. Introduction
21
press reportage, press editorial an d academic prose in terms of the five variab les.
Chapter 6, the final major chapter, offers som e concluding remarks and suggestions for
further research. It is followed by four a ppendices. Appendix I contains the corpus.
Appendix II gives relevant data about each individual sample in the corpus. Appendix
III lists all the occurren ces of variables, accompanied by comments on borderline cases
and by comments on som e potential examples of variables which for varied reason s are
not real examples. Appendix IV offers the number of occurrences of variables per text,
sample, genre and language. Finally, the Re ference section closes the dissertation.
2. Survey of earlier research
As was implied in the introducti on, this thesis considers la nguage as an entity defined
by culture, context and pragmatics, attitude, point of view and cognitivism . Thus, the
first section in the curren t surv ey will consist of an overvie w of the relationship between
language, culture and thought. Within this gen e ral framework, section 2.2 will trace a
profile of English and Spanish in context, considering the gramm atical as well as the
interpersonal com ponent of language. The next section will survey the idea of
expressive strength reduction, and will be organised into f our subsections. Subsection
2.3.1 will explore the idea of expressive streng th reductio n in theory, connecting it to
the concepts of modality , hedging, stance, and subjectivity. Subsection 2.3.2 will d eal
with findings concerning expressive streng th reduction in general and in genres
different from those conforming the cor pus for this thesis. Subsection 2.3.3 will
examine expressive strength reduction in one of the three genres m aking up our corpus,
academic prose. As will be seen, academ ic prose, in English and in other languages,
has been a favourite in studies related to expressive stre ngth reduction. The two other
genres making up our corpus, press reportage a nd press editorial, belong to the written
press, and to expressive strength reduc tion in the written press will be devoted
subsection 2.3.4.
2.1 Language, culture and thought
Languages are the best mirror of the hum an mind.
Leibniz (1949:368)
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
30
responsibility for the truth value of the expres sion or commits him sel f to a certain act in
the future. Due to this important role of responsibility at the le vel of the individual,
commisive and representative sp eech acts are partic ularly associated with the last p air of
opposites 17 .
It should be noticed that the group of values commented upon is only a sample,
though enough to illustrate the interrelationship of linguistic and sociocultural patterns.
2.2 English and Spanish in context
While general descriptions of the English language in context, whether or not within the
compare-and-contrast approach, can easily be found, this is no t the case with the
pragmatics of Spanish. Calvo Pérez’s (1994 ) introductory study to Spanish pragm atics
is highly theoretical and does not focu s upon the connection between linguistic
structures and philosophical principles and sociocultural values. A number of studies
(Haverkate, Mulder and Fraile Maldonado (ed.) 1998, Garcés Conejos et al. (ed.) 2004)
explore, with different orie ntations, very specific aspects of the Spanish language-
culture. However, we h ave to agree with López García (2000:21) that “[e]stamos aún
lejos de poder redactar una gramática pragm á tica del español”. Let us review the main
ideas about the English and Spanish languages in connection with philosophical maxim s
and sociocultural values.
It seems relevant to begin by considering a frequently m entioned opposition, the
opposition between individualism and colle ctivism (W ierzbicka 2003[1991], 2006,
Scollon and Scollon 2001[1995], Jandt 1998, Hernández Sacristán 1999, Sifianou
2005). Jandt (1998:214-215) explains that individualistic cultures do not tend to
particularly take in to account the concep t of group action in th eir objectives, whilst
collectivist cultu res consider tackling their ta sks m ore collectively. Furthermore, an
individualistic community has less interpers onal cohesion. Great Britain figures as a
highly individualistic country in the list provided by Jandt. This would be consistent
with the read iness of the British English a ddresser to individualise linguistic expression
17 As Perkins (1983:23, note 6, and 24, no te 10) indicates, Searle (1979) replaces representative by
assertive , whilst the most common deno mination is assert ion .
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
31
tracing it back to him/hersel f as a perceptual subject (cf. subsection 2.3.1 below). More
specifically, in the list of countries presented by Jandt (1998:215) as a table entitled
“Level of Individualis m, by Culture”, the heading “High” is ascribe d to the United
States, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, th e Netherlands, New Zeal and, Italy, Belgium,
and Denmark. The heading “Low (collectiv ist)” is given to Venezu ela, Colombia,
Pakistan, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Chile and Hong Kong. Notice the weight
of English in the former group and the weight of Spanish in the latter.
Individualism as well as democracy, lib eralism, non-interf erence in others’
affairs, and Locke and Hume’s rationalism app ear to be essential in the shaping of th e
English language (W ierzbicka 1997:chapter 3, 2006). Freedom from imposition,
avoidance of flat im perative sentences, pers onal autonomy and not tellin g others what to
do are identified in Wierzbicka (200 6:12) as concerns of Anglo culture 18 . Besides, on
pp. 173-174 she describes the “cultural emphasis on personal autonom y” as
“characteristic of modern Anglo society and reflected in m a ny ways in modern English”
and as not so representative of the Spanis h-speaking world. Furthermore, on p. 187 she
refers to “the m odern Anglo ethos of “ noninterference, ” “nonimposition,” and “negative
freedom”” and to “the rights of the addresse e as an autonomous and free individual”.
On pp. 199-201 she discusses the ce ntrality of such id eas in the Anglo culture versus the
Japanese or Russian cultures.
Another Anglo idea pointed out in Wierzbic ka (2006) is “that it is natural for
people to want to know all sorts of things and that in princi ple people have the right to
have their questions answered (except for so-called personal questions, which shouldn’t
be asked in the first place [...])” (p. 191). Re lated to this is her reference to the m ode rn
Anglo culture’s “emphasis on empiricism , pe rsonal opinion, and antidogmaticism” (p.
224) and to “the tradition of British em pirici sm, of the emphasis on pers onal experience,
on the limitations of one’s knowledge, and on tolerance for diverse points of view and
respect for everyone’s “personal opini on.”” (p. 226). Furthermore, on p. 229 she
18 Wierzbicka (2006) uses the expression Angl o English t o refer t o the olde r varieties of En glish, shari ng a
cultural co re, and correspondi ng to the comm onest sense of English as a noun. It must also be noted that
Wierzbick a (2006) quo tes many authors who illu strate the extended view th at there is no single En glish
culture and language (cf. especia lly chapter 1 ). To the authors she quotes we may add Hollid ay, Hyde
and Kullman (2004), who on p. 86 explicitly q uestion the approp riateness of the idea of an ‘Anglo
culture’. I t hink Wierzbicka (1997, 2006) makes it crysta l clear that there is an Eng lish cultur e and
language and that the co ncept is rel evant in l inguist ics.
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
32
alludes to “the development of an elaborate system of epistemic phrases reflecting the
intellectual and socia l legacy of the British Enlightenment”.
Epistemic ph rases such as I think (cf . our variable 1), it seems , it is probable (cf.
our variable 2) and epistemic adverbs such as probably (cf. our variable 3) are found to
be characteristic of Eng lish language-culture, for their abundance and importance
(Holmes 1982, 1983, Perkins 1983, Biber a nd F inegan 1988, 1989, Aijmer 1997, 1998,
Nuyts 2001, Hoye 2005, Wierzbicka 2006). On the other hand, the abundance and
importance of epistem ic phrases such as I think in the English language seem s to be
better illustrated in the oral mode (Kärkkäinen 2003, 2007, W i erzbicka 2006).
Another relevant finding is the relative lack of emoti on in the English coding of
human relationships (W ierzbicka 1997:chapte r 2, 2006). Wierzbicka (2006:47) points
out that
[l]inguistic evidence suggests that there are probably several cultural scripts in Angl o
culture that caution, in one way or other, about em otions. [...] I will suggest one
particular cultural script, focused on the e xpression of opinions. Roughly speaking, this
script says that if one wants to express an opinion about something, it is good to do it in
a calm, cool fashion.
On p. 50 she further clarifies:
The [Anglo culture] script cautioning agains t “heat” in the expression of opinions is
linked, logically, with a num b er of other scr ipts concerning opinions: that they should
be rational, that they should have been a rrived at by thinking and considering various
possibilities, that one should be open-m inded ab out them, and that one should not under
any circumstances try to impose them on other people.
We can contrast the popular be lief in the passionate char acter of Latin cultures in
general and of Spanish culture in particular.
Though Spanish is not part of the co mparison, W ierzbicka (2003[1991]) sheds
light on the expression of opinions in Englis h language-culture with a host of second
terms of comparison. The connection be tween cultural context and discursive
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
33
organisation is pointed out by Fern ández Pérez (1999:28) as follows:
[L]os entornos antropológi co-culturales aparec en ligados a planteamientos discursivos
peculiares, sin duda debido a los parámetros de interacción y de expectativas propios de
los contextos idiomáticos. Se dice, así, que el inglés elabora sus mensajes en torno a
“opinion-oriented” donde otras lenguas orga nizan la información “truth-oriented”;
cuando el inglés comenta I guess it’s t rue (‘supongo que es verdad’), el polaco dice to
prawda (‘es verdad’).
This quotation refers us to Wierzbicka ( 2003[1991]), where the two sentences appear as
part of a large group of examples having to do with the issue of st rength in expression.
Wierzbicka (2003[1991]:chapter 2) shows how the English language is oriented
towards opinion in the presentation of ideas. This is related to the gre at value that the
Anglo-Saxon culture places upon the principle of non-interference in others’ affairs.
Trying to avoid the imposition of one’s point s of view upon the addressee, the Anglo-
Saxon addresser does not want to present ideas as ‘truth’. Behind is a long trad ition of
democracy and lib eralism according to which the assum ption exists of equality among
human beings, an equality which should be re flected in tolerance for d i fferences. The
“opinion-oriented” style characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon cultu re is especially
perceived in the sphere of opinions precisely.
The sphere of opinions is dealt with in subsection 3 .4 of W ierzbicka
(2003[1991]:chapter 2). A contrast is establ ished between the force normally carried by
opinions in Polish and the trend towards m odul ation in English. Th e strength typical in
the expression of opinions in Polish is refl ected, for instance, in the use of the wo rd
prawda ‘truth’ in tags where the a ddresser, having just expressed a personal point of
view, asks for confirm ation from the addressee. The literal English equiv alents of such
expressions of opinion come acro ss as particu larly strange: ?She is nice, right? , ??She
is terrific, right? (p. 42). This formula for requiring confirmation is also used in Polish
after the descrip tion of measurable aspects, as in the Polish equivalent of the English
sentence She is Italian, right? (same page). On the othe r hand, the use of introductory
structures intended to diminish strength in th e presentation of ideas is common in
English and uncommon in Polish. Besides, for som e examples of such introductory
structures in English there is no counterpart in Polish. This holds for the peculiar use in
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
34
Australian English of I r eckon or in American English of I g uess , structures which tend
to be removed in translations in to Polish. Another contrast consists of the common
occurrence in English, while in Polish such expressions tend to be avoided, of rather ,
sort of and similar hedges in the m anifestation of opinions and evaluations, illustra ting
again the importance of the pr inciple of non-interference.
Wierzbicka refers us to Drazdauskiene (1981), another contrastive study which
attributes to English this tendency to avoi d the open expression of opinion, in this case
as compared to Lithuanian. The Lithuanian author ass erts that expressions such as I
think , I believe or I don’t think are far m ore usual in E nglish than in Lithuanian.
In section 5 of the same chapte r 2, and following Geertz (1976[1960]),
Wierzbicka (2003[1991]) m entions another c ontrast affecting the Anglo-Saxon culture,
in this case compared to the Javanese culture . This latter favours the hiding of truth and
what is popularly called in English beating about the bush . This constitutes a contrast
with Anglo-Saxon culture. Wierzbic ka (2003[1991]:100-102) expands these
reflections, pointing to the Javanese speaker’s rejection of the linguistic expression of
what he/she feels, wants, thinks and knows. The avoidanc e of the explicit
acknowledgement of one’s ideas is also pres ent in the Japanese culture, although with
an important difference. The Japanese speaker relies on the listene r’s ability to discern
ideas expressed im plicitly, whilst the Javane se speaker voluntarily h ides what he/she
thinks, following the rule of concealm ent characteristic of traditional philosophy.
Geertz (1976[1960]:238-241) -i n a chapter entitled “The General Dimensions of
Prijaji Belief”- points out the d eep union in the Javanese philosophy of the concepts of
feeling and meaning . In this particular cosm ovisi on, feeling comprises touch, taste and
emotion and is ultim ately a way of understa nding. Furthermore, this culture places
great emphasis on ex ercising se lf-control with one’s inner feelings (I would like to
introduce here a contrast with Western Eu ropean philosophy, which typically connects
the idea of f eeling with the idea of the extern al m anifestation of emotions). All this
exercises an influence on t he conversational topic, as i llustrated by the follo wing
quotation from Geertz (1976[1960]:240):
When Pak Ardjo (my landlord, whose house ha d been robbed in his absence) got back
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
35
home after the robbery, he didn’t say anything to Bu Ardjo about i t for quite a while. In
fact, when I came in, just after he returned , he was talking to a railroad friend and said
there had been a lot going on here too, but he just ignored this and went on talking
about other subjects. . . . Later he told me he had resigned him s elf about the theft; had
convinced himself by saying, ‘If it ’s gone, it’s gone, and that’s all there is to it.’ Being
upset wouldn’t bring the bike back, nor would getting angry at his wife. . . . He said h e
had kept himself from being upset abou t it all”.
The Javanese cosmovision favours not onl y the omission of certain subject
matters, but also a peculiar way of conveying ideas through strategies that show a
linguistic and cultural overlap. When the Javanese speaker avoids expressing what
he/she thinks, the intention is to pre vent hi s/her true ideas and feelings from bringing
about the listener’s reaction du ring the course of the conv ersation. However, if the
speaker expects som ething from the listener, in some way or other this must be
communicated; otherwise, the risk that th e speaker’s expectations will go unfulfilled
will be high. Geertz recalls two anecdotes in order to clarify how communication is
made possible. The first anecdote is about a man who wanted to divorce his wife, but
did not want to tell her so. He kindled an existing conf lict between his wife and his
mother until the former, unable to stand the situation any longer, asked for a divorce.
The second anecdote is about a woman who wa nted to convince her husband that they
should move. She m a naged to make him find several written notes m entioning the
uncomfortable state in which the family lived -notes that rem ain ed anonymous despite
the man’s desperate efforts to di scover their origin-. In the end, he took the initiative for
them to m ove.
Another relevant study mentioned by W i er zbicka is Eades (1982). Again, the
Anglo-Saxon culture appears as more direct th an the second term of comparison, in this
case the South-East Queensland Abo riginal society.
Let us examine Eades (1982) directly. Af ter extensive field work, this author
concludes that, in the context of the S outh-East Queensland A boriginal society,
information must be conveyed in the course of conversation, with strict limits on the use
of questions. More specifically, informa tion-seeking m ust begin with a statement
related to the data sou ght, after which th e speaker mu st wait until these answers
spontaneously arise in the di alogue. Besides, the availa bility of information is
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
36
determined by social stratifica tion, with access to certain data restricted to certain so cial
groups.
As regards information-seeking, then, the Anglo-Saxon culture would be the
‘strong’ term as com pared to the South-Ea st Queensland Aborigin al society. The
former encourages the use of questions in all ty pes of information-seeking situa tions,
which results in the omnipresence of tests, qu estionnaires and intervie ws. In this sense,
the questioning nature of Anglo-Saxon judici al processes poses a real problem for
Aborigines. When Aborigines are involved in Anglo-Saxon judicial processes, they
find themselves in a completely str ange situation and the experience tends to f ail due to
a lack of cooperation.
Going back to Wierzbicka (2003[1991]:cha pter 2), on page 63 she signals that
studies such as Eades (19 82), Sansom (1980) or Abrahams (1976) show that Anglo-
Saxon cultural norm s (as compared with Aust ralian Aboriginal norms, or with black
American norms) encourage ‘directness’ in seeking information from the addressee.
Evidently, the Anglo-Saxon principle of non-interference, which accounts for the heavy
restrictions on the use of the imperative, doesn’t extend to questions (I don’t m e an
‘personal questions’, but questions in gene ral) - presumably, because information is
seen in Anglo-Saxon culture as a free and public good. In fact, the restrictions on the
use of the imperative seem to be com p ensated by a tremendous expansion of
interrogative devices.
We see how the same culture, in this case the Anglo-Saxon culture, may be seen
as particularly ‘direct’ and strong with rega rd to the communicativ e patterns present in
other communities ( the Javanese, the Japanese, Australian Aborigines, and black
Americans), and particularly ‘indirect’ if the second term of comparison is a culture
such as the Polish or Lithuanian cultures. Th is points to the importance o f examining in
detail the linguistic devices to be analysed. Thus, attention should be paid to aspects
such as type of expression, frequency, function and value. Labels such as direct and
indirect should be handled cautiously, and their dependence on external elements
adequately considered. On the other ha nd, such reservations about the use of
descriptive labels do not imply that com paris on is to be avoided. Quite on the contrary,
contrastive pragm atics can be highly revealing, but the intrin sic value of each culture is
never to be forgotten.
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
37
Similar reservations to those about the refe rence to a ‘direct’ or ‘indirect’ culture
are pointed out by Wierzbicka (2003[1991]:61-62) about the re ference to a ‘direct’ or
‘indirect’ style. She p oints out the importa nce of context when using labels such as
direct speech or indirect sp eech , connecting this idea with Hollos and Beeman
(1978:353-354).
If we directly consult Hollos and Beeman (1978:353-354) we find the reflection
that there is
a ‘cultural communicative style’ which operat es in the issuing of directives -a kind of
qualitative contour for this particular set of related communicative acts which is distinct
for different societies. Knowledge of the na ture of this ‘cultural communicative sty le’
tells us quite a bit about the societies in which they are active.
We expect that the sty le of interaction which persons use in order to make their
wants and desires understood bears a direct re lationship to general sets of expectations
and values within the society.
Thus, directive would be another label which shoul d be handled cautiously, with due
contextualisation.
On the other hand, despite all nuances re su lting from the compare-and-contrast
approach, in the litera ture there is a widespread associ ation of the English language with
understatement and hedges. W i erzbicka (2006:section 2.3) mentions a number of
bibliographical references which app eared at different points in the 20 th century, the
most recent of which is Huebler (1983). W e can add numerous others. This leads u s to
the idea of hedging, m itigation and modality, and, specifically, the reduction of
expressive strength.
2.3 Expressive strength reduction
2.3.1 Theoretical considerations
The introduction to the present disse rtation contrasted the expression elephants cannot
fly with I think elephants cannot fly , and Peter is wrong with Peter is probably wrong .
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
38
It introduce d the idea that the ‘expanded’ versions show less commitm ent on the part of
the addresser. The addition of optional structures which formally involve autho r ial
commitm ent is identified here with an avoi dance or weakening of such commitment (cf.
Halliday 1994[1985]:89, Hyland 1998:44-45 and 75, Murph y 2004:209).
As anticipated in the introduction to this thesis, the addresser’s respon sibility for
the reflections he/she manifests will be iden tified with a strong de gree of expressive
strength. In this way, the gr eater the number of strategies the addresser introduces to
diminish the strength of the discourse, th e less responsibility will be attributed to
him/her. There is here a connection with the ideas of epistemic m odality, hedging,
stance, and subjectivity.
The expressive strength reduction achieve d by the use of each of the five
variables in the present thesis is closely connected to the idea of hedging. The five
variables correspond, to a certain extent, to he dges in the common se nse of the word in
the literature. The co rrespondence is, however, not complete, as in the five variables the
explicit expression of convict ion plays a certain role whic h would typically be excluded
from the technical sense of hedging (Hyland 1998:5). On the other hand, countless
linguistic strategies not subsumed under the five variables m ay be used as hedges
(Hyland 1998:45).
Hyland (1998:1) defines hedging as “any linguistic m eans used to indicate either
a) a lack of complete commitment to the tr uth value of an accom panying proposition, or
b) a desire not to express that commitment cat egorically”. On p. 3 he further explains
that “hedging is one pa rt of epistemic moda lity; it indica tes an unwillingness to make an
explicit and complete commitment to the truth o f propositions”.
The relationship between a lack of commit ment on the part of the addresser and
epistemic modality is pointe d out by Lyons (1977). Ind eed, m any authors continue to
quote Lyons (1977) in that regard (as in many others concerning semantics; cf. also the
summary in Lyons 1981). Lyons (1977:792) expl ains that “any utterance in which the
speaker explicitly qualifies his commitm ent to the truth of the proposition expressed by
the sentence he utters [...] is an epis temically modal, or modalised sentence” ( apud
Hyland 1998:2).
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
39
Modality concerns the addresser’ s standpoint (Lyons 1977:452, Halliday
1994[1985]:75, Hyland 1998:44). Hyland (1998:44) explains that essentially modality
is concerned with the addresser’s “standpoint, judging the truth of statements in term s of
possibility, probability or certainty. In e ssence modality qualifies th e categorical”.
According to Perkins (1983:8), m odality “can be understoo d in terms of the possible
worlds in which [events and propos itions] can be conceived of as being real or true”.
Perkins (1983:87) explains that modality “i s fun damentally a relationship between a set
of circumstances and a proposition/event relative to a cert ain set of laws”.
As Perkins (1983:10) points out, “the nu mber of m odalities one decides upon is
to some extent a matter of different ways of slicing the sam e cak e”. Perkins (1983)
divides m odality into three block s, namely epistemic m odalities, deontic modalities, and
dynamic m odalities. Epistemic m odalities relate to truth, knowledge and belief. The
laws determining the occurren ce of this type of modalities are rational laws. Deontic
modalities relate to obligation and perm issi on as determined by authority (both legal
and institutional authority as well as a more personal authority related to socia l status).
The laws determining the occurre nce of this type of modalities are social laws.
Dynamic modalities relate to physical necessity and possib ility. For Perkins (1983),
likelihood and boulomaic (also called volitio nal) modalities are subsum ed under the
concept of dynamic modalities. The laws determ ining the occurrence of dynamic
modalities are natural laws (for boulom aic m oda lities, specifically psycho logical laws).
Other authors divide the ‘cake’ of m odality into two main pieces, namely
epistemic modality and deontic m odality ( e.g. Lyons 1977; Palm er 1990[1979], Hyland
1998). Hyland (1998:44) explains that epistemic m odality “expresses the speaker’s
opinion or belief concerning the truth of what is said”, while deontic modality “indicates
his or her observations about the necessity or obligation to perform particular actions”.
Hyland (1998:44-45) explains that epistem ic modality
refers to items used to display confidence, or lack of confidence, in the truth of
propositional information. Hedging is one aspect of epistemic modality, concerned
with personal judgements based on a lack of knowledge. It therefore possesses two
important pr operties: ‘non factivity’ (L yons, 1977: 795) and subjectivity (Perkins,
1983: 68).
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
46
of the viewer.
This alternative distribu tion considerably lessens the asym metry on which the
subjectivity/objectivity binomial is based. For instance, the occurren ce of the first
person singular subject pronoun in English, I , may be located in the middle point of a
gradation as follows: the foca lised elem ent in the canonical case (externa l to speaker) is
highly objective; the representati on of the speaker through the pronoun I is somewhere
between objective and subjective; the im plicit presence of the speaker in the m essage is
highly subjective (with high s ubjectivity being equated to expressive strength and the
complete commitment of the speaker to the message) (cf. Langacker 1999:389, note 7).
To illustrate this, let us consid er again the following examples:
1. The concern of Robert Hughes is appr opriate and completely legitimate.
2. I think the concern of Robe rt Hughes is appropriate and completely legitim ate.
The focalised elem ent in the canonical case, externa l to speaker, is illus t rated in
example 1. This ex ample cons ists of opinion with third person singular reference,
opinion which, in terms of the conceptual pr ocess, is highly obj ective. Example 2
focalises on two elements, ‘I think’ and ‘the concern of Robert Hughes is appropriate
and completely leg i timate’. Because it focalis es o n ‘I think’, it is not the canonical case.
In this exa mple, “I think” is halfway be tween subjective a nd objective in terms of the
conceptual process. It is sub jective to the extent that it represen ts the conceptualiser
(equivalent to the viewer and to th e addresser). It is objective to the extent that it is
explicitly expressed in the me ssage and is thus part of th e linguistic object which is
presented to addressees. The subjectivity pol e is illustrated by the im plicit presence of
the conceptualiser in ex ample 1. In this exam ple, the el ement ‘I think’ is not exposed, it
is not expressed, it is not a li nguistic object. Ho wever, the el ement is implicitly present.
Certainly, in this example the idea that the concern of Robert Hughes is appropriate and
completely legitim ate will be interpreted by addressees as the personal opinion of the
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
47
addresser, so the elem ent ‘I th ink’ is virtually present. Th is virtual pres ence of this
element in exam ple 1 places this element at the subjectivity pole.
The relevance of Langacker’s (1999) reflec tions for this th esis is best seen as
regards variable 1 (cf. B enveniste 1971: 10 and 228, Villar Conde 2002, and subsection
3.2.1 below), a variable which directly invol ves authorial self-reference. In this
connection, it is important to note that Spanish yo is tonic and optional in contrast to
English I , which tends to be unstressed and ob ligatory. But Spanish verb inflection
provides for the subjective-objective intermed iate position of the speaker through the
verb ending ( e.g. Spanish piens o). Thus, the two languages are able to reduce
expressive strength thro ugh the use of a perc eption/epistemic/speech verb in first person
singular reference, whether th is is done through a first person singu lar subject pronoun
+ predicator or through a pred icator itself containing the first person singular subject
reference. Different variants may be f ound for the two languages: for instance, the
emphatic in clusion of the (typ ically omitted) subject in Sp an ish. On the other hand, all
the variable s of this thesis expo se the ‘gla sses’ with which the idea ex pressed is seen,
diminishing in som e way or other the a ddresser’s responsibil ity for the m essage, i.e. , the
expressive strength of the message. Having su rveyed the relevan t ideas in Langacker
(1999), let us examine relevant findin gs on expressive strength reduction.
2.3.2 Expressive strength reduction in genera l and in genres different from press
reportage, press editorial and academic prose
This subsection examines previous findings on linguistic expressions which form part of
or are related to the variables, in general and in genres other than the three genres
conforming the corpus for this thesis -press reportage, press editorial and academic
prose, see chapter 4-. The definition of the five linguistic variables which will be the
object of analysis can be found in chapter 3.
Biber et al. (1999:chapter 12) search for gramma tical m arkers of stance. Their
corpus of British and Am erican English has a spoken section consisting of conversation
and a written section divided into newspape r language, academic prose and fiction (cf.
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
48
the division of the written language corpus for this thesis into press reportage, press
editorial and academ ic prose). The gramma tical stru ctures they examine include
adverbials (cf. variable 3, ‘probably’), clauses governing complem ent clauses (cf.
especially variables 1, ‘ I think’, and 2, ‘it se ems’), what they term semi-modals and
modals , and evaluative structures such as amazing . Biber et al. (1999:979) find that
“[s]tance markers are considerably more co mmon in conversation than in the written
registers”, and that “[a]t the sam e time, stance m arkers are surprisingly common in the
written registers”. On the same page they observe that written texts lack “the high
personal involvement of conversation, where it is always topical to talk about oneself ”,
due to which “it is not surprising that stance markers are used m ost frequently in this
register”.
In terms of frequency in speech, it seem s interesting to refer to a couple of
findings from an earlier stage of the present research. In m y 2001 essay I analysed six
variables broadly corresponding to variables 1 (‘ I think’), 2 (‘it seems’) and 3
(‘probably’) in this thesis 24 . The corpus contained some nine thousand five hundred
words of spoken British English, some nine thousand of spoken Castilian Spanish, and
some nine thousand of spoken Galician 25 . Using normalised frequencies 26 , there were
574 examples of variables per 90,000 words in English, and 484 in Spanish. On the
basis of frequencies and speaking genera lly, Spanish was stronger than English,
although Galician was yet stronge r. On the other hand, variable 1 (‘I think’) yielded
292 examples per 90,000 words in English, and 168 in Spanish. Variable 2 (‘it seems’)
yielded 47 examples per 90,000 words in Engl ish, and 49 in Spanish. And variable 3
(‘probably’) yielded 226 examples per 90,000 words in English, and 266 in Spanish.
Another relevant idea c oncerns implicitness, explic itness and ambiguity in the
attribution of stance. The author of a message m ay attr ibute stance to him/herself
and/or to others. Biber et al. (1999:976-978) explain that stance-marking linguistic
expressions controlling a complement clause and involving first person reference, such
24 In this st udy, variables wi th ver b s of speec h were not incl uded.
25 The “Corpus Oral del Castellano”, accessible on the web (see References under Marcos Marín),
contains 17 texts fr om a la rger corpus of Spanish t exts from the oral register. Some of them constituted
the Spanish part of the corpus in Villar Conde (2001, 2002)-. For the Galician part I transcribed so me
texts from the radio, used al ready transcribe d text s in Fernández Rei and He rmida Gulías (ed. ) (1996),
and adapted a few transcrib ed texts in Vá zquez-Monx ardín Fern ández (ed.) (1997).
26 On normal ised frequencies, see e.g. Fanego (1 996:11 4, note 13).
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
49
as I think (cf. variable 1, ‘I think’) or it seems to me (cf. variable 2, ‘it seems’),
explicitly attribute s tance to the author, stance-marking passive verbs in extraposed
constructions such as it has been suggested (also forming part of variable 2) are
ambiguous as to whose stance is at stake, and stance ad verbials, wher e variable 3
(‘probably’) belongs, and the expression it seems not accompanied by to me , attribute
stance to the author implicitly. In this connection, Holmes (1982:27, 1988:43) classifies
it seems to me as a personalised pattern and it seems as an impersonalised pa ttern.
Turning back to Biber et al. ’s (1999:chapter 12) classificati on, they point out that with
phrases such as they say (cf. variable 4) the author attri butes stance to others explicitly.
Using their classification for two ty pes of linguistic expres sions they do not consider,
with the verbless variant of variable 5 ( e.g. with the phrase according to them ), the
author would attribute stance to others explicitly, and the vari ant with a verb of varia ble
5 ( e.g. the phrase as they say ) would sim ultaneously attribute stance to the author
implicitly and to others explicitly (although in Spanish even the variant with a verb
would commonly only serve for the explicit at tribution of stance to others). Truly,
human reference in the third person is not specialised in signalling the stance of the
author. This is consistent with the reduced pres ence of linguistic expr essions involv ing
human reference in the third person in studies of authorial stance ( e.g. Biber and
Finegan 1988, 1989, Biber et al. 1999:chapter 12, Nuyts 200 1, Kärkkäinen 2003). Not
with authorial stance but at leas t with stance is connected the reference to other people
in the third person in Biber et al. (1999:976).
Another relevant idea concerns position in the sentence. Very generally, the
literature connects the marki ng of authorial stance to se ntence-initial position. The
convenience to give shape to authorial stan ce as soon as possible in the message in
order to let addressees know as soon as possibl e the frame in which the message is to be
understood has been noted by e.g. Biber et al. (1999:chapter 12) and Nuyts (2001). On
the other ha nd, final position for ep istemic expressions has been noted in Kärkkäinen
(2003) as not very exceptional in (Am e rican) English speech, in connection with
essential characteristics of the oral discourse, among others spontaneity. And there is
also the question of m obility. Numerous aut hors highlight th e mobility o f adverbs as an
advantage in signalling authorial stance ( e.g. Hyland 1998:134-135, Nuyts 2001:57,
Kärkkäinen 2003:46). A supero rdinate clause such as I thin k or I would have thought is
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
50
not as easy to m ove as an adverb. The superordinate clause must appear before its
complem ent when the complem entiser that is present. When the superordinate clause
appears in the middle of its com plement, the superordinate clause m ust be isolated by
pauses in speech and by commas in writing, and some authors would consider it an
adverbial ( e.g. Biber et al. 1999:chapter 12). The m obility of adverbs and adver b
phrases has been considered an advantage in th e introduction of epistemic stance in the
sense that it allows one to combine a genera l perspective on the whole sentence with a
certain focus upon specific constituents of the sentence (on the ambivalence of adverbs
to modulate a sentence and part of it, see Quirk et al. 1991[1985]:583-584). Another
advantage of the mobility of adve rbs and ad verb phrases is that it facilitates the
organisation of information in the sentence (th e relative positions of given and new
information, Nuyts 2001:chapter 2).
Other relevant ideas arise from consider ation s of Spanish grammar. In the
exhaustive, contemporary gramm ar of Span ish by Bosque and Demonte (ed.) (1999a, b
and c), there are some references to structur es to a certain extent corresponding to some
of our variables, references typically a ssociating those struc tures with epistemic
modality. In the section more concerned wi th textual analysis, the first section in
Bosque and Demonte (ed.) (1999c), entitled Entre la orac ión y el discurso , we find the
expressions desde luego , por supuesto , claro and sin duda (a ll of them forming part of
variable 3, ‘probably’) analysed as “m arcadores del discurso”, specifically in the
chapter by Martín Zorraquino and Portolés Lázaro (1999). “Marcadores del discurso”
are defined as “unidades lingüísticas inva riables [cuyo cometido es ] el de guiar, de
acuerdo con sus distintas propiedad es morfos intácticas, semánticas y pragm áticas, las
inferencias que se realizan en la comunicac ión” (Martín Zorraquino and Portolés Lázaro
1999:4057). These authors consider desde luego , por supuesto , claro and sin duda
specifically as “m arcadores conversaciona les”, m ore specifically “de modalidad
epistémica”, and still m ore specifically “de ev idencia (II)”, this latter label referring to
particles which, besides expressing ev idence, “admiten la com binación con que para
reiterar un m iembro del discurso p recedente ( claro que lo sabe; desde luego que sí; por
supuesto que lo ha dicho, etc.)” (p. 4149).
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
51
Martín Zorraquino and Portolés Lázaro (1999:4146) point to an equivalence
between “marcadores co nversacionales de m odalidad epistém ica” and other structures,
offering the following examples for com parison and contrast:
3. Juan, claro , vendrá el lunes. [cf. our variable 3, ‘probably’]
4. Confirmo que Juan vendrá el lunes. [c f. our variable 1, ‘I think’]
5. Está claro que Juan vendrá el lunes. [c f. our variable 2, ‘it seems’]
The connection between their “m arcadores c onversacionales de modalidad epistém ica”
and the expression of authorial stance in terms of avoidance of comm it ment is
reinforced when they connect their ‘convers ational markers of epis temic modality’ to
structures such as en mi opinión (f orming part of our variable 3, ‘probably’), pointing
out that through these “el hablante com promete su responsabilid ad en la verdad de lo
dicho” (p. 4159, note 113). Besides en mi opinión , a linguistic structure which they do
not classify as a conversational marker of epistemic modality but which they
nevertheless bring into cons ideration when analysing conversational markers of
epistemic modality, and which also forms part of our variable 3, is al parecer . On p.
4160 they explain the following:
Un médico, después de examinar a una paci ente que ha acudido ansiosa a su consulta,
le puede decir, por ejemplo, una de las dos frases siguientes:
a. Señora, está Ud. embarazada.
b. Señora, al parecer, está Ud. embarazada.
Con la primera frase, el médico comprome te su responsabilidad sobre lo dicho.
Con la segunda, da a entender que necesita más pruebas para dar un diagnóstico seguro.
This subsection cannot be closed without mentioning som e findings concerning
the function of variable 1. Variab le 1 is the ‘I think’ variable, as the expression
epitomising it is I th ink , although this variable comprises either a first person singular or
plural pronoun + a verb of vision/conceptu alisation/communication. In fiction writing
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
52
in English, Aijmer (1998) finds that the phrase I think may be used to convey the
meaning of subjective opinion, subjective ev aluation, or hedge or belief evidential,
meanings which are not delim ited by clearcu t boundaries. More im portant than this
general observation for the analysis in this th esis are two other findings. A use to fram e
the author’s curren t personal perspective has been identifi ed specifically for the phrase I
think in American conversational English by Kärkkäinen (2003), among a num ber of
other uses. A sim ilar framing role is identif ied for the u se of verbs of cognition in first
person singular in the present tense by N uyts (2001:39), for spoken and written Dutch,
German and English 27 .
2.3.3 Expressive strength reduction in academic prose
A very large number of authors exam in e the use of hedges in academic prose 28 . This is
logical given the central role of hedging in that genre. Ken Hyland is probably the
author who has produced a greater number of works on hedging in scientific writing in
English.
Hyland (1998) analyses the use of hedges in a corpus of 26 research articles in
the field of cell and molecular biology totall ing 75,000 words. The articles “appeared in
6 mainstream, professional, refe reed international journa ls published in the Netherlands
(4), USA (1) and France (1) between 1988 and 1993” and they “were written in English
by scientists affiliated to institutions in 11 countries, princ i pally the US and UK” (p.
96). He distinguishes five types of lexical hedges, namely lexical verbs, adverbs,
adjectives, modal verbs and modal nouns. For le xical verbs (cf. variab les 1, ‘I think’, 4,
‘they say’, and 5, ‘as they say’, in this thes is) the frequency per thousand words is 4.9.
For adverbs (cf. variable 3, ‘p robably’) the frequency is 4.4. For adjectives (cf. variable
2, ‘it seems’, com prising structures such as it is obvious ) it is 3.9. For modal verbs it is
3.5 and for modal nouns it is 1.1. The frequency for the five types of lexical hedges all
27 Nuyts ( 2001) uses a corpus for D u tch and German and const ructed exampl es for English.
28 As discussed above, hedges are part of epis temic m odality. For an analysis of expressions of deontic
modality in academic prose, see G iltrow (2005). Both epi ste mic and deontic modality in academic prose
are dealt with by Piq ué-Angordans, Posteguillo and Andreu -Besó (2002). On the other hand , hedging in
academic spoken E nglish is dealt w ith in Poos a nd Simpson (2002).
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
53
together is 17.8. He also di stinguishes three types of st rategic hedges, namely the
reference to limiting conditions, the referen ce to a m odel, theory or method, and the
admission to a lack of knowledge. The three of these together have a frequency of 3.1.
Hyland (1998:119) explains that “[e] pistem ic lexical verbs such as suggest ,
indicate , and predict [...] represent the m ost transpar ent means of coding the subjectivity
of the epistemic source and are generally used to hed ge either commitment or
assertiveness”. On p. 130 he indicates th at the relative frequencies of adjectives,
adverbs and nouns make up about a half of the to tal for the five types of lexical hedges.
On the same page he explains that “epistem ic adjectives and nouns are more frequent in
writing than speech with adverbs and adjectiv es particularly prevalent in the RA data”.
One fifth of the lexical hedges in his corpus are adjectiv es, “with the most frequent
items being (un) likely and possible (each 3.1 per 10,000 words), most (2.3), and
consistent with (2.0). All these items serve to reduce the writer’s categorical
commitment” (pp. 130-131). As for epistemic adverbs, “while most forms are closely
related to equivalen t adjectival fo rms, it is the adverbs which predom inate in the
corpus” (p. 134). On pp. 134-135 he signals that the mobility of adverbs provides the
addresser with the opportunity to thematise the modality of the sen t ence by placing the
adverb at the beginning or to inser t the modality intrasententially.
On hedging in scientific writing in E nglish, Hyland (1998) makes clear three
basic ideas: 1) Hedging in sc ientific writing in English is extremely frequent and
varied 29 ; the expression of new knowl edge tends to be hedged, so, if a statement is not
hedged, it tends to present know ledge already established and accepted by the scientific
community. This explains the relative lack of hedging devices in textbooks (for which
cf. also McCabe 2004 and Parkinson and Ad endorff 2005). 2) It may focus upon the
propositional content (as with approximators such as almost or about ) or upon the
relationship between the propositional content and the author (as with phrases such as I
believe ). 3) It has an epistem i c dimension, be ing used to signal a lack of com plete
29 On p. 246 he notes the follo wing:
The rich variet y of hedging devices i n Engli sh demonstrates t he importa nce of this funct ion and is
perhaps related to the predominan ce of Englis h as the language of published academic discourse.
Biology research articles are massively hedged. Hedg es represent about one word in every 50 in the
corpus, i n creasing t o one every 36 in discussi ons. This is a fre quency much highe r than many ot her
linguisti c features which rece ive more attent ion in ap plied linguist ics and in ESP peda gogy and is a
figure which s uggests that hedging m u st be treated with due serious ness.
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
54
certainty, and a rethorical and social dimens ion, being used to show a deference towards
the addressees and the s cientific community in general (the author does not want new
knowledge to be imposed, so the principle of non-interference is again relevant) 30 .
After a rigorous and detailed corpus-b ased analysis of hedges in English
scientific writing, Hyland (1998: 246) concludes the following:
Interpersonally , hedges are employed to acknowledge the reader’s right to refute claims
by marking statements as provisional until accepted by peers. Institutionally , they
assist writers in creating an appropriate professional persona, demonstrating a
commitment to the norms of a fraternity of scientists in which deference, debate, a
shared approach to truth values, and resp ect for the views of others are valued
communicative principles.
More recently, Hyland (2004a) explores what he identifies as the con stituents of
persuasion in academic writing, n amely citation (cf. variab les 4, ‘they say’, and 5, ‘as
they say’, in this the sis), inter action, and se l f-mention (cf. variable 1, ‘I think’). It is
interesting to note in this connection that the reduction of the strength of a linguistic
expression may paradoxically be used to re inforce conviction on the idea expressed, in
other words, to persuade.
The perspective of non-native speaker s of English is considered by some
authors. Figueiredo Silva (2004) considers th e difficulties of L2 learners in Portugal to
identify hedging in English academic writi ng. De Rezende and He mais’ (2004) analysis
of hedging in articles in the area of Health Studies suggest s a greater variety and amount
of hedges in the English used by Brazilians than by English native sp eakers. Hewings
and Hewings (2002) compare a corpus of di ssertations by nonnatives and a corpus of
journal articles from Business S t udies. Considering structures such as it is interesting to
note that... , they note more strength in the co rpus of dissertations by nonnatives.
30 Both Hyland’s (19 98) corpus and my corpu s cons ist of written tex ts. For the relevance of “face
relationships”, “pattern s of politeness” and “rhetorical strategies” in written texts, see Scollon and Scollo n
(2001[1995]:10 1-104). Contrast as well th e disregard for “p oliteness strategies” and the favou ring of
intensifying rath er than h edging devices in criticis m in sc ience pointed ou t by Lewin (2005a), and the
observation b y Lewin (2005b) that authors do no t mention politeness as a gen eral motivation for hedging .
For a development o f Hyland’s ideas about in terper sonal relati onships i n academ ic writing, see Hyla nd
(2004a, 2004b, 20 08). On interper sonality in co nnection with hedging, see White (2003) -more
theoretical - and Abdi (2002), who not es that writers in the social sciences use interpersonal metadiscourse
more frequently than those in the natural sciences.
Chapter 2. Survey of earlier research
55
Donohue (2006) notices a wide range of moda l forms in British and North-Am erican
economic forecasting, which are rarely used by Dutch economists producing forecasts
in English. Considering hedges, booste rs, contrastive disc ourse markers and
consecutive discourse markers, Mendiluce Ca brera (2005) points to a possible process
of negative transfer when Spanish authors wr ite their biom edical research papers in
English. These studies point to a close link between English academic prose and
hedging particularly hard to master from the non-native perspective. The exception
seems to be the favouring of hedging in Engl ish by Brazilians as com pared to English
natives, as reported by De Rezende and Hemais (2004).
Numerous studies com p are and contrast English with other languages. Salager-
Meyer and Alcaraz Ariza (2007) analyse book re views in medical journals in English,
French and Spanish. They suggest that Span ish reviews are m ore cr itical than English
and French reviews. They also note a tendency in French reviews to attribute faults
personally to the author, versus a tendency in English and S panish reviews to attribute
faults to the book or chapter. Kong (2006) notes a less frequent use of m itigators in
research articles in Chinese ve rsus English. Again, it is English that appears as more
oriented towards expressive strength reduction.
A diachronic perspective is adopted in Salager-Meyer, Alcaraz Ariza and
Zambrano (2002, 2003) and Alcaraz Ariza and Sa lager-Meyer (2003). Salager-Meyer,
Alcaraz Ariza and Zambrano (2002, 2003) analyse a corpus of Spanish, French and
English medical articles published betw een 1930 and 1995. Though in general they
note that Spanish and French academ ic prose is more passionate and blunt than English,
they also find a marked progression of Spanish prose towards the indirectness of
English. Alcaraz Ariza and Salager-Meyer (200 3) analyse critical comments in m edical
papers in Spanish published between 1930 and 1999 and they note the influence upon
Spanish of the typically Anglo-Saxon indire ctness since about 1990 as the “cutting off”
period 31 .
31 Alread y in 1995 , in a study contra sting English, Sp anish an d German as r egards social d eixis and
courtesy in scientific texts, Hern ández Sacristán (1 995) poi nted out that massi ve translation from English
into Span ish was altering the Spanish norm. For in stance, noun phrases functio ning as subject such as
este libro were enteri ng translations of E nglish scienti fic te xts, where a ‘m odesty plural’ -k nown in
gramm ars of English as editorial “we” (Herná ndez Sacristán 1999: 105)- woul d be more natural in
Spanish. On the oth er hand, in Hernández Sacristán’ s (1995:480- 481) word s,
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
62
1. He is staying with his aunt because th e College food is wretched and th e rooms
aren’t heated.
2. The College food is wretched and the rooms aren’t heated.
In example 1, we could have “his friends sa y”, an exam ple of variable 4 (‘they say’),
modulating the clause “the College food is wretched” (which is not a sentence) as
follows:
3. He is staying with his aunt because the College food, his friends say , is
wretched, and the rooms aren’t heated.
We could also find “His friends say” modula ting the whole utteran ce in example 1, that
is to say, modulating a structure which is at the same tim e a clause and a (complex)
sentence, as follows:
4. His friends say he is staying with his aunt b ecause the College food is wretch ed
and the room s aren’t heated.
And we could find “His friends say” modulati ng the entire utteran ce in exam ple 2, that
is to say, modulating a stru cture which is a (compound) sent ence but not a clause, as
follows:
5. His friends say the College food is wretched and the rooms aren’t heated.
It can never be forgotten that we are thi nking not only in gram m atical but also in
pragmatic term s. This justifies that we re fer to “the College f ood is wretched and the
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
63
rooms aren’t heated ” in example 5 as a sentence even thou gh the introduction of the
variable “His friends say” in that example carries with it the creation of a new sentence.
The clause or sentence modulated by a variable is declar ative, expressing
information and/or opinion. It involves an affirm ed or negated proposition. In othe r
words, it is a positive or negative statem ent. It cannot be a desire or an outburst of
emotion as typical of exclamatory clauses, an order, request or other va rian t of
addressee-oriented text as t ypical of imperative clauses, or a question as typical of
interrogative clauses. The exclusion of inte rrogatives affects both direct and indirect
ones. The presence of question marks (<¿> , <?>) in the clause or sentence which
constitutes the modulated object of a structur e is a sign that the clause/sentence is a
direct interrogative and hence the structure is not considered a variable. Indirect
interrogatives are understood as Suñer’s (1999) PIV (short for preguntas indirectas
verdaderas , that is to say, true indir ect interr ogatives, which introduce a question, as in
Peter wondered where they had gone ) and PII (short for preguntas indirectas
impropias , that is to say, untrue indirect in terrogatives, which in troduce a proposition
despite being formally interrogative, as in Peter knew where they had gone ).
Interrogatives are not recognised b ecause they act as a questioning technique and the
interest here is in the ques tioning of ideas that is brought about by the variables rather
than in ideas which are question ed previ ous to the inclusion of the variables.
The subject of the clause or sentence m odulated by the variable can be elided.
Thus, there is an example of variable 3 (‘probably’) in 6:
6. [The College food is good and] will probably be better next year.
In Spanish, the subject can also be absent because it is simply not necessary (in the
Spanish norm zero subjects can be perfectly na tural) or be cause the clause/sen tence is
impersonal with unspecified subject reference and the verb in the third person plural (on
this construction, see Fernández Soriano and T áboas Baylín 1999:subsection 27.2.2.2).
Thus, there is an example of variable 4 (‘they say’) in 7:
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
64
7. El presidente explicó que habían atacado la sede del partido.
The predicator can never be elided or ot herwise absent. Furthermore, it must be
tensed or, if non-tensed, the English base form when it is a present subjunctive that is
not formulaic. In other words, it ca nnot consist exclus ively of infinitive ( amar ), present
participle ( amando ) or past participle ( amado ) for Spanish, or of the base form (unless it
is a present subjunctive that is not formulaic), the - ing f o r m o r t h e - en form/past
participle for English. The label base form is understood here as in Huddleston
(1984:section 2.4), to cover both the infinitive form and the so-called pres ent
subjunctive ( e.g. I insist that he come ), but not the simple present form. The label
subjunctive is understood as in Quirk et al. (1991[1985]:sections 3.59-3.62).
The recognition of the p r esent subjunctive f or English can be jus tified on three
grounds. First, it is “reasonable to say that where the base form can be analysed either
as an indicative or as a subjunctive, ther e is a neutralization of the two moods: Our
decision is that the schools remain closed ” -this neu tralisation holds in m a ny cases,
though there are the exceptions corresponding to the third person si ngular and to the
peculiar grammar of the verb be - (Quirk et al. 1991[1985]:157). Second, “[t]he
subjunctive in modern English is generall y an optional and stylistically somewhat
marked variant of othe r constructi ons” (Quirk et al. 1991[1985]:155). Third, this
dissertation considers the Spanis h subjunctive. Note as well in this connection that the
English past subjunctive is recognised because its form is a tensed form, namely the
past tense ( e.g. took ; Huddleston 1984:section 2.4). The English formulaic present
subjunctive is not recognised b ecause it ca rries the force “of an expression of will”
(Quirk et al. 1991[1985]:158).
To sum up, the clause/sentence which constitutes the m odulated object of a
variable is declarative, its subject can be absent under certain circum stances, and its
predicator cannot be absent a nd has to be tensed or the E nglish present subjunctive that
is not formulaic.
When the modulated object of a variable consists of two or m ore coordinated
clauses, the requirement of being declarative will be fulfilled by all of them , and the
requirements on subject and predicator by at least one of them. Thus, there is an
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
65
example of variable 4 (‘they say’) in “Queremos cantar y bailar.”, dijeron (the
sequence of clauses modulated by the variable is declarative, and the clause “Queremos
cantar” fulfils the requirements on subject and predicator), but no example in “Estoy
enfadado, y ¿qué pasa si lo estoy?”, dijo (the second coordina ted clause is not
declarative). It must be noted that this holds fo r a modulated object which consis ts of a
sequence of coordinated clause s. If the modulated object contains su ch a sequence and
some extra com ponent which is superordinate to the sequence, attention will be paid not
to the sequence, but to the superordina t e elem ent, which will have to fulfil the
requirements on clause type and on subject an d predicator summarised in the previous
paragraph. Thus, in “María dijo cuántos vendrían y a qué hora llegarían”, explicó
Pedro , the sequence of (untrue indirect) inte rrog ative clauses “cuántos vendrían y a qué
hora llegarían” entails the exclusion of “María dijo” as a variable, but not the exclusion
of “explicó Pedro”.
When the modulated object of a variable consists of a sequence of clauses
separated by commas and forming a textua l quotation between inverted comm as, t he
requirements on c l ause type and on subjec t and predicator will be fulfilled by the
topmost superordin ate clause if there is one, or by every clause in the sequence if they
are at the sam e level. Thus, there is no variable in “Confiad en Mí, Yo he vencido el
mundo”, nos dice nuestro amado Señor. (lines 110-111 of sample SB09, Spanish press
editorial, letters to the editor -on the corpus, see the next chapter-), because “Confiad en
Mí” is an imperative clause and is not subordinate to th e clause w hich fulfils the
requirements, “Yo he vencido el mundo”. It m ust be not ed that this holds for a
modulated object which consists of a sequence of clauses separated by comm as and
forming a textual quotation between invert ed commas. If the modulated object contains
such a sequence and some extra component which is superordinat e to the sequence,
attention w ill be paid not to the sequ ence, but to the superordinat e element, which will
have to fulfil the requirements on clause t ype and on subject and predicator summarised
above. Thus, in “La presidenta dijo ‘confíen en el Gobierno, abandonen la
desconfianza’”, explica el diario , the sequence of imperative clauses “confíen en el
Gobierno, abandonen la desconfianz a” entails the exclusion of “La presidenta dijo” as a
variable, but not the exclusi on of “explica el diario”.
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
66
Always thinking in terms of grammar and of pragmatics, we can conceive of a
structure formed by the following four com p one nts: a variab le, elements having a
grammatical function in the clau se to which the variable di rectly belongs and which are
not superordinate to or independent of the variable and its modulated object -these are
not always present-, the connective introduci ng the modulated object -this is not always
present-, and the modulated object. In other words, we can consider today Mary to ld me
she was happy as a structure, which is made up of a variable (“Mary to ld”), the extra
elements “today” and “m e”, and the variable ’s modulated object “she was happy”. Or
we can consider the president said that things were changing as a structure, form ed by a
variable (“the presiden t said”), the connective introducing the modulated object (“that”) ,
and the modulated object (“things were changing”). In term s of grammar and
pragmatics, we can conceive of this structure as a clause or a sentence. This structu re
must fulfil the requirements on clau se type summed up above, to the exception that it
can be an untrue indirect interro gativ e. In other words, it is a declarative structure or an
untrue indirect interrogative (for details see the explanation above). On the other hand,
the only connective recogni sed to introduce the modulated object is E nglish that or
Spanish (de) que (never used with the subordinate variable 5, ‘as they say’, or, in
English, with variable 3, ‘probably’). This thesis takes the variable, the connective, and
the clause/sentence modulated by the variable as three different elements (contrast the
view of the connective as part of the s ubordinate clause it introduces in Huddleston
1984:section 5.6).
A variable cannot be contained in a direct in terrogative or in a true indirect
interrogative . Variables 1 (‘I think’) and 4 (‘they say’) and the variant with a ve rb of
variable 5 (‘as they say’ ) mu st fulfil the requirements on subject and predicator summed
up above. The impersonal variable 2 (‘it seems’) must fulfil the requirements on
predicator summed up above, and it and se in this variable can be elided.
A variable can occur before, in the middle of or after its m o dulated object. In I
claim he is wrong , the variable precedes its m odulate d object, and would be analysed as
a superordinate clause b y e.g. Quirk et al. (1991[1985]). In he, I claim , is wrong , the
variable is in the middle of its m odulated object. Quirk et al. (1991[1985]) analyse it as
a subordinate clause, specifi cally a comment clause, func tioning as disjunct, and a
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
67
similar view is taken by Biber et al. (1999:chapter 12). Its pos ition but especially its
parenthetical condition would t ypically m a ke the variable also be considered as a
subordinate clause in he is wrong, I claim . For its combined gr ammatical and pragmatic
focus, this thesis takes variables 1 (‘I think’ ), 2 (‘it seem s’) and 4 (‘they say’) in the
three positions as supero rdinate. This homogeneous treatm ent is not incompatible w ith
recognising different values. Hernández Sacristán (1999:115-116) explains that
posposición de una marca de discurso referido, como la que observamos en la oración
La victoria será nuestra, dijo el entrenador puede servir para realzar su función de
valoración connotativa y contribuye a d estacar su carácter de elemento modalizador del
resto del enunciado. La posposición del verbo de lengua obstaculiza en español la
percepción unitaria de una estructura sintáctica en la que las palabras refe ridas se
entienden como el objeto directo de un verbo de lengua. En esta situación (Cf. Li 1986:
34-35) la marca de discurso referido cobrar ía funciones muy parecidas a la de lo s
denominados evidenciales.
The analysis will take into ac count the dif ferent positions of variables and th eir
significance.
Two or more variables cannot have as th eir m odulated object the same linguistic
material. Thus, there is no vari able in utte rances such as he considers but (he) does not
admit that the problem will not be solved , or I consider but he does not admit that the
problem will not be solved . This does not mean that the modulated object of a given
variable cannot form part of the m odulated object of another. In fact, we will
sometimes find that a variab le and its modul ated object constitute the modulated object
of another variable (see chap ter 5 and appendi x III). In probably, the girls think the
house is beautifu l , the modulated object of probably would be the girls think the hou se
is beautiful , and the modulated object of the girls think would be the house is beautiful .
The same happens with the girls probably think the house is beautiful .
In structures of the type of it is thought more than it is admitted that he has not
been fair , Peter thinks more than he admits that he has not been fair or I think more
than Peter admits that he has not been fair , there is one example of variable per
structure, namely “it is thought”, “P eter thinks” and “I think”. In contrast, in (certainly
improbable) structures of the type of it is more thought (than (it was)
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
68
admitted/yesterday) that he has not been fair , there is no variable. This is consistent
with the exclusion of it is more evident (than he is ready to admit) , it is as true as it was
obvious/predictable/yesterday and the like. For the exclu s ion of these structures, see
subsection 3.2.2.
As anticipated in chapter 1 and surveyed in subsectio n 2.3.1, this thesis assum es
a parallelism between the process of vision, the process of conceptualisation and the
process of communication. This set of parallel processes reflects itself in the variables.
The verbal component of the v ariables is accordingly very im portant, which is
especially the case with variab les 1 (‘I think’), 2 (‘it seems’) and 4 (‘they say’) and the
variant with a verb of variab le 5 ( ‘as they say’). What follows considers a number of
verbs . These are the only verbs recognised for va riables 1 (‘I think’), 4 (‘they say ’) and
5 (‘as they say’), most of th e verbs recognised for the reflex ive passive in variable 2 (‘it
seems’) in Spanish, and, excluding be aware/certain/sure , estar seguro and ser
consciente , most of the verbs recognised for the passive construction in variable 2 (this
variable is peculiar in its impersonal reference and involves another verb in the passive
and in the Spanish refl exive passive as well as some additio nal constructions, for which
see subsection 3.2.2). The verbs allude to the process of vision, conceptualisation
and/or communication. The central verbs agai nst which others have been matched to
decide if they qualify are see , think and say . The verb must entail support for the idea
expressed, and not, per se , its rejection ( know is included but ignore is not, and so on) or
mere doubt (thus, doubt is not inclu ded). This is so even if the subject of the process
can reject the idea expressed in the modulated object (as in I do not think that he was
wrong ) or exhibit some doubt about it (as in they suspect he was wrong ).
Verbs which allude to the pr ocess of vision can refer to different ways of seeing,
and include English note (= ‘notice’ or ‘make someone notice’), notice , observe ,
perceive and see , and Spanish advertir (= ‘notar’ o r ‘hacer notar’), notar , observar ,
percibir and ver .
Verbs which allude to the proc ess of conceptualis ation can ref er to different
ways of thinking, including the strong versions alluding to knowing, and with the
possibility of a certain concessive nuance. For English, they include accept (if there is
no denotation of action), acknowledge , admit , assume (= ‘suppose’), be aware , be
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
69
certain , believe , be sure (Nuyts 2001:68 defines I am sure (of it) (that...) as a strongly
idiomatised construction to e xpress a subjective evaluation), concede , consider , estimate
(if there is no denotation of calculation), fee l , find (= ‘consider’), know , opine , realise (=
‘be aware’), reckon (if there is no denotation of calculation), recognise , suppose ,
suspect and think . For Spanish, they include aceptar (if there is no denotation of
action), admitir , considerar , creer , encontrar (= ‘considerar’), estar seguro , estimar (if
there is no denotation of calculation), opinar , pensar , reconocer , saber , sentir ( ≠
‘lamentar’), ser consciente , sospechar and suponer .
Verbs which allude to the process of communication can refer to different ways
of communicating, though always from the point of view of the addresser rather than
the addresse e ( write is included but read is not, and so on). Fo r English, they inclu d e
announce , argue , assure , claim , comment , confess , confirm , declare , discover (= ‘make
known’), explain , express , imply , indicate , make (it) clear , mention , point out , proclaim ,
profess , propose (if there is no denotation of action), report , say , suggest (if there is no
denotation of action), tell and write . For Spanish, they include aclarar , advertir (=
‘hacer notar ’), afirmar , anunciar , apuntar (not in apuntar a ; = ‘indicar’), argumentar ,
asegurar , aseverar , comentar , comunicar , confesar , confirmar , contar , decir , declarar ,
dejar claro , descubrir (= ‘hacer saber’), es cribir , explicar , expresar , hablar , indicar ,
informar , manifestar , mencionar , proclamar , proponer (if there is no denotation of
action), señalar and sugerir (if there is no denotation of action).
Some verbs in the preceding classifica tion may easily be placed in a different
group. For instance, recognise has been placed among the verbs which allude to the
process of conceptualisation, but it may be consid ered to allude to communication as
well. This is quite logical, given that th is th esis assumes a parallelism between the
processes of vision, conceptualisation a nd communication. Thus, strict boundaries
between the three groups of verbs are not to be assumed. On the other hand, the verbs
in the list of 13 semantic prim es in Wierzbicka (1992:10) are say , want , feel , think , and
know , and there are “som e words -such as see - which are probably not elementary but
which are reasonably close to the level of primitives” (pp. 34-35). Wierzbicka (2006)
increases the num ber of semantic primes to “s ixty or so” (p. 17), and offers a table -very
similar to the one in W ierzbicka (1997:26 )- of semantic prim es which includes,
classified as “m ental/experiential predicates”, think , know , want , feel , see , and hear ,
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
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and, classified as “speech”, say , words , and true (p. 18). Let us note that see , think , and
say , essential in the variables in this thesis, are also significant in term s of
communication world-wide accordin g to Wi erzbicka’s (2006:17-18) classification.
These are the lists of English and Span ish verbs, considering the three groups
(vision, thought, and co mmunication) together:
ENGLISH:
accept [if there is no den otation of action]
acknowledge
admit
announce
argue
assume [if it means ‘supposing’]
assure
be aware
be certain
believe
be sure
claim
comment
concede
confess
confirm
consider
declare
discover [if it means ‘making som eone know’]
estimate [if there is no de notation of calculation]
explain
express
feel
find [if it means ‘considering’]
imply
indicate
know
make (it) clear
mention
note [not if it means ‘noting down’]
notice
observe
opine
perceive
point out
proclaim
profess
propose [if there is no denotation of action]
realise [if it means ‘being aware’; no t if it means ‘becoming aware’]
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
71
reckon [if there is no denotation of calculation]
recognise
report
say
see
suggest [if there is no denotation of action]
suppose
suspect
tell
think
write
SPANISH:
aceptar [if there is no denotation of action]
aclarar
admitir
advertir [if it means ‘notici ng’ or ‘m aking someone notice’]
afirmar
anunciar
apuntar [not in apuntar a ; if it means ‘indicating’]
argumentar
asegurar
aseverar
comentar
comunicar
confesar
confirmar
considerar
contar
creer
decir
declarar
dejar claro
descubrir [if it means ‘making som e one know’]
encontrar [if it means ‘considering’]
escribir
estar seguro
estimar [if there is no denotation of calculation]
explicar
expresar
hablar
indicar
inform ar
manifestar
mencionar
notar
observar
opinar
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
78
as complement of th e adjective, and with duda , in which the m odulated object is a
complement of the noun.
3.2.3 Variable 3 (‘probably’)
Variable 3 (‘probably’) focuses on the pr ocess of vision/concep tualisation/language
through a disjunct. Disjunc ts are described by Quirk et al. (1991[1985]:chapter 8). Let
us survey this description before the char acterisation of the variable is com pleted.
Quirk et al. (1991[1985]:613) indicate that disj uncts “have a superior role as
compared with the sen t ence elements; th ey ar e syntactically more detached and in so me
respects ‘superordin ate’, in that they s eem to have a scope that extends over the
sentence as a whole”. There are style disjunc ts and content or att itudinal disjuncts, the
larger class. Style disjuncts “convey the speaker’s comment on the style and form of
what he is saying, defining in some way under what conditi ons he is speaking as the
‘authority’ f or the utterance”. Content di s j uncts “make observations on the actual
content of the utterance and its truth c onditions”. Style disjuncts can convey the
addresser’s comment as rega rds m odality and manner ( e.g. truthfully , bluntly , if I may
say so ) or as regards re spect ( e.g. in broad terms , personally ). Content disjuncts can
make an observation as regards the degree of or conditions for the truth of the content
( e.g. really , certainly , if he’d listened ) or as regards a value judgem e nt of the content
( e.g. understandably , wisely , to everyone’s surprise ) (Quirk et al. 1991[1985]:615).
In brief, disjuncts can be divided as follows:
-style disjuncts: modality and m anne r, respect
-content disjuncts: (degr ee of or conditions for) truth, value judgement
Let us note that Quirk et al. ’s (1991[1985]:chapter 8) cont ent disjuncts of truth and
content disjuncts of value judgement are respectively Gree nbaum and Quirk’s
(1990:181-184) content disjuncts of certainty and conten t disjuncts of evaluation.
Examples of sentences with a m oda lity and manner style disjunct are “ Frankly , I
am tired” or “ Brie fly , there is nothing more I can do about it”. The use of respect style
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
79
disjuncts is illustrated by sentences such as “She was strictly out of order in adjourning
the meeting at that point” or “ Person ally , I find the music too arid” (pp. 615-616).
Content disjuncts of truth
present a comment on the truth value of what is said, expressing the extent to which,
and the conditions under which, the speaker be lieves that what he says is true. Her e
belong the great classes of hypothetical clauses on which closely reasoned discourse
depends. (p. 620)
Apart from other realisations such as clau ses, content disjuncts of truth can (and are
prototypically) realised by adverbs. Adverb s functioning as content disjuncts of truth
can be divided into three groups: those expressi ng conviction, be it as a direct statement
( e.g. undeniably ) or as an appeal to general perception ( e.g. evidently ); those expressing
some degree of doubt ( e.g. apparently or doubtless ), and finally those indic ating the
sense in which the addresser judges the idea expressed as true or false ( e.g. actually or
really ).
For content disjuncts of value judgement, Quirk et al. (1991[1985]:chapter 8)
also focus on adverbs. In this way, these disjuncts can be divide d into two groups. On
the one hand, there are those which express a global judgement about what is being
expressed and which normally also apply the same judgem ent si multaneously to the
subject of the clause, as in “‘ Rightly , Mrs Jensen consulted her lawyer’. [She was right
and her action was right]”. On the other ha nd, there are those with which the clause
subject is not a specific targ et of the judgement, as in “‘ Remarkably , Mrs Jensen
consulted her lawyer’. [Her action was rema rkable; the speaker is not suggesting that
Mrs Jensen was remarkable]”. See pp. 620-622.
In this thesis the labe l disjunct encompasses the concep t in English grammar
which has been surveyed in the pr eceding comments and its counterpart in Spa nish
grammar (called comentario oracional periférico in Alcina Franch and Blecua
(1994[1975]). For an in-depth analysis of disjuncts, see Greenbaum (1969:81-229).
Variable 3 has the form of an adverb phrase or an equivalent p repositional
phrase, noun phrase or clause. If its gramma tical function is considered from the point
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
80
of view of Quirk et al. (1991[1985]:chapter 8), the variable can be said to function in
one of the following four ways:
1) as a content disjunct of degree of truth expressing conviction by appealing to
general perception or expr essing some degree of doubt
2) as a content disjunct of va lue judgem ent pointing to evidence
3) as a modality and m anner style disjunct pointing to sincerity
4) as a respect style disjunct pointing to the p resent addresser’s perspective
In English, variable 3 adopts one of the following four forms:
1) respect style disjuncts in my/our opinion , from my/our point of view
2) modality and m anner style disjuncts frankly , honestly , sincerely , truly ,
truthfully or variants in the p atterns in all frankness , to be frank , to speak frankly ,
speaking frankly or frankly speaking
3) content disjuncts alleg edly , almost certainly , almost surely , apparently , as far
as I/we know , to be sure , certainly , clearly , of course , without doubt , doubtless ,
evidently , indubitably , that I/we know , like ly , maybe , no doubt , obviously , perhaps ,
possibly , presumably , probably , seemingly , supposedly , surely , undoubtedly
4) if it is possible, most , quite or very + an adverb in 2 or 3, e.g. very clearly
(impossible with e.g. maybe )
Silver (2003), who questions the distinction between hedges or dim inishers and boosters
or emphasisers, analyses the adverb evidently as a hedge-booster. On the other hand,
the table of semantic primes in W i erzbicka (2006:18) includes, classified as “logical
concepts”, not , maybe , can , because , and if (cf. the role of see , think and say in
Wierzbicka’s 2006:17-18 classification, rem a rked in the survey of variables’ verbs in
section 3.1 above).
In Spanish, the alternatives are the following four:
1) en mi/nuestra opinión , desde mi/nuestro punto de vista
2) francamente , honestamente , sinceramente or variants in the patterns con
(toda) franqueza , para ser franco/-a/-os/-as , siendo franco/-a/-os/-as , hablando
francamente or francamente hablando
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
81
3) a buen seguro , aparentemente , casi seguramente , casi seguro , claramente ,
claro , sin duda , evidentemente , indudablemente , desde luego , sin lugar a dudas , a lo
mejor , obviamente , al parecer , posiblemente , presumiblemente , presuntamente ,
probablemente , quizá(s) , seguramente , seguro , supuestamente , por supuesto , tal vez ,
que yo sepa , que nosotros/-as sepamos
4) if it is possible, bastante or muy + an adverb in 2 or 3, e.g. muy claramente , or
the synthetic superlative of an adverb in 2 or 3, e.g. clarís imamente
Although there is not a one-to-one correspondence, the variety of forms
recognised for variable 3 matches the variet y of forms recognised for the variables in
which the verbal com ponent is essential, the o ther four variables. For instance, we can
take from my point of view , frankly , allegedly and probably as counterparts of,
respectively, see , acknowledge , say and suppose (as in I see -an exam ple of variable 1-,
it is seen -variable 2-, they see -variable 4-, or as they see -variable 5-).
In the structures which involve personal reference ( e.g. in my opinion or siendo
sinceros ), the personal reference must be to the pr esent addresser or add ressers in one of
the following three ways: 1) first person singul ar reference to the present addresser (a
single addresser), 2) first pe rson plural reference to th e present addresser (a single
addresser), in the form of an editorial we , and 3) first person pl ural reference to the
present addressers (a group of addressers). The addresser(s ) m ay be actual or recovered
through quotation. Cf. the remarks on first pers on reference in variable 1 (‘I think’) in
subsection 3.2.1. These structures are howev er a minority, and certainly not central
examples of the variab le. Therefore, in this thesis variable 3 (‘probably’) is said to lack
a personal reference, the same as it is sa id to lack a ten se despite the exceptional
presence of tense in as far as I/we know , that I/we know and que yo sepa , que nosotros/-
as sepamos .
The ambivalence of a structure which may be a disjunct and an em phasising
subjunct to modulate a part of a clause or sentence and the entire clause or sentence
(Quirk et al. 1991[1985]:583-584) w ill not cause its exclusion .
Certainly will be exclu ded when there are no clear signs that it is no t a pure
emphasiser equivalent to ciertamen te . According to Wierzbicka (2006:257), certainly
“is only a marginal mem ber of the class [of epistemic adverbs] (if it belongs to it at
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
82
all)”. See Wierzbicka (2006:section 8.7), ap tly entitled “The “Uncertain” Status of
Certainly ”. Frankly and honestly will be excluded if there are c lear signs that the
adverb is exclusively an item subj unct with subject-orientation, as in for once, they have
frankly admitted their mistakes (Quirk et al. 1991[1985]:572-574). Likely will be
excluded in the construction subject + be likely to + b a s e f o r m o f v e r b u n l e s s t h e r e a r e
clear signs that it is an adverb. Minim iser possibly , operating upon can or could in
nonassertive clauses (Quirk et al. 1991[1985]:600), is excluded.
Admittedly , conceivably and personally are not recognised. Wierzbicka
(2006:323, note 20) points out that admittedly “is not epis temic” and that “it presents
the statement as an adm ission, but it doesn ’t weaken in any way the force of the
assertion”. As for conceivably , she (2006:277) notes that it “nearly always co-occurs
with the words might , may , or could ”. Wierzbicka (2006:222) calls the personally of
““Personally, I f ind Stilton too strong,” “Persona lly, I find it ridiculous,” and so f orth” a
delimiter .
The structure variable + modulated object conveys the addresser’s present, total
or partial, recognition of the idea expressed in the modulated object.
3.2.4 Variable 4 (‘they say’)
Variable 4 (‘they say’) f ocuses on someone different from the present addresser(s) and
addressee(s) as the subject of the proce ss of vision/conceptualisation/language and on
the process itself. This is achieved through reference to a person or several people
different from the present addresser(s) and addressee(s) with a third person singular or
plural subject + the predicator of that subj ect or the predicator exclusively (on om iss ion
of the subject, see 3.1). They say and dicen are prototypical ex amples. Thematic
alternatives ( e.g. he has thought - thought he has , está segura - segura está ) are
considered. The addresser(s) may be actual or recove red through quotation.
If a structure with third person reference refers to the presen t addresser(s) it will
be excluded. A well-known case in point is Julius Caesar’s self-reference in the th ird
person in his account of the conquest of Gaul (see e.g. García Yebra and Escolar
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
83
Sobrino (ed.) 1986:8-9). The use of thir d person for self-reference seems to be
relatively co mmon in the mass m edia of the late 20 th and early 21 st centuries. Jacobs
(1999:220) notes that “it is a characteristic feature of the production format of press
releases that self-refere ncing is almost ex clusively realized in the third pe rson, in
particular through the use of the organization’ s proper name”. News in newspapers are
sometim es attributed to a third person who is in fact the author of the final text or of a
previous version of it (on the complexity of authorship and authority in the written
press, see Scollon 1998:chapter 6). The struct ure “writes Robert Cole” in lines 62-63 of
sample EA16 of our co rpus is illustrative of this and has accordingl y been excluded (on
the corpus see the next chapter). For t hose samples of the corpus belonging to the
category press reportage and to the su bcategory institutional e ditorial, noun phrases with
reference exclusively to the newspap er to wh ich the text belongs are considered by this
thesis to involve self-r eference. The reason is that writers of news and institutional
editorials are supposed to represent the stan ce of the newspaper for which they work.
Thus, in texts belonging to press reportage or institution al editorial, structures such as
“this newspaper said” or “The Times reporte d” do not qualify if “this newspaper” or
“The Times” refer to th e newspaper to which the text belongs. As will be mentione d in
the next subsection, all these restrictions on th ird person reference to self-refer also hold
for variable 5 (‘as they say’).
The structure variable + modulated object conveys a third party’s assumption of
the idea expressed in the modulated object if th e variable’s verb is in the affirmative (as
in he said the situation was changing ). If the verb is in the negativ e, the struc ture
indicates the recognition of a l ack of such assumption (as in he did not say the situation
was changing ).
The modulated object functions as direct object of the variable’s predicator,
except for examples with be aware/certain/sure , estar seguro , and ser consciente , in
which the modulated object functions as complem ent of the adjective.
3.2.5 Variable 5 (‘as they say’)
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
84
Variable 5 (‘as they say’) focuses on som eone different from the present addresser(s)
and addressee(s) as the subj ect of the process of vision/ conceptualisation/language and
on the process itself. This is achieved through reference to a person or several people
different from the present a ddresser(s) and addr essee(s) with one of the following two
subordinate structures: 1) a subordinating conjunction + a th ird person singular or plural
subject with human reference + the predicator of that subj ect or the conjunction and the
predicator exclusively (on omi ssion of the subject, see 3.1), or 2) a preposition or a
fixed prepositional expre ssion ( e.g. according to or from the point of view of ) + a noun
phrase with third person singular or plural , human reference or a fixed prepositional
expression containing a possessive determiner w ith the possessor being a third person
human referent (as in from his/Peter’s point of view ). Altern ative 1 is the variant with a
verb of variable 5, and as they say and como dicen are prototypical exam ples.
Alternative 2 is th e verbless variant of variable 5, and according to them and según ellos
are prototypical exam ples. Thematic alternatives ( e.g. como ellos dicen - como dicen
ellos ) are considered. The addresser(s) m ay be actual or recovere d through quotation.
In English, the variant with a verb of variable 5 adopts the form as + subject +
predicator if the subj ect is not elided or as + predicator if it is. The predicator is a verb
from the list given in section 3.1 (for make (it) clear , only the version without it ). As
Peter says is an example of the variant with a ve rb. The verbless va riant adopts one of
the following three f orms:
1) according to + noun phrase, e.g. according to Peter
2) in the eyes/opinion/words of + noun phrase, in his/her/their or Saxon genitive
+ eyes/opinion/words , e.g. in the opinion of Peter or in his/Peter’s opinion
3) from the point of view of + noun phrase, from his/her/their or Saxon genitive
+ point of view , e.g. from the point of view of Peter or from his/Pe ter’s point of view
In Spanish, the variant w ith a verb adopts the form según or (tal/tal y) como +
subject + predicator or según or (tal/tal y) como + predicator. The predicator is a verb
from the list given in section 3.1. Como dice Pedro is an exam ple of the variant with a
verb. The verbless variant adopts one of the following six forms:
1) a juicio de + noun phrase ( e.g. a juicio de Pedro ), a su juicio
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
85
2) a los ojos de + noun phrase ( e.g. a los ojos de Pedro ), a sus ojos
3) en la opinión de + noun phrase ( e.g. en la opinión de Pedro ), en su opinión
4) en/con palabras de + noun phrase ( e.g. con palabras de Pedro ), en/con sus
palabras
5) desde el punto de vista de + noun phrase ( e.g. desde el punto de vista de
Pedro ), desde su punto de vista
6) según + noun phrase ( e.g. según Pedro )
It is to be noted th at the expression verbless variant m ust not be taken to an
extreme. The noun phrase in this va riant m ay contain a verb phrase ( e.g. in according
to those who went on strike ).
If a structure with third person reference re fers to the present addresse r(s), it will
be excluded (for the way this circum stance is understood, s ee subsection 3.2.4).
Como quien dice is a fixed expressi on at a great dis t ance from the prototypical
expression which gives name to this variable, as they say , and has according l y been
excluded.
The structure variable + modulated object conveys a third party’s assumption of
the idea expressed in the modulated object.
3.3 Methodology
The methodology em ployed to analyse the variab les rests on three characteristics of the
analysis. The analysis is com parative and contrastive, quantitative and qualitative, and
based on a corpus. Let us briefl y survey these characteristics.
The analysis adopts the compare-and- contrast approach. Com parison and
contrast are based on the examination of fi ve variables (see 3.1-3.2) in three genres,
press reportage, press editorial and academ ic prose, in two linguistic codes, British
English and Castilian Spanish. If the anal ysis had considered a single variable, say
variable 1 (‘I think’), in a genre in a language, say E nglish press editori al, comparison
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
86
and contrast would have been very limited. Truly, one could always use the findings of
earlier research and the lingui st’s intuition as a second te rm of comparison to better
understand and explain the findings of such an anal ysis. In fact this is also done in this
thesis, only that it is onl y a part of the focus of th e com parative and contrastive
perspective. In our group of variables, ge nres and languages, the exam ination of each
member of the group is expected to contribut e not only to characterise that memb er but
also other members of the group. In other words, exam ining, e.g. , variable 1 (‘I think’)
in English press editoria l is expected to cont ribute to understand the use of that variable
in that genre in English, but also the use of that variab le in Eng lish press reportage or
English academic prose, the use, in the sam e genre of English press editorial, of variable
2 (‘it seems’), and so on and so forth. Let us note that such an in-depth comparative
perspective, which is gained at the expense of complexity, is particularly useful not only
in terms of the qualita tive component of th e analysis, but also quantitatively. The
quantitative part of the analysis in this thes is m a kes use of chi-s quare tests and Yates’
correction, statistica l tests which are essential to understand the value of different
linguistic features in different populations (see 5.1.3). These tests could not have been
applied to just the number of occurrences of variable 1 (‘I thi nk’) in English press
editorial. At the late 20 th and early 21 st centuries, many studies point out the advantages
of the compare-and-contrast approach. C onnor (1996:5-6) points out the im portance of
the compare-and-contrast approach in the study of cross-cultural particulars and
universals. Aijmer (1998:277) notes that the contrastive or com parative perspective in
language studies “makes it possible to dig d eeper and to ask new questions about the
relationship between languages with the aim of sharpening our conceptions of cross-
linguistic correspondences and adding to our knowledge of the languages compared”.
Wierzbicka (2006:295) notes that “[w]ithout a c ontrastive perspective, there is always a
danger that we will seek to exp lain language-par ticular phenom ena in terms of
universalist explanations”. Moreover, the studies by Wierzbicka (2003[1991], 1992,
1997, 2006) are constant reminders of the co nvenience of the compare-and-contrast
approach to the study of linguistic and cultural systems if the re searcher is to avoid
ethnocentrism, and the com pare-and-contrast approach is connected to the avoidance of
ethnocentrism and its opposite exotism in He rnández Sacristán (1999:block I). The
convenience of combining the contrastive analys is of languages with that of varieties
Chapter 3. Variables and methodology
87
within languages is pointed out and examin ed in Hernández Sacr istán (1999:section 2.7
of block II).
There is an important quantitative com ponent in the analysis. This involves
frequency counts but also the use of statistica l tests. Absolute nu m bers, percentages and
proportions, and statistical si gnificance are all considered, so as to achieve two
important elem ents: 1) an in-depth, objectiv e description of data , and 2) scientific
validity. There is also in the analysis an important qualitative com ponent. This
involves interpretation of findi ngs in connection with the fi ndings of earlier research
(see chapter 2) and with any idea which seem s relevant to understand and explain them.
The inadequacy of an analysis which is only quantitative in a study of this nature is
especially shown when deali ng with polysem y, ambiguity and the existence of different
values of a given linguistic form. Let us c onsider, in this connect ion, an example. In
subsection 3.2.3 we saw that this thesis recognises frankly as an exam ple of variable 3
(‘probably’) if it fulfils some requirem e nts, among them to function as a disjunct, but
does not recognise it if it is exclusively an item subjunct with subject orientation.
Counting the occurrences of frankly in the corpus would not per se be very illustrative
of how frankly behaves in term s of clause/senten ce-level expressive strength reduction
expositive of the addresser’s stance. Reading the corpus m anually to examine this item
in context, counting the occurrences wh ich qualify, and exam ining the way they
function is. On the limitations of an analysis that is purely quantitative, cf. Wierzbicka
(1997:145, 2006:262) -in connection with, resp ectively, a given polysem ous Russia n
word, and epistemic adverbs and polysemy-, and Fagan and Martín Martín (2002-2003)
-for the limitations of a quantitative approach to academic criticism -.
The analysis in this thesis is based on a corpus. The corpus-based analysis is
common in studies of this natu re. The advantage is that a corpus offers an organised
body of authentic material esse ntial to support conclusions, and in this way intuitions
can be checked against, and interpretations based on, real samples of language in use.
The disadvantage is that an adequate corpus is not always available. This has been the
case with the corpus for this thesis. The English section consists of samples from a
published corpus of English, the FLOB corpus , but I have had to elaborate the Spanish
section. The pilot studies by Villar Conde (2001, 2002) analysed English, Spanish and
Galician speech, based on a corpus of some 9,000 words per language. The texts of the
Chapter 4. The corpus
94
The corpus selected is gi ven as appendix I. It consists of m ore than 180,000
words. Half of the corpus is in English and the other half in Spanish. The English
section represents British English and the Span ish section represents Castilian Spanish.
There are three written genres per language, with more than 30,000 words per genre per
language. The genres are press reportage , press editorial and academic prose.
The extension of some 180,000 words, with some 30,000 per genre per
language, responds to the necessity to keep a balance between the m anageability of texts
for their close reading and the validity of statistical findings. The inclusion of two
languages, English and Spanish, greatly contributes to the com parative perspective. The
choice of British English and Castilian Spanish brings about the consideration of two
European standards. Besides, the th ree genres chosen are representative of the standard
in the two languages, and ar e often considered of spec ial im portance in specialist
studies. Thus, the importance of essays a nd the press for analysis is pointed out by
Scollon and Scollon (2001[1995]:101). Ga rrett and Bell (1998:3-4) mention the
importance of the m edi a and of news. Bell (1998:65) states that “[n]ews is a major
register of language. Understanding how it works is im portant to understanding the
functioning of language in society”. On the importance of newspapers, cf. Dafouz
Milne (2003:34-35). W i th regard to science, Halliday (1993:132) points out that “[i]f
we examine the discourse of science we can becom e more aware of the ideology that is
enshrined in the way sc ientific language c onstrues the world”. Besides, Wierzbicka
(2006:29) notes “the central role of science in modern Anglo culture”.
Each of the three genres selected cont ains divisions. The genre/category of
Press reportage is divid ed into the subcateg ories Political, Sports, Society, Financial,
and Cultural. Press editorial is divi ded into Institutional Editorial, Personal Editoria l 33 ,
and Letters to the Editor. On the other ha nd, both Press reportage and Press editorial are
classified as National Daily, National Sunda y, Provincial Daily, and Provincial W eekly.
Academic prose is divided into Natural sc iences, Medicine, Mathem atics, Psychology,
33 Murphy ( 2004:206) indi cates that “Biber does not classify opinion ar ticles as a text type or genre,
althoug h perha p s his term personal edi torials (1988: 1 95) indicates som ething simi lar”. Murphy (200 4)
considers opinion articles as a subgenre of m edia di scourse. Daf ouz Milne (2003: 34) indicates t hat
opinio n articles are “a s u bgenre of persuasive texts (van Dij k 1988), th eir final aim being t o convince the
audience by means of logical (i .e. textua l metadiscours e) and emotional st rategies (i .e. interperso nal
metadiscourse)”, and th at they are “normally writte n by experts on a particu lar topic and, unlike
editorials, are sign ed, which means that au thorship is known to the reader ”.
Chapter 4. The corpus
95
Sociology, Demography, Linguistics, Educa tion, Politics, Law, Philosophy, History,
Literary criticism, Art, and Technology and engineering.
The English part of the corpus is taken from the FLOB corpus, a corpus of
British English whose texts date from the year 1991. The FLOB corpus is offered as
part of the ICAME CD-ROM (see Hofla nd, Lindebjerg and Thunestvedt 1999). For
FLOB’s category J “Science” I have preferred to use the label academic prose instead,
so as to reflect that this catego ry includes not only hard sciences ( e.g. mathem atics) but
a variety of other subcategories, as indicated in the previous paragraph.
The FLOB corpus does not explicitly dist inguish subcategories within the press
reportage category. However, the FLOB cor pus is designed to match the LOB corpus, a
corpus of British English whose texts date from the year 1961, and the LOB corpus
explicitly distinguishes six subcategories within press reportage, which are easily
recognised in the same category in the FLOB. Five of those subcategories constitute the
press reportage categor y of the corpus in this thesis (the already mentioned Political,
Sports, Society, Financial, and Cultural). The one that is left out is Spot news. Spot
news has been left out mainly because it cons titutes an extremely peculiar typ e of press
reportage. Its briefness makes its internal st ructure very dif ferent from the other five
subcategories. Furthermore, it does not seem to have a cl ear equivalent in the Spanish
press. Note that in the two-m illion word sample of the Spanish corpus CUMBRE
(Sánchez, Cantos and Sim ón 2001), there are equivale nts to th e LOB and FLOB
subcategories Political, Sports, Society, Financial, and Cultur al, but not to Spot news.
For a corpus-based study of Spot news, see Bell (1998).
From the samples in the FLOB, I sele cted, consciously and randomly in due
proportions, 45 samples to m a ke up the English section of the corpus for this thesis.
Each sample is about 2,000 words long (each sample ends with the complete sentence in
which the 2,000 th word is contained), and the English section of the corpus is thus about
90,000 words long. The number of sam ples in the subcategories of press reportage is
given in Table 4.1. In the category of press editorial, the subcateg ories, institutional
editorial, personal editorial, a nd letters to the editor, have five samples each. In
academic prose there is one sam ple per subcategory, that is to say, one sample per field
(for the list of subcateg ories/fields see above).
Chapter 4. The corpus
96
T ABLE 4.1 S AMPLES I N THE SUBCATEGORIES OF E NGLISH PRESS REPORTAGE
Subcategory Samples
National Daily Political 3
National Daily Sports 1
National Daily Society 1
National Daily Financial 1
National Daily Cultural 1
National Sunday Political 1
National Sunday Sports 1
National Sunday Financial 1
Provincial Daily Political 2
Provincial Daily Sports 1
Provincial Daily Cultural 1
Provincial Weekly Society 1
The Spanish section of the corpus is based on the English section. As
anticipated in chapter 1 and explained in s ection 3.3, rather than se lecting samples from
an existing corpus, I had to create a Spanish corpus and then incorporate it into the
corpus for this thesis. Sadly enough, at the beginning of the third m illennium there
were no available Spanish corpora proper, but databas es which only allowed access to
brief extracts of texts for the work with concordances and the like.
For the categories press reportage and pre ss editorial, I elaborated the Spanish
samples f rom texts in the Interne t (the Inte rnet is also the sour ce for Obiedat’s 2006
corpus of news stories). Texts in English press reportage and editorial date back to
1991; the corresponding samples in Spanish date from 1997, 2001 and 2002. The
selection of newspapers has tried to match, in sofar as this was possible, the newspapers
in the English part. Thus, ABC , El Mundo , El País , Hispanidad and La Razón digital
were considered n ational daily newspapers ; La Estrella Digital , Hispanidad and La
Chapter 4. The corpus
97
Razón digital were selected as national Sunday (the latter two have qualified as both
daily and Sunday due to the scarcity of Sp anish national newspapers available in the
Internet to m atch the English ones; Hispanidad did not appear neither on Sundays
exclusively nor daily, and La Razón digital appeared daily); Canarias 7 , El Comer cio ,
El Diario Montañés , El Norte de Castilla , Hoy , Diario Ideal , La Rioja , La Verdad and La
Vanguardia were selected as provincial daily; and El Periódico and Sur de Málaga
were selected as provincial weekly. The division of press reportage into political,
sports, society, financial and cultural, and the division of press editorial into institutional
editorial, personal ed itorial and letters to the editor, have also been matched in Spanish.
For the category of academic prose, I elaborated the Spanish sam ples fro m
printed books and journals available in my university, the Universi ty of Santiago de
Compostela. Texts in English academ ic prose date back to 1991; the corresponding
samples in Spanish dat e from 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
and 2002. There is a Spanish sa mple in each subcategory ( i.e. in each field) of
academic prose m atching the corresponding English sample in that subcategory.
As mentioned above, the entire corpus of this thesis is offered as appendix I.
The transcription conventions of the English section are those found in the FLOB
corpus with the following codes to provide contextual information:
<#FLOB:\> FLOB category ( e.g. <#FLOB:A02\>
<p_> begin paragraph
<p/> end paragraph
<h_> begin headline
<h/> end headline
<h|> one word headline
<quote_> begin quotation
<quote/> end quotation
<quote|> one word quotation
<tf_> begin typeface change
<tf/> end typeface change
<tf|> one word typeface change
<*_><*/> begin/end unusable character
<*_>e-circ<*/> ê
<foreign_> begin foreign words
<foreign/> end foreign words
<foreign|> one foreign word
<O_> begin omission
Chapter 4. The corpus
98
<O/> end omission
<?_>-<?/> ambiguous hyphen (line-break)
<}_><-|><+|><}/> misspelling
<&_><&/> begin/end editorial comment
<&|> "sic!" comment
<sp_><sp/> begin/end superscript
<sb_><sb/> begin/end subscript
The first code in this list uses le tter A for the category of press reportage (as in
<#FLOB:A02\>, meaning sam ple 2 of press re portage), B for press editorial, and J for
academic prose. It m ust be noted that this and all other codes in the list are used only in
the transcription in appendix I. Quotations from the E nglish section of the corpus
elsewhere in this thesis leave these c odes out, show misspellings in the form
“managers[-m angers]”, and identify samples of press reportage, press editorial and
academic prose as respectively EA, EB and EJ (for instance, sample 2 of English press
reportage is sample EA02). In the Spanis h section, in the transcription given in
appendix I, each Spanish samp le is preceded by the code name between the signs < >,
e.g. <SA01>. In appendix I as well as elsewher e in this thesis, Spanish samples of press
reportage, press editorial and academ ic prose are respectively identif ied as SA, SB and
SJ. Relevant contextual information in th e Spanish section is directly reproduced (for
instance, I use bold type or italics whenever th ese appear in the original) or referred to
by an editorial comment between square brac kets. Misspellings in the Spanish part
adopt the form “entendim iento[-entendiento]” or, when two or three words are wrongly
represented in the orig inal as a single wo rd, the form “que reunió[2-que(reunió]” or
“para el alumno[3-paraelalum no]”.
Quotations of examples from the corpus will reproduce any st retch of linguistic
material which appears in the m i ddle of the variable and/or its m odulated object, even
though such linguistic material is superordinate to or independ ent of the variable and its
modulated object. This is done to avoid the cumbersome us e of ellipsis. Thus, with
“the girls think” as variable and “the house is beautiful” as modulated object, quotations
could take the form the girls, in contrast, think the house is beautiful , the girls probably
think the house is beautiful or the girls admittedly think the house is beautiful . Any
other material which is superordinate to or independent of th e variable and its
Chapter 4. The corpus
99
modulated object will either not be quoted or, f or the purp oses of providing contextual
clues, be quoted between square brackets.
Appendix II, “Sources of texts in the corpus ”, identifies every text and sample in
the corpus, including th e code name of each sample ( e.g. “EA01” for sam ple 01 of
category A -press reportage- in Englis h) and information about category and
subcategory, title, date and place of publica tion, author, th e specifi c pages occupied by
the sample in the original source, the spec ific lin es occupied by each text in the
transcription of the sample in appendix I, the exact num ber of words of the sample, and
typographical errors and expr essions marked as “sic”.
A better understanding of the corpus and its composition can be gained by
consulting appendices I and II. However, it should have become clear that the way the
corpus has been elaborated is random and non-random in due proportions. We saw
above that purely random selection is not appr opriate in pragmatics even if it may be in
other branches of linguistics such as phone tics. On the other hand, a too conscious
selection of samples m i ght distort the corpus and hence the analys is. Starting from a
corpus that is already published and widely used by researchers, the FLOB, favours the
intended representativeness of our corpus. From that star ting point, conscious choices
of samples have taken into account relevant as pects of type of text and context, these
latter concerning sex of author (s) (there exists th e cliché that women’ s language is less
blunt than men’s -for a scie ntific view, see Holm es 1995-), individual authorship as
against co-authorship (an indi vidual author might feel le ss comfortable using self-
reference than a group of authors), and so on. When no justif ication existed to
consciously shift from one text to another, chance alone has come into play.
We are now in a position to proceed to the analysis.
5. Analysis
5.1 Introduction
This chapter offers the analysis of data, ba sed on the corpus of English and Spanish.
The object of analysis are the five linguistic variables select ed for the study, variable 1
(‘I think’), variable 2 (‘it se ems’), variable 3 (‘probably’), variable 4 (‘they say’) and
variable 5 (‘as they say’). These linguistic stru ctures function at clause/s entence-level
for reduction of expressive strength. They ar e all optional and they occur in declarative
sentences, never as part of an interrogati ve, exclam ative or imperative sentence. In
expressive strength reduction othe r structures m ay play a role ( e.g. grammatically
obligatory structures or interrogative sentences ), but these fall outside the scope of the
present analysis. Examples of each of the five variables cho sen follow here:
1. This perspective is expressed too, I believe , in radically different meanings and
uses of ‘primitivism ’. (lines 185-187, sample EJ65, English academ ic prose, art;
example of variab le 1, ‘I think’)
2. It is thought the Lloyd’s authorities would like to see the number of syndicates
and members’ agencies reduced to produ ce a more stream lined, better equipped
market. (lines 94-96, sample EA25, English press reportage, fina ncial; variable
2, ‘it seem s’)
3. They may, of course , decide on som eone other th an Mr Gorbachev (lines 151-
152, sample EB01, English press editorial , institutional editorial; variable 3,
‘probably’)
4. El ministro de Hacienda señaló que “no se puede cu estionar ninguna ley que
apruebe el Parlamento” (lines 16-17, sam ple SA01, Spanish press reportage,
political; var iable 4, ‘they say’)
Chapter 5. Analysis
102
5. como dice Lucrecio , nada nace si no es por la m u erte de algo (line 123, sample
SJ60, Spanish academic prose, literary criticism ; variable 5, ‘as they say’)
To better understand the way expressive st rength reduction is affected by the five
variables chosen, it is important to bear in mind the differences between them as well as
the similarities by which they constitute a hom ogeneous set. The fi rst subsection in the
present introduction of the anal ysis explores, th erefore, the similarities and differences
between the variables.
5.1.1 The variables as a set: similarities and differences
There is a clear parallelism be tween our five variables. Cf. the following exam ple of
variable 1 (‘I think’):
6. I think we were in the position of genera ls persuading Napol eon to leave the
field of battle at Waterloo (lines 19- 20, sam ple EA02, English press reportage,
political)
Using variables 2 (‘it seems’), 3 (‘probabl y’), 4 (‘they say’) and 5 (‘as they say’)
instead, we would have respectively examples 7, 8, 9 and 10 as follows:
7. It can be said/It must be acknowledged we were in the pos ition of generals
persuading Napoleon to leave the field of battle at Waterloo
8. From my point of view/Honestly , we were in the position of generals persuading
Napoleon to leave the field of battle at W aterloo
9. People can well say /Ma ny people will think we were in the position of generals
persuading Napoleon to leave the field of battle at Waterloo
Chapter 5. Analysis
103
10. As many people will be thinking , we were in the position of generals persuading
Napoleon to leave the field of battle at W aterloo
And similar parallelisms may be traced fo r Spanish. The very first example of a
variable found in the Spanish part of th e corpus is variable 4 (‘they say’):
11. en las que Juan José Ibarretxe anunció que el País Vasco pagará este año un
Cupo al Estado de 151.000 millones de pesetas (907,53 m illones de euros) (lines
9-12, sample SA01, Spanish pr ess reportage, political)
It is not difficult to im agine alternatives with exam ples of variables 1 (‘I think ’), 2 (‘it
seems’), 3 (‘probably’) and 5 (‘as they say ’), respectively exemplified in 12, 13, 14 and
15:
12. he anunciado/anuncio que el País Vasco pagará ...
13. es obvio/parece que el País Vasco pagará ...
14. obviamente/al parecer el País Vasco pagará ...
15. según Juan José Ibarretxe/según afirmó Juan José Ibarretxe , el País Vasco
pagará ...
This symmetry results from the overall eff ect of each of the five variables upon
authorial stance.
The shared value of the fi ve variables to modulate ideas by introducing some
kind of nuance on authorial comm i tment co-e xis ts, however, with the s emantic,
grammatical and pragmatic differences between the variables. Since Ferdinand de
Saussure we know that the meaning of a li nguistic elem ent is relative to the language
system, and thus the meaning of the different variab les is not to be taken as identical.
For instance, I am sure does not denote the same degree of certainty as surely . And,
Chapter 5. Analysis
110
in other words, the value of χ 2 (= chi-square). When the table has one colum n and two
rows, two columns and one row, or two colum n s and two rows, the test is said to have
one degree of freedom . For any other table, the degr ees of freedom of the test are
obtained by the formula (number of colum ns minus 1) · (number of rows minus 1).
Yates’ correction is an extra calculation on the chi-square test recommended by some
statisticians when there is one degree of f reedom. The value of the test s tatistic is
checked in some tables or through certain com puter programmes so as to know whether
the test is significant for the corresponding degr ees of freedom . When there is less than
5% probability that the distri bution of data is due to chan ce, the results are no rmally
considered to be statistically sign ifican t. The three commonest significant values
employed in statis tics are less than 5% pr obability, less than 1% probability and less
than 0.1% probability.
The chi-square test tells us whethe r there is a rela tionship between variables
which is not due to chance. It does not tell us anything about the nature of that
relationship, that is, it does not tell us that the occurrence of a given variable A predicts
the occurrence of a given vari able B or the other way round, or it does not tell us about
the reasons, linguistic or ot herwise, for the distribution of variables. Thus, it is
important to complement the quantitative anal ysis with the qualitative analysis, a s is
done here. On the other hand, apart from i ndicating whether a certain distribution of
linguistic features is (statistic ally) significant or not, in thos e cases in which it is, the
deviance contributed by each cell in the tabl e can be of interest. In other words,
conclusions from a significant value of chi-square may be complemented by
conclusions on the basis of the peculiarly high or low value of the deviance that a given
cell ( i.e. a given linguistic feature in a population) contributes to the total deviance.
Crystal and Davy in their seminal 1969 anal ysis point out that they m ake their
statements of frequency [...] using such qua ntifiers as ‘r arely’, ‘co mmonly’, ‘often’,
‘very often’, and so on. This range of a dverbials in English cuts up a continuum of
frequency very clearly, with very little overlap, and is readily intelligible. It should not
be forgotten, however, that any statements of relative frequency in these terms can be
referred if necessary to the precise statistical situation which underlies them. They are
not simply impressions: the distinction between ‘often’ and ‘very often’, for example,
has ultimately an objective numerical basis. (Crystal and Davy 1969:22)
Chapter 5. Analysis
111
In accordance with this, throughout the rest of the chapter frequencies of occurren ce
will be classified according to the following sca le:
FOR THE VARIABLES INDIVIDUA LLY IN ENGLISH AND SPANI SH:
-A frequency up to 20 is very low
-From 21 up to 40 it is low
-From 41 up to 50 it is moderate
-From 51 up to 60 it is medium / middle/intermediate
-From 61 up to 70 it is considerable
-From 71 up to 80 it is high
-From 81 up to 100 it is very high
-From 200 onwards it is disproportionately high
FOR THE VARIABLES AS A GROUP IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH PRE SS
REPORTAGE, PRESS EDITORIAL AND ACADEMIC PROSE:
-A frequency up to 60 is very low
-From 61 up to 100 it is low
-From 101 up to 140 it is m oderate
-From 141 up to 180 it is m e dium/middle/intermediate
-From 181 up to 220 it is considerable
-From 221 up to 260 it is high
-From 261 up to 320 it is very high
FOR THE VARIABLES INDIVIDUALLY IN ENGLIS H AND SPANISH PRESS
REPORTAGE, PRESS EDITORIAL AND ACADEMIC PROSE:
-A frequency up to 10 is very low
-From 11 up to 15 it is low
Chapter 5. Analysis
112
-From 16 up to 20 it is moderate
-From 21 up to 25 it is medium / middle/intermediate
-From 26 up to 30 it is considerable
-From 31 up to 40 it is high
-From 41 up to 50 it is very high
-64 is extremely high
-177 and 181 are disp roportionately high
The next section analyses the variables as a group in English and Spanish.
Section 5.3 analyses each individu al variable in English and Spanish. The variables as a
group in each genre in English and Spanish are analysed in sect ion 5.4. Section 5.5
analyses each individual variable in each ge nre in English and Spanish. To conclude
the analysis, section 5.6 offers a profile for each genre in English and Spanish regard ing
the five variables, and for each language regarding the three gen res and the five
variables.
5.2 The variables as a group in English and Spanish
To begin with, let us consider the group of variables in English and Spanish. There are
489 examples of variables in the English se ction of our corpus and 467 in the Spanish
section. See Figure 5.1.
Let us remember that the English and Spanish sections of the corpus have the
same size (about 90,000 words each section). Thus , in principle it would seem that the
English language is slightly more oriented towards clause/sentence-level expressive
strength reduction than the Spanish langua ge. On the other ha nd, without Yates’
correction, the significance of the chi-square test is 0.477, a nd with the correction it is
0.497. In other words, with and without Yates’ correction, the chi-square test indicates
that there is 40 odds per cent probability that the distribu tion of examples in the two
Chapter 5. Analysis
113
languages responds to chance, so the value of the test statistic with one degree of
freedom is not significant. Indeed, it appear s that English and Spanish are closer to
each other in clause/sen tence-level expressive strength reduction as co mpared to the
results for speech which I obtained in an ear lier stage of research in 2001 and 2002 (see
chapter 2). Figure 5.2 offers the freque ncies per 90,000 words corresponding to the
examples found in Villar Conde (2001, 2002) and to the exam ples in this thesis
(normalised frequencies for Villar Conde 2001, 2002, which analysed speech, observ ed
frequencies for this thesis analysing written language).
F i gu r e 5.1 T h e gr ou p of var i ab l e s i n E n gl i s h an d Sp an i s h
489 467
0
100
200
300
400
500
nu m b er of exam p l e
s
En gl i s h Span i sh
Fi
g
u r e 5.2 E xp r e s s i ve s tr e n
g
t h r e duc t i o n i n s pe e c h
v e r s u s w r it in g
574 484
489 467
0
200
400
600
800
Eng l i s h S p a ni s h
exam p l es i n 90,000 w ord
s
speech wr i t i n g
Chapter 5. Analysis
114
It should be remembered that the frequencies for 2001 are normalised from
frequencies in collections of samples total ling more than 9,000 wo rds. Assum ing that
normalised and observed frequencies in 90,000 words were com parable, on the basis of
the data reflected in Figure 5.2, changing fr om speech to writing brings about a sharp
decrease in streng th reduction in English and an almost im perceptible decline in
Spanish. This might seem surprising, given that th is thesis adds two new variables -
variables 4 (‘they say’) and 5 (‘as they say’)- and extend s the definition of the old
variables involving a predicator by including the possibility th at the predicator consists
of a verb of speech. However, my 2001 study revealed that formality inhibits
expressive strength reduction in spee ch. And the corpus in this th esis consists of formal
written language. The form ality of the th ree written genres, press re portage, press
editorial and academ ic prose, thus seems to be reducing the incid ence of expressive
strength reduction in th e data examined. Besides, it also seem s to have made English
and Spanish sim ilar in terms of the inciden ce of the variables as a group. In speech,
English had alm ost 600 examples and Spanish almost 500. In writing , English has
almost 500 and Spanish slightly below this.
In chapter 2 above we drew attention to Biber et al. ’s (1999:chapter 12) finding
that, in English, stance markers are consider ably more common in conversation than in
the written registers, and that, at the s ame time, stance m arkers are surprisingly common
in the written registers. Th ese findings are consistent with the findings for English in
my 2001 study and in this thesis. In contra st, in Spanish, the decrease from almost 500
examples per 90,000 words in speech to about 470 in writing (see Figure 5.2) suggests
that in this language clause/sentence-le vel expressive strength reduction is not
particularly associated with speech nor with writing.
More light is shed on clause/sentenc e-level expressive strength reduction in the
English and Spanish languages in the analysis of each indiv idual variable. This is done
in the section that f ollows.
5.3 The variables individually in English and Spanish
Chapter 5. Analysis
115
The analysis becom es more complex when exam ining the incidence of each of the five
variables. To perceive the relative weight of the five variables in English, Figure 5.3.A
presents the number of exam ples of each va riable in English. Figure 5.3.B, in turn,
presents the number of exam ples of each variable in Spanish. Figure 5.4 shows the
same information as Figures 5.3.A and B, but in a different format, so as to facilitate
comparison of the variable s in the tw o languages.
F i gu r e 5.3.A B r e akd ow n for th e var i ab l e s i n E n gl i s h
I t h i n k; 56
i t seem s; 58
pr obabl y ; 77
t h ey s ay ; 278
as t h ey say ; 2 0
F i gu r e 5.3.B B r e ak d ow n f or t h e var i ab l e s i n S p an i s h
I t h i n k; 43
i t seem s; 64
pr obabl y ; 62
t h ey sa y ; 231
as t h ey say ; 6 7
Chapter 5. Analysis
116
Fi
g
u r e 5.4 C om p ar ati ve f i
g
u r es f o r t h e v a r i a b l es i n
E ng l i s h a nd S pa ni s h
56 58 77
278
20
43 64 62
231
67
0
100
200
300
v ar i abl e 1, I
th i n k
v a r ia b le 2 , it
see m s
va r i a b l e 3 ,
pr obabl y
va r i a b l e 4 ,
th e y s a y
va r i a b l e 5 ,
as t h ey say
number of exampl e
s
En gl i s h Span i sh
The application of the chi-s quare test to the data in Figure 5.4 reveals that there
is less than 0.1% probab ility that the di stribution is due to chance. In other words, the
distribution of the five variable s in the English and Spanish sections of the corpus is not
random but m eaningful. It will be re membered that the chi-square test per se does not
explain the reasons, the consequences, or the nature of the relationship between a given
linguistic variable ( e.g. variable 1, ‘I think’ ) and a given population ( e.g. the Eng lish
language). On the other hand, when considering the reason s, consequences, nature of
relationships and so on, it is important to consider th e contrast between the observed
frequency and the expected frequency of each variable in each population, and
especially the deviance of each variable in each population. An expected frequency is
supposed to stand for the frequency that would be obtained if only chance w ere
intervening in the presence of that variable in that population. The deviance is a
measure of the difference between the expect ed frequency of a variable in a population
and the observed frequency of that variable in that population. Thus, a particularly high
deviance of a variable in a population m ay be suggestiv e of a specia l relationship
between that variable and that population in the co ntext of all the data under
consideration in the corresponding chi-squa re test. Metaphorically, the deviance
contributed by each variable in ea ch population to the total deviance 36 can be thought of
36 Remember that the total devian ce is the sum of the deviances of each linguistic variable in each
population , and that the value o f the total devian ce is the valu e of chi-square. A sufficiently hig h total
Chapter 5. Analysis
117
in terms of the relative cont ribu tion of each member of a group of friends who write a
book together. If, for instance, five pe ople write a 600-page book on mammals, it can
be assumed that this group of people has m ade a significant contributi on to literature on
mammals. On the other hand, if 412 pages ha ve been contributed by a m e mber of the
group, 100 pages by another member, 50 pages by another, 20 by another, and 18 by
another, we may be interested in knowing who has contribute d what so as to understand
the role of each friend in the final achievemen t. This is the reason f or giving not only
observed frequencies but also expected fr equencies and deviances for this and
subsequent chi-square tests 37 .
Observed frequencies, expected freque ncies and deviances of variables in
English and Spanish are given in Table 5.1.
5.3.1 Variable 1 (‘I think’) in English and Spanish
In English the observed frequency of variable 1 (‘I think’), 56, is the second lowest,
though it is more than five poi nts above the expected freque ncy. The ‘I think’ variable
can be said to occupy a m iddle position in the English section of the corpus. Its
intermediate frequency of 56 examples is far from the very low frequency of variable 5
(‘as they say’) and from the high frequencies of the ‘probably’ and ‘they say’ variables.
At the same time, its frequency is sim ilar to that of variable 2 (‘it seems’), though the
frequency of the ‘it seems’ variab le is m ore than four points belo w expected. The
intermediate frequency of 56 examples of va riable 1 (‘I think’) in English can a lso be
contrasted with the moderate frequency of 43 of the same variable in Spanish. In
Spanish this variab le has the lowest observe d frequency, which is more than five points
below the expected frequ ency.
deviance, that is, a sufficien tly high value of chi-sq uare, will indicate statistical significance. The critical
point from which a value of chi-sq uare is statistically significant is fou nd in tables in book s on statistics
(see e.g. Woods, Fletch er and Hug hes 1986:301, Dav is 1990:84, or Oak es 1998:266), o r automaticall y
calculate d by com puter progr a mm es.
37 This has not been done for the prev ious chi-sq uare test (applied to th e group of variab les in English and
Spanish) because it indicated that the distribu tion was not statistically significant. As will be seen , the
remaining chi-square tests all indicate that the res u lts are statistically significant.
Chapter 5. Analysis
118
T ABLE 5.1 O BSERV ED FREQU ENCIES , EXPECTED FREQUENCIE S AND DEVIANCE S OF
VARIABL ES IN E NGLISH AND S PANISH
English Spanish
observed frequency 56 43
expected frequency 50.639 48.361
variable 1, ‘I think’
deviance 0.568 0.594
observed frequency 58 64
expected frequency 62.404 59.596
variable 2, ‘it
seems’
deviance 0.311 0.325
observed frequency 77 62
expected frequency 71.099 67.901
variable 3,
‘probably’
deviance 0.490 0.513
observed frequency 278 231
expected frequency 260.357 248.643
variable 4, ‘they
say’
deviance 1.196 1.252
observed frequency 20 67
expected frequency 44.501 42.499
variable 5, ‘as they
say’
deviance 13.490 14.125
The introduction of the ‘I th ink’ variable in written English commonly serves to
frame the modulated object as a personal opin ion, be it that of the writer(s) or of
someone else being quoted 38 . Cf.:
22. [Reports that the company failed to wa rn consumers until se veral hours after the
fault was detected should be investigated urgently, added Mr Hughes. Sir John
said:] “I think the concern of Robert Hughes is appropriate and com pletely
legitimate. [I intend to speak to him as soon as possible. We have nothing to
hide.”] (lines 146-151, sample EA02, Eng lish press reportage, political; the
38 On some occasions , the linguistic structure conforming a varia b le ( e.g. I think or probab ly ) forms part
of a quotatio n, a circumstance whi ch is to be dist in guis hed from the fact that the variable introd uces
quoted speech/thought. In “I s a id Mary is happy”, Peter remarked , the expression I said , besides
introducing quoted sp eech ( Mary is happy ) is itself contai ned in a qu otation. In every o ne is surprised that
I said “I am not guilty” , the expression I said merely introduces quoted s peech ( I am not guilty ) but is not
contained in a quotation. It is importan t to bear in mind this distinction in the an alysis.
Chapter 5. Analysis
119
variable and its modulated object are cont ained in the journalist’s quotation of a
former Member of Parliament, Sir John; the variable involves Sir John’s self-
reference)
23. I SUPPOSE nothing will stem the tide of r ubbish which is written every tim e a
new opinion poll comes out (lines 38- 39, sam ple EB05, English press editorial,
personal editorial; emphasis in origina l; the variable involves the journalist’s
self-reference)
24. I think we can envisage two situations in which the assum ption would be false
(lines 95-96, sam ple EJ51, English academic prose, philosophy; the variab le
involves the scientis t’s self-reference)
The variable tends to present an opinion currently held by the addresser(s). This
is conveniently reflected in the overwhelming num ber of examples in the simple
present . From the total of 56 exam ples , 41 are in the sim ple present 39 , ten in the sim ple
past, one in the present perfect, one in the past conditional, one in the will future
(although with shall ), one in the present perfect continuous, and one in the present
continuous. These data are summarised in Figure 5.5.
In chapter 2 we saw that Nuyts (2001) identified a sim ilar function for cognitive
verbs in first person singular in the simple presen t. We also saw that Kärkkäinen (2003)
identified a similar function for the phrase I think in American conversational English.
Nuyts (2001), Kärkkäinen (2003) and this thesis coin cide in identifying this function, to
frame the present perspective of the addresser. On the othe r hand, this thes is finds an
important variant of this function, nam ely framing the present perspective of a quoted
addresser, as in example 22.
Consistently with the m arking of aut horial stance, most examples have the
predicator in the affirmative (47). The predom inance of affirmative clauses in the
marking of the author’s stan ce is also pointed out in Nuyts (2001) and Kärkkäinen
39 I count as sim ple present the examples “I have t o say” and “I must first confess”, which c ontain
modals . Here and he nceforward, modal is a general label encompassing the English verb s ca n, could,
may , mi ght , should , must , nee d , ough t to , used to , be t o , have got to , have to , be able to , be goi ng to , carry
on/keep ( on)/go on + - ing participle, fa il to , need to and want to . T he verbs shall and will / ’ll are
considered as fu ture auxiliaries, an d would as a condition al auxiliary.
Chapter 5. Analysis
126
Here a scientific ide a is qualified by the example of variable 2 it can be said , that is, by
the passive of a communication verb modified by a m odal. At the same time, both that
qualification and the scientific idea are to be understood un der the constraints im posed
by the adverbial in general . From the six categ ories of stance adverbials in Biber and
Finegan (1988), this belongs to the “ generally adverbials (expressing approximation,
generalization, typical or usua l case)” (p. 7). Thus, in En glish variable 2 often gets
involved in qualifications of statements with a certain com plexity, whether this affects
the variable, its near co-text, or both.
In terms of tense, th e patterns observed for variable 1 (‘ I think’) in English
highly coincide with th ose of variable 2 (‘it seem s’) in English. For variable 2 (‘it
seems’) there are 43 examples with the sim ple present (again incl uding exam ples with
modals, as in it can be said ), seven with the simple past (including an example with
used to ), and eight with other tenses (four w ith the present perfect, three with the
conditional -one with would and two with could -, and one with the will future). These
data are summarised in Figure 5.7.
F i gu r e 5.7 T e n s e of var i ab l e 2, i t s e e m s , i n E n gl i s h
si m p l e p r e s e n t;
43
si m p l e p ast; 7
ot h er s; 8
Most examples have the predicator of the variable in the affir mative.
Specifically, 54 examples have the predicato r in the affirmative, and four have the
predicator in the negative.
Chapter 5. Analysis
127
Most examples, an ab solute majority, have the v ariable preceding its modulated
object. Specifically, in 52 examples the vari able precedes its modulated object, in five
the variable intervenes, and in one the variable follows . See Figure 5.8.A.
Fi
g
u r e 5.8.A P os i ti on of var i ab l e 2, i t s e e m s , r e l at i ve to
m od u l ate d ob j e ct , i n E n gl i s h
pr ecedi n g ; 52
in t e r v e n in g ; 5
fo llo w in g; 1
In terms of tense, po larity, and positio n relative to th e modulated object, in
written English variable 2 (‘it seem s’) coinci des with variable 1 (‘I think’), in the
prevalence of the simple present, the a ffirmative, and the position preceding the
modulated object.
Thus, in written English variable 2 (‘it seems’) cons titutes an altern ative to
variable 1 (‘I think’) when the author wants to fram e a current perspective, with the
important difference that the current perspectiv e need not be his/her own. With the verb
seem and with be clear and synonyms in the simple present the perspectiv e is norm ally
the author’s; in other cas es, it may be the auth or’s, it m ay be others’, or it m ay be shared
by the author and others, or it may even be ambiguous. Som etimes the perspective is
clearly that of other peopl e who surface in an agent by -phrase, as in exam ple 29.
Despite the variety of perspectives masked under the im personality of variable 2 (‘it
seems’), this variable has a characteristic effect of apparent ob jectivity absent in
variable 1 (‘I think ’). Notice that only thr ee examples of the ‘it seem s’ variable are of
the variable + to me/us type. Two of these involve the construction it seems to me ,
Chapter 5. Analysis
128
which Holmes (1982:27, 1988:43) labelled personalised pattern. These two present the
author’s perspective. The ot her involves the co nstruction it has been poi nted out to me .
This implies external support for the m odulated object. Nevertheless, ev en in this latter
example the tonicity of to me som ehow focalises on the au thor. The three exam ples are
then exceptional in sligh tly counterbalanci ng the prototypical objectiv ity inherent in the
form of variable 2 (‘it seems’).
In my earlier research on speech (Villar Conde 2001), English yielded 47
examples of variable 2 norm alised per 90,000 words (although the En glish section of
the corpus comprised about 9,600 words), as against 58 in written English in this thesis.
Whilst, as we saw in 5.3.1, the frequency of va riable 1 (‘I think’), when shifting from
spoken to written English, considerably de creases, the frequency of variable 2 (‘it
seems’) does not decrease, and in fact increases slightly. The ‘it seems’ variable is a
relatively common device in both spoken and wr itten English, slightly more so in the
latter, serving addressers to present ideas with an appearance of objectivity. On the
other hand, this variable in written English has the smalles t contribution to the total
deviance for any of the five variables in any of the two languages, and its observed
frequency of 58 examples is below expect ed, as opposed to a very similar observed
frequency of 56 examples of variable 1 (‘I thin k’) in written English which is above
expected. This has to do with the conside r able observed frequenc y of variable 2 (‘it
seems’) in written Spanish, 64 examples. In spoken Spanish there were 49 examples of
this variable per 90,000 words (a normalised frequency, as the Spanish section of the
corpus comprised about 9,100 words). Equa ting normalised frequencies to observed
frequencies, we can note that the increas e in the number of examples of variable 2 (‘it
seems’) when shifting from speech to writi ng is slightly more pronounced for Spanish
than for English (from 47 exam ples to 58 in English, from 49 to 64 in Spanish).
In Spanish variable 2 (‘it se ems’) has two main uses. One is to present an idea
currently he ld by the addresser(s ) as generally observable. It m ay be observable at a
point along the certain ty scale below absolute certainty 40 or at the point of absolu te
certainty/cla rity. Cf.:
40 Uncertaint y is considered to be i nvolved i n examples with a negat ed pre dicator “No es im posible”, “no
será posible” a nd “No es seg uro”. For t h e form er two, versions with the predicator in the affirmative (“es
imposible”, “s erá posible”) are also interpreted as i nvolving uncertainty. In contrast, affirmative “es
Chapter 5. Analysis
129
31. Es probable que no pueda darse una respuesta única a estas preguntas (line 77,
sample SJ36, Spanish academ ic prose, education)
32. se ve que han transcurrido diversas fases bien distintas (lines 97-98, sample
SB06, Spanish press editoria l, personal editorial)
The other main use of variable 2 (‘it seems ’) in Spanish is to present ideas held by one
or more individuals different from the a ddresser(s), using the reflexive passive ( se + 3 rd
person singular verb), the verb typically bei ng a verb of communicatio n. In this use of
variable 2, the impersonality of the variable avoids the explicit mention as subject of the
people whose views are given, though someti mes the sentence to which the variable
belongs contains a reference to those people in the form of an agent phrase or a similar
structure. Notice that the presentation of others’ ideas does not necess arily imply that
the addresser rejects them. Cf.:
33. [Cuando] s e expresa , como lo ha hecho Jordi Pujol, que Cataluña vive el
momento de autogobierno, en sentido político y también financiero, m á s
importante de los últim os 300 años, [tengo que decir que algo tenemos que ver
en ello, y algo tiene que ver también Pujo l en ello, pues ha c ontribuido mucho en
la construcción del Estado de las Autonomías en Es paña”.] (lines 201-207,
sample SA20, Spanish press reportage, po litica l; source of idea is expressed in
“como lo ha hecho Jordi Pujol”; cont ext im plies author’s support for the
modulated object)
34. [“No entiendo las declaraciones] en las que se dice que ayer hubo un atraco.
[ Yo estuve jugando un partido y no en ningún atraco ”, declaró.] (lines 94-96,
sample SA22, Spanish press reportage, sports; emphasis in original; context
makes explicit author’s rejection of the m odulated object)
seguro” does not i n volve unc ertainty. Let us point out the formal and se mantic equivale nce between “es
seguro” and “está claro” and t he necessity in resear ch to arbitrarily div ide the languag e continuum.
Chapter 5. Analysis
130
35. Se cuenta que, tras la confirm ación de su el ección en una legislatura, un alcalde
de su circunscripción le rem itió a Madrid un elocuente y esc ueto telegrama que
decía: ‘Don Natalio, colóquenos a todos’.
[Un siglo después nos encontramos con una historia revivida.] (lines 95-
99, sample SB10, Spanish press editorial, letters to the editor; context implies
author’s support for the modulated object)
The boundary between examples of this s econd m ain use in which the source of
information/opinion is not m entioned a nd the author’s suppo rt is implied ( e.g. exam ple
35) and examples of the first main use si gnalling that the information/opinion can be
perceived at the po int of absolute certa inty/clarity ( e.g. 32) is not clearc ut. In the latter
there is the interpretatio n that the author has a conception and that this will easily be
shared by others, in the former there is the inter pretation that othe rs have a conception
and that this is shared b y the author. This difference is a very subtle one and open to
interpretation, but we must recall the non di screte nature of li nguistic features.
Certainly, the two types of exam ples are bord erline cases in the two m ain uses of the
variable.
We can see that Spanish also plays with the formal impersonality of variable 2
(‘it seems’) to m ask different personal pers pectives. These perspectives tend to be
important in the present situa tion of the addresser, as refl ected in the large proportion of
examples in the pres ent ( amo ), 52 from the total of 64. One exam ple uses the future
( amaré ), and the remaining 11 use one of the many pasts available in Spanish grammar.
Most examples have the predicator of the va riable in the affirm ative. Specifically, 58
examples have th e predicator in the affirma tive, as against only s ix in the negative.
Most examples, an abso lute majority, have the variable preceding its modulated object ,
specifically 58 exam ples, as ag ainst only five in which the variable intervenes and o ne
in which the variable follows it. See Figure 5.8.B.
This dissertation does not distinguish a class of modal verbs for the Spanish
language, and treats verbs like poder , querer , deber (de) , tener que and haber de as
auxiliaries in verb periphrases (see section 3.1). This is not to deny that these verbs
have special characteristics, especially in term s of meaning. Thus, in terms of
Chapter 5. Analysis
131
modulation inside the variable itself, it can be mentioned that a few exam ple s of
variable 2 (‘it seems’) in Spanish use poder and q uerer .
Fi
g
u r e 5.8.B P os i ti on of var i ab l e 2, i t s e e m s , r e l at i ve to
m od u l ate d ob j e ct , i n Sp an i s h
pr ecedi n g ; 58
in t e r v e n in g ; 5
fo llo w in g; 1
Searching for exam ples in which the variable is accompanied by a pro noun in
first person reference, that is to say, examples involving me , nos , a mí or a
nosotros/nosotras , there is only one example of this type. This is the following:
36. menos duda me cabe , que la ascensión a la Silla de Pedro de Su Santidad Juan
Pablo II, es definitivamente Obra y Si gno de la Divina Providencia (lines 117-
119, sample SB09, Spanish press edit orial, letters to the editor)
This example can be considered to correspond to Holm es’s (1982:27, 1988:43)
personalised patterns. However, the personalisation, i.e. the author ’s attribution of the
opinion to himself, is som eho w softened by the fact that me is unstressed and that it is
placed in the middle of the variable.
5.3.3 Variable 3 (‘probably’) in English and Spanish
Chapter 5. Analysis
132
Variable 3 (‘probably’) ranks fourth in terms of its contribution to deviance. In English
there are 77 examples, about six points above the expected frequency. T he 62 examples
in Spanish are about si x points below expected.
Variable 3 (‘probably’) is the second most frequent variable in English. Its
frequency, 77 examples, is hi gh, and only exceeded by the frequency of variable 4
(‘they say’). In spoken English (Villa r Conde 2001) I found 226 examples per 90,000
words. Thus, equating normalised and obser ved frequencies, the inci dence of this
variable in written English is low if compared to its incidenc e in spoken English. At the
same tim e, the incidence of this variable in written English is high when compared to
the same variable in written Spanish.
From the 77 exam ples of variable 3 (‘probably’) in wr itten Eng lish, 73
correspond to content disjuncts, and the remain ing four to style disj uncts. This is the
list of the co ntent disjuncts:
- of course (20 times)
- probably (nine tim es)
- perhaps (nine tim es)
- clearly (eight tim es)
- apparently (seven times)
- obviously (four tim es)
- surely (three tim es)
- undoubtedly (three times)
- maybe (twice)
- no doubt (twice)
- presumably (twice)
- almost certainly
- without doubt
Chapter 5. Analysis
133
- doubtless
- allegedly
The style disjuncts are truly (twice), in my opinion , and honestly . Most cases
correspond to the autho r’s current views, presented as objects of gene ral perception,
sometimes with a degree of uncertainty invol ved, as in 37, as ag ainst the clarity or
absolute certainty implied in 38-39:
37. Officially, Mr Yeltsin will probably be a guest of the Senate, whose two party
leaders have invited him to Washi ngton. (lines 145-146, sample EA20, English
press reportage, political)
38. Some witnesses were undoubtedly concerned about thei r personal reputations.
(lines 82-83, sample EJ56, English academ ic prose, history)
39. clearly there is little relationship b etween perform ance and pay in such cases
(lines 126-127, sample EB10, English pre ss editorial, letters to the editor)
The discussion of variable 3 considers that uncertainty is signalled by the variable
whenever the adverbial express ion alludes to doubt in any degree except for the null
degree indicated by English surely , no doubt , and so on, or by Spanish seguro , sin duda ,
and so on. Spanish seguramente and a buen seguro are nevertheless considered as
expressions of uncertainty referring to so mething like ‘very proba bly’. The dividing
line between expressio ns referring to ‘a gr eater or lesser degree of uncertainty’ and
expressions referring to ‘(absolute) certainty’, if som e what arbitrary, is nevertheless
useful and relevant for the analysis.
In English and Spanish alike, variab le 3 (‘probably’) coincides with variable 1
(‘I think’) in that typically th e inclusion of the variable inherently implies au thorial
support for the modulated object (see the comments on sim ilarities and differences
between the variables in terms of pragm atics in 5.1.1, and the comments on implicit,
explicit and ambiguous marking of stance in 2.3.2). On the other hand, variable 3
Chapter 5. Analysis
134
(‘probably’) differs from variable 1 (‘I thin k’) in several im portant respects. As
opposed to variable 1 (‘I think ’), variable 3 (‘proba bly’) does not have a tense (contrast
e.g. think/thought ), it lacks negation (except for adverbs with m orphological negation,
such as undoubtedly , although this is not the negati ve version of anything like
* doubtedly , and there is not anything like * not undoubtedly , not probably , or
improbably, they are happy ; contrast e.g. I do not think/say ) and it does not formally
focalise the author’s figure (contras t I ). The lack of tense a nd negation in variable 3
(‘probably’) is part of the ge neral implication that this vari able is modulating an idea
currently adhered to. The absence of a formal focus upon the authorial figure is suitable
for types of texts in which addresse rs do not want to figure prom inently, i.e. written
texts. It will be remembered from subsection 2.3.2 that Biber et al. (1999:979) point out
the involved nature of convers ation and argue that this ch aracteristic make s the use of
stance markers m ore frequent in conversation th an in writing. Thus, to indica te that the
idea expressed represents the author’s current stance, it is no wonder that written
English favours variable 3 (‘probably’), with its high frequency of 77 examples, rather
than variable 1 (‘I th ink’), with its interm ediate frequency of 56 examples. Truly, the
syntactic potential of va riab le 1 (‘I think’), with the po ssibility of marking present, past
and future and negation, is not particularly useful whenever the add r esser wants to
frame an id ea as current authorial stan ce. In contrast, adverb s, which cannot mark
present, past and future and which cannot be negated, are perfect ca ndidates to point to
the addresser’s present support whilst at the same tim e not po inting to the addresser too
much.
Another difference between superordinat e clauses (conforming variable 1, ‘I
think’) and adverb ials (conforming variable 3, ‘probab ly’) concern s mobility. As
surveyed in subsections 2.3.2 and 2.3.3, nume rous authors draw attention to the
mobility of adverbials as an advantage in the m arking of epistemic stance. Mobility
might also be behind the high frequency of va riable 3 (‘probably’) in written English,
which exceeds that of any other variable excep t for variable 4 (‘they say’). From the 77
examples of variable 3 (‘probably’) in Englis h, 53 have the variable in the middle of its
modulated object, 23 have the variable pre ceding it, and one has the variable following
it (see Figure 5.9.A). In other words, an abso lute majority have the variable in the
middle of its m odulated object. In this regard this variable differs from variables 1 (‘I
Chapter 5. Analysis
135
think’) and 2 (‘it seems’), in which a m ajority have the variable pr eceding its modulated
object, as discussed in 5.3.1 and 5.3.2. Thus, although, as commented on in 2.3.2, the
literature points out that th e m arking of stance, in gene ral or in writing, favours
sentence-initial position, variab le 3 (‘probably’) in written English, taking advantage of
its mobility, favours sentence-medial position, a nd secondarily sentence-initial position.
On the other hand, in written English final pos ition is extremely ex ceptional for variable
3 (‘probably’), and also for any of the othe r variables. This can b e related to the
convenience not to leave the marking of auth orial stance till th e end (which is not
exactly the same as the convenience to give shape to authorial stance as soon as
possible, commented on in 2.3.2), and to the possi bility of editing av ailable in writing as
opposed to speech.
Fi
g
u r e 5.9.A P os i ti on of var i ab l e 3, p r ob ab l
y
, r e l at i ve t o
m od u l ate d ob j e ct, i n E n gl i s h
precedi n g ; 2 3
in t e r v e n in g ; 5 3
fo llo w in g ; 1
In written Spanish, variable 3 (‘probabl y’) has the observed frequency of 62
examples, a considerable num ber, as against 77 examples in written English, a high
number. Using a norm alised frequency, in Villar Conde (2001), Spanish speech yielded
266 examples per 90,000 words. Thus, also in Spanish the change from speech to
writing dramatically decreases the frequency of the variable, although the decrease is
much more pronounced in Spanish (from 226 ex am ples to 77 in English, from 266 to 62
in Spanish).
Chapter 5. Analysis
142
past, and 94 ( i.e. 33.8%) are in the simple present 41 . Other tenses appear in the
remaining 22 exam ples, i.e. 7.9%. These data are summarised in Figure 5.10. We see
that variable 4 in English form ally presen ts a s t ance as exte rnal to the current
perspective of the author not only by means of third person reference but also by a
considerable use of the simple past. As for polarity, only four exam ples are in the
negative. Given that negated predicato rs of this variable ideally convey what o ther
people do not think or say, the weight of the af firmative is coherent with th e
presentation of someone’s stance, even if it is not the autho r’s.
Fi
g
u r e 5.11.A P os i ti on of var i ab l e 4, t h e
y
sa
y
, r e l at i ve to
m od u l ate d ob j e ct, i n E n gl i s h
pr ecedi n g ; 195
in t e r v e n in g ; 2 5
f ol l ow i n g ; 58
As happens with variables 1 (‘I think’) and 2 (‘it seems’), in English an absolute
majority of exam ples of variable 4 (‘they sa y’) have the variable before its modulated
object. On the other hand, this is the first time for a variable in a language that we find
that the sentence-final p osition is important. In 195 examples the variable precedes its
modulated object, in 25 the va riable intervenes, and in 58 the variable follows. See
Figure 5.11.A. In terms of position, then, variable 4 in Englis h can be said to follow the
trend of occupying sentence-in itial position in accordance with an interest in marking
stance as soon as possible. However, with this variable stance is generally not the
author’s but someone else’s. On the other hand, the sentence-final position ranks
41 Six examples in t h e simple present contain a moda l. One e xample in the sim ple past contains the
predicator could not acce pt , which on the basis of context is interpreted as a p ast rather than a con ditional.
Chapter 5. Analysis
143
second and is not infrequent. When the vari able is sentence-final, readers nevertheless
know from the beginning of the message that the writer is presenting someone else’s
perspective. This is known by signs of quotatio n, basically (but not exclusively) the use
of inverted commas, for which cf.:
47. “My first reaction was one of amazemen t,” says chief executive Ian Parsons .
(lines 174-175, sample EA25, Englis h press reportage, financial)
We have seen that the author is formally presen ted as external to the message by
means of the third person reference and the pr edominance of the s imple past. In this
connection, the regular absence of the structure variable + ( to ) me/us should also be
noticed. There are on ly five examples of this ty pe. These are examples with he tells me
(twice), he assures me , he tells us and they to ld us .
Variable 4 (‘they say’) in Spanish has 231 examples. As indicated above, this
observed frequency is also classified as disproportionately high, although it is
significantly lower than the frequency of this va riable in English. As for the type of use
of this variable in Spanish, there is a ge neral coinciden ce with English, except for the
aspect noted further below. As in English, this variable in Spanish presents a host of
human perspectives external to the author in support of a current narration or
argumentation. As in English, in Spanish this variety of points of view is coherently
conveyed through a variety of pronouns and ot her noun phrases as subjects of a variety
of lexical ve rbs. Similarly to what h appens in English, verbs are m ostly in the preterite
( amé ), though examples in the present ( amo ) are also common. Cf.:
48. “Eso de que ya he mos ganado la Liga y de que sólo pueden aspirar al segundo
puesto no se lo creen ni ellos mis m os ”, dijo el centra l malagueño . (lines 104-
107, sample SA22, Spanish press reportage , sports; emphasis in original; a
journalist illustrates a piece of news on sports through direct quo tation of a
sportsman)
Chapter 5. Analysis
144
49. Dice el maestro de toros Enrique Ponce que en la feria considerada la más
grande el público del tendido número 7 está contento cuando te coge ese animal
tan bello y español y te manda 20 m etros ‘pa’ arriba y con una brecha de no
menos de 15 puntos de sutura. (lines 140-143, sample SB27, Spanish press
editorial, le tters to the editor; a man begins a le tter to the e ditor by quoting a
bullfighter to make his point in the cont ext of a criticism to the lack of support
for a football team)
Only two examples have the predicator negated. Thus, in Spanish and E nglish
alike variable 4 definitely pref ers the affirm ative, which is formally consistent with th e
wish to express what different people see/ think/say as opposed to what they do not.
As in English, examples of variable 4 o ccur in all positions in the sentence, m ost
commonly with the variable before the modul ated object. The va riable precedes its
modulated object in 178 examples, intervenes in 15, and follows its m odulated object in
38. See Figure 5.11.B. The prevalence of th e sentence-initial position, even more
pronounced than in English, shows that, although the stance at stake is a third party’s,
the author prefers to set this stance as soon as possible. Signs of quotation help when
the variable is sentence-final, which happe ns more infrequently than in English,
although not exceptionally.
Fi
g
u r e 5.11.B P os i ti on of var i ab l e 4, t h e
y
sa
y
, r e l at i ve to
m od u l ate d ob j e ct , i n Sp an i s h
pr ecedi n g ; 178
in t e r v e n in g ; 1 5
f ol l ow i n g ; 38
Chapter 5. Analysis
145
As regards examples in the pattern me or nos + variable, there is only one
example of this typ e, an example with me dijo . Thus, in Spanish and English alike, the
author’s figure is kept apart from the m e ssa ge, not only by not surf acing as subject, but
also by not surfacing in the form of object pronouns.
Despite this overall coincidence in us age between English and Spanish, Spanish
authors sometimes employ complex structur es perfectly natural in Spanish (and
unnatural in English) to introduce a personal flavour in instances of this variable
(although there are only 11 examples of this ty pe). The author’s personal flavour is
introduced in the modulated object in one of these exam ples, and in the variable itself
(specifically in its subject) in the remaining ten, for which cf.:
50. El humor «lo adquieres con los años, es una distancia que tomas de las
circunstancias para hacer re ír a la gente» dice la escritora Marina Mayoral,
coordinadora de la antol ogía ‘La risa y la sonrisa’ , obra en clave de hum or ,
irónica e irreverente tanto en form a como en contenido . (lines 219-223, sam ple
SA39, Spanish press reportage, cultural)
Here the variable has a long and complex subject in which the journalist introduces
evaluation (“irónica”, “irreverente”). In thes e 11 examples, the message can be said to
combine Jakobson’s (1966[1960] em otive and re ferential functions . The author’s
personal touch contributes the emotive f unction, while the referential function is
contributed by the objective transmi ssion of data in the third person.
5.3.5 Variable 5 (‘as they say’) in English and Spanish
In English, variable 5 (‘as they say’) has the very low observed frequency of 20
examples, as against a considerable observed f r equency of 67 exam pl es in Spanish.
Variable 5 is the least frequent in English, while it ranks second in Spanish. As shown
on Table 5.1, the two cells which most cont ribute to the total deviance are those
Chapter 5. Analysis
146
corresponding to this variable. The expected frequencies of this variable in English and
Spanish are the lowest, and in English an e xpected frequency of about 45 corresponds to
20 observed examples.
The presence of variable 5 in English is really restricted. Particu larly striking is
the difference between the 278 examples of variable 4 (‘they say’) and the 20 of
variable 5 (‘as they say’) in English. Thus, whenever th e views of others are invoked,
English definitely favours the use of the s uperordinate clauses conforming variable 4
(‘they say’) and leaves a very marginal ro le to the dependent structures conforming
variable 5 (‘as they say’).
In English, the addresser uses variable 5 (‘as they say’) mainly to present the
views of others in the contex t of illustrating his/ her inform ation or opinion. Out of t he
20 examples, 11 (55%) are of the verbless vari ant, as in 51, and nine (45%) are of the
variant with a verb, as in 52-54. The verbless variant per se lacks implica tions as to
authorial commitment. Besides, most exam ples of this variant (seven) have very
general human referents, w ith the noun phrase containing one or some or consisting of a
generic plural. By a noun phr ase consisting of a generic pl ural I mean a plural noun
phrase with general referen ce and no determiner. Cf.:
51. [Tehran is coping with the largest number of Kurdish refugees, and] according
to Western diplom ats , seems in a dilemma about how to respond. ( lines 157-159,
sample EA03, English pr ess reportage, political)
The variant with a verb inhe rently implies author ial support for the m odulated object.
Besides, most exam ples of this variant ha ve a very specific human referent. This
variant is in the sim ple present in five exam ples and in the simple past in the remaining
four examples, in both cases being used to bring into consideration a current
perspective. Thus, even when a past is used in the variable, we can perceive the current
relevance of the idea expressed. Cf.:
Chapter 5. Analysis
147
52. As the all party Commons Sele ct Committee on Education noted last year, the
pay scale needs restructuring. (lin es 140-141, sample EB02, English press
editorial, ins titutional editorial)
The authorial support implied by the variant with a verb is reinfor ced in two exam ples
through an ‘embedded’ evaluation introduced by the author in the variable (“an em inent
monetarist himself” in exam ple 53) and in the context (“so ri ghtly” in example 54):
53. Monetary policy is still too tight, as Tim Congdon, an eminent monetarist
himself, points out . (lines 192-193, sam ple EB12, English press editorial,
institutional editorial)
54. As Foreign Office Minister Douglas Hogg so r ightl y says , it is essential to
capitalise on the momentum generated by the decision to free John McCarthy.
(lines 14-16, sam ple EB18, English press editorial, institution al editorial)
In 53, authorial support for th e m odulated object would be implied even if the variable
were simply “as Tim Congdon points out”. But the authors reinforce the im plications of
authorial support by qualifying the person they are quoting as “an em inent monetarist
himself”. In 54, authorial support for the m odulated object would be implied even if
“so rightly” had been omitted. But they include “so rightly” and thus reinforce the
implications .
In English, variable 5 follows the tre nd of generally preceding the m odulated
object, observed for variables 1 (‘I think’), 2 (‘it seem s’) and 4 (‘they say’) in English
and Spanish and for variable 3 (‘probably’) in Spanish. In 15 examples the variable
precedes its modulated object, in three the va riable in tervenes, and in two the variable
follows. See Figure 5.12.A. On the other hand, in the vast majority of examples it is
separated by commas, which suggests its gra mmatical detachment, consistent with its
marginal condition in term s of frequency.
Chapter 5. Analysis
148
In Spanish, variable 5 (‘as they say’) has the con siderable observed frequency of
67 examples, and an expected frequency of a bout 42. It is the second m ost frequent
variable in Spanish, after variab le 4 (‘they say’), and can be said to rein force variable 4
in the presentation of a variety of third person human perspectives to support an
author’s current point.
Fi
g
u r e 5.12.A P os i ti on of var i ab l e 5, as th e
y
sa
y
, r e l at i ve
t o m od u l at e d ob j e ct , i n E n gl i s h
precedi n g ; 1 5
in t e r v e n in g ; 3
fo llo w in g; 2
Out of the 67 examples of variable 5 (‘ as they say’) in Spanish, 40 are of the
verbless variant, and 27 of the variant with a v erb. In the tw o varian ts the essential role
of the variab le is to mark diff e rent, well identif ied human referents as sources of data
and views. Authorial commitment is ne ver implied by the variable in the verbless
variant and im plied sometimes by the variant with a verb. Cf., w ith authorial support
not implied by the variable:
55. Según el canciller , se ha conseguido un acuerdo «del 90%» con Moscú con
respecto a los cuatro primeros apartados del acuerdo que se firm ará en mayo.
(lines 187-189, sample SA03, Spanis h press reportage, political)
56. según señaló la escritora , «para realizar un trabajo de este tipo, tienes que contar
con gente amiga, dispuesta a reflexionar sobre lo que escribe sin que ello
Chapter 5. Analysis
149
suponga un mal trago para nadie» (lin es 229-232, sample SA39, Spanish press
reportage, cultural)
With the verb expressed and authorial support implied, cf.:
57. Como dice Hesse , las elecciones y los votos tan sólo pued en desempeñar su
función cuando el ciudadano se encuentr a en condiciones de poderse formar un
juicio sobre la vida política y la conducta de sus gobernantes, de modo tal que
pueda aprobar o rechazar su gestión. (lines 44-47, sample SJ50, Spanish
academic prose, law; em phasis -italics- in original)
Out of the 27 exam ples of the variant with a v erb, 13 are in the pres ent ( amo ),
nine in the preterite ( amé ), two in the present perf ect ( he amado ), two in the conditional
( amaría ), and one in the f orm in - ra of the imperfect subjunctive ( amara ) incor rectly
replacing the preterite ( amé ) from a prescriptivist point of view (cf. example 58 and the
discussion in the next paragraph). Thus, th e present is in the majority (although not an
absolute majority) and th e preterite follows closely.
As of 2009, the tense shift from the preterite ( amé ) to the imperfect subjunctive
( amara or amase ) has been in progress for a long tim e (cf. Bejarano 1962 for the shift to
the form in - se , and RAE 1973:subsection 3.15.6b and Alarcos Llorach 1994:159 for the
shift to the fo rm in - ra , all of them quoted in R ojo 1996: 679) and is firmly established
in the language of the mass media (cf. Rojo 1996:679). It seems to respond to a wish to
increase formality, and to be extending fr om the language of the m ass media to other
types of discourse. The exam ple in this th esis belongs to academ ic prose, and is as
follows:
58. [El derecho a la libertad de expresión es un derecho fundamental de toda
persona, que se entrelaza con su dignida d y con el derecho a un trato igual.
Privar a una persona del mismo atentaría gravem ente contra su propia dignidad,
Chapter 5. Analysis
150
al condenarle al ostracismo, al empobreci m iento intelectual y moral,] que, como
ya advirtiera Stuart Mill , es el resultado de la ause ncia de debate y de la
imposición dogm ática de ideas. (lines 38-42, sample SJ50, Spanish academic
prose, law; emphasis -italics - in original)
Exactly locating this ten se shift in time is difficult, bec ause it overlaps with the archaic
use of the imperfect subjunctive in - ra ( amara ) instead of the pluperfect ( había amado ;
see Moliner 1998b:1581-1583). In a prescriptivist study on Spanish, Góm ez Torrego
(1994[1989]:211) advises to reject this verbal form “por pedante y arcaica”.
The currency of the views invoked by variable 5 in Spanish is served by its two
variants in different ways. As with variab le 3 (‘probably’), the lack of tense of the
verbless variant of variable 5 is au tomatically associated with the present ( e.g. in 55). In
the variant with a verb, currency is redundantly conveyed by the present ( e.g. in 57) and
assumed even when the predicator is in the preterite ( e. g. in 56; in this latter
circumstance we find th e ‘past which bears upon the present’ obser ved in English and
Spanish in the use of variable 4, ‘they say’).
As with variable 4 (‘they say’), with variable 5 Spanish authors som etimes
endow the third person reference with a pe rsonal touch, in a com bination of Jakobson’s
(1966[1960]) emotive and referential functions. This is the case in two examples, the
examples with “com o diría un castizo” and “co mo diría el inolvidable, Tip”. Cf.:
59. como diría un castizo , “menos da una piedra” (line 178, sample SB09, Spanish
press editori al, letters to the editor)
In the relative m ajority of examples of variable 5 in Sp anish, the variable
precedes its modulated object (31 examples ), but the tw o other positions, variable
intervening and variable follo wing, are also well represented, with 19 and 17 examples
respectively. See Figure 5.12.B. Again, the expression of stance favours the sentence-
initial position. On the other hand, the two other positions are favoured b y the mobility
of the variable in turn derived from its gramm a tical dependency, and by the use of signs
Chapter 5. Analysis
151
of quotation (especially invert ed commas) which help reader s identify that what is at
stake is a third party’s s tance.
Fi
g
u r e 5.12.B P os i ti on of var i ab l e 5, as th e
y
sa
y
, r e l at i ve
t o m od u l ate d ob j e ct , i n Sp an i s h
precedi n g ; 3 1
in t e r v e n in g ; 1 9
f ol l ow i n g ; 17
5.4 The variables as a group in Englis h and Spanish press reportage, press
editorial and academic prose: an overview
F i gu r e 5.13.A T h e var i ab l e s p e r ge n r e i n E n gl i s h
225
160
104
0
50
100
150
200
250
pr ess repor ta g e pr ess edi t or i al aca dem i c pros e
number of exampl e
s
En gl i s h
APPENDIX I
254
A02 56 be able to take civil court action over the threat.<p/>
A02 57 <h|>Contempt
A02 58 <p_>Courts will have the twin powers of issuing an injuction to
A02 59 stop an illegal dispute a nd ordering a council to maintain
A02 60 essential services.<p/>
A02 61 <p_>It means that a Left-wing au thority which refuses to crack down
A02 62 on industrial action can be lega lly forced to do so or face stiff
A02 63 fines for contempt.<p/>
A02 64 <p_>The Charter will also st rengthen the powers of the watchdog
A02 65 bodies overseeing privatised water, gas and electricity
A02 66 companies.<p/>
A02 67 <p_>They will be able to co nsider finan cial compensation for
A02 68 consumers hit by prolonged disrupt ion of supplies or a severe fall
A02 69 in standards. British Rail se ason ticket holders who suffer from
A02 70 persistently poor servi ces will qualify for free-travel
A02 71 vouchers.<p/>
A02 72 <p_>Labour has accused ministers of trying to water down Mr Major's
A02 73 original plans for the charter.<p/>
A02 74 <p_>But one senior minister sa id last night: <quote_>"The launch
A02 75 will show they have actually been beefed up. At the mom ent there is
A02 76 virtually nothing the individu al can do if public services break
A02 77 down. Under the charter people will have more power in their
A02 78 hands."<quote/><p/>
A02 79 <p_>The charter is the key weapon in a new Tory initiative designed
A02 80 to build on the party's c ontinuing popularity revival and Mr
A02 81 Major's own strong voter support, particularly after his success at
A02 82 the G7 summit.<p/>
A02 83 <p_>The plans outlined today w ill be a mplified in mini-charter s
A02 84 from individual departments - plus a 'handy guide' which may be
A02 85 distributed to households.<p/>
A02 86 <p_>The latest Harris poll, pub lished by the Observer yesterday,
A02 87 confirmed the recent trend in Mr Majo r's favour, slicing Labour's
A02 88 lead to only 3 per cent, and showing the Tories picking up support
A02 89 from both Neil Kinnock's party and Paddy Ashdown's Liberal
A02 90 Democrats.<p/>
A02 91 <p_>The survey gives Labour 42 per cent and Tories 39, with the
A02 92 Liberal Democrats st ruggling at 14 per cent.<p/>
A02 93 <p_>Despite such encouragement, the Prem ier gave a strong signal
A02 94 yesterday that he is still planning for a 1992 election, rather
A02 95 than one this autumn.<p/>
A02 96 <p_>In a newspaper interview, he emphasised the importance of
A02 97 bringing negotiations on the future of the European Community to a
A02 98 conclusion at the next EC summit, in Decem ber.<p/>
A02 99 <p_>He declared: <quote_>"I don't intend to take any risks of
A02 100 having any other part y negotiate at those
A02 101 inter<?_>-<?/>governm ental conferences that will be so important to
A02 102 Britain's future."<quote/><p/>
A02 103 <p_>With the Tory attack looming, Labour fired off a pre-em ptive
APPENDIX I
255
A02 104 broadside yesterday.<p/>
A02 105 <p_>Shadow chancellor John Smith said the claim that Britain will
A02 106 be out of recession by Chri stmas was <quote|>"bogus", and
A02 107 environment spokesm an Bryan Goul d said the Government had run out
A02 108 of ideas.<p/>
A02 109 <p_>Shadow transport secretar y John Prescott will today unveil
A02 110 Labour's plans to make BR run on tim e by threatening to sack
A02 111 managers who fail to meet sta ndards of quality and reliability.<p/>
A02 112
A02 113 <h_><p_>The buck stops he re, pledges water supremo<p/>
A02 114 <p_>by DOMINIC KENNEDY<p/><h/>
A02 115 <p_>THE head of the water company at the centre of the
A02 116 contamination scare spoke yesterday of his anguish over
A02 117 <quote_>"this rotten affair"<quote/>.<p/>
A02 118 <p_>And Sir John Page insi sted: <quote_>"The buck stops
A02 119 here."<quote/><p/>
A02 120 <p_>The former Tory MP, who is chairman of Three Valleys Water
A02 121 Services, said: <quote_>"Ever si nce six this morning I have been
A02 122 wandering about worrying like hell. This is a very serious affair.
A02 123 It is the unthinkable, that untr eated water should go out. Our team
A02 124 is completely overwhelm ed by this awful event."<quote/><p/>
A02 125 <p_>Sir John was out at a dinner party when the contamination was
A02 126 confirmed. He could not be contacted and learned of the
A02 127 developments only when he return ed in the early hours of Sunday to
A02 128 his home in Taplow, Buckingham shire.<p/>
A02 129 <p_>He woke at 6am and listened to radio news bulletins about the
A02 130 pollution, then visited the comp any HQ in Rickmansworth before
A02 131 returning home.<p/>
A02 132 <p_><quote_>"I want to get the whole thing operationally
A02 133 right,"<quote/> he said. <quote_ >"For the next 24 hours I'm going
A02 134 to be at the end of the telep hone and probably at very frequent
A02 135 meetings."<quote/><p/>
A02 136 <h|>Inquiry
A02 137 <p_>Sir John, former MP for Ha rrow West, retired at the last
A02 138 General Election after 27 years. His successor Robert Hughes, whose
A02 139 constituents ha ve been affected by the scare, pulled no punches
A02 140 yesterday. <quote_>"While we a ll appreciate accidents can happen,
A02 141 water is now an expensive commod ity for all of my constituents and
A02 142 such an accident is com pletely unacceptable,"<quote/> said Mr
A02 143 Hughes.<p/>
A02 144 <p_><quote_>"I demand a full public inquiry into th e activities of
A02 145 the company and will be seeking a debate in Parliam ent."<quote/><p/>
A02 146 <p_>Reports that the company faile d to warn consumers until several
A02 147 hours after the fault was detected should be investigated urgently,
A02 148 added Mr Hughes. Sir John said : <quote_>"I think the concern of
A02 149 Robert Hughes is appropriate and completely legitim ate. I intend to
A02 150 speak to him as soon as possible. W e have nothing to
A02 151 hide."<quote/><p/>
APPENDIX I
256
A02 152 <p_>Asked whether the company would comp ensate families who have
A02 153 paid for bottled water he said: <quote_ >"We haven't thought about
A02 154 that detail as yet."<quote/><p/>
A02 155 <p_>Sir John's involvem ent with the water industry be gan nine years
A02 156 ago when he became a director of Colne Valley W ater Company. He
A02 157 became chairman three years before it merged with the neighbouring
A02 158 suppliers, Lee Valley Water Com pany and Rickmansworth Water
A02 159 Company, in 1990. The merger, crea ting the seventh-largest U K water
A02 160 company, was approved by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. The
A02 161 French giant Compagnie Generale des Eaux, which
A02 162 already owned 28 per cent of Co lne, 16 per cent of Rickmansworth
A02 163 and the whole of Lee, bought the newly-merged company. CGE is the
A02 164 largest water group in the world, and has interests in waste
A02 165 disposal, funeral services, utilities and construction.<p/>
A02 166 <p_>The area covered by Thr ee Valleys was unaffected by the
A02 167 privatisation of the water industry. Its w a ter has been
A02 168 traditionally supplied by th e private sector.<p/>
A02 169 <p_>The three smaller water com p anies still exist, and are known to
A02 170 customers by their old nam e s. Their boards of directors are
A02 171 identical: Jim McGown is chairm an, and Robert Simpson is deputy
A02 172 chairman. They also have two non-executive directors, Peter Darby,
A02 173 head of finance, and Richard Me dhurst, head of water quality. They
A02 174 are subsidiaries of Three Valle ys, which is chaired by Sir John.
A02 175 Its directors include Mr McGown and Mr Simpson, plus Jean-Claude
A02 176 Banon from General Utilities, the London branch of
A02 177 <foreign_>Compagnie Generale des Eaux<foreign/>. The other
A02 178 directors all served with the three old companies. They are Jim
A02 179 Bolton, former chairm an of L ee Valley, John Hasledene, former
A02 180 director of Colne Valley an d Lee Valley, Michael Ross-Collins,
A02 181 former director of Rickmans worth and Colne Valley, Jean-Pierre
A02 182 Tardieu, former director of Lee Valley, and John Paterson, form e r
A02 183 director of Lee Valley.<p/>
A02 184 <p_>Mr McGown, Mr Simpson, Mr Bolton and Mr Ross-Collins all live
A02 185 in the area supplied by Thre e Valleys W ater Services.<p/>
A02 186 <p_>CGE's British water companies also includ e North Surrey,
A02 187 Folkestone and Tendring Hundred.<p/>
A02 188
A02 189 <h_><p_>Major on top of the world<p/>
A02 190 <p_>By JOHN DEANS, Political Correspondent<p_><h/>
A02 191 <p_>JOHN MAJOR returned from tr iumph on the world stage last night
A02 192 to deliver his most upb eat economic forecast yet. <p/>
A02 193 <p_>After winning hearts in Moscow and a grudging respect in
A02 194 Peking, he turned his attention to domestic agenda which is looking
A02 195 increasingly favourable.<p/>
A02 196 <p_><quote_>"We are beginning to see the econom y turning
A02 197 round,"<quote/> he said. <quot e_>"That has an effect on
A02 198 expectations and behaviour.<p/>
A02 199 <p_>People begin to spend again, which means the econom y be gins to
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A02 200 grow and there is a gene ral virtuous circle."<quote/>
A02 201 <p_>Although voicing regret about unemployment, he forecast that
A02 202 inflation would be down to 4 pe r cent by the end of the year and
A02 203 recession would soon be a thing of the past. But on the speculation
A02 204 about a possible November elec tion the Prem ier remained cool.
A02 205 <quote_>"I'm in no particular rush,"<quote/> he said.<p/>
A02 206 <p_>His confidence was echoed by Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd,
A02 207 who flew home from Hongkong with him and declared later: <quote_>"A
A02 208 fourth term of governm ent is firmly within our grasp. The most
A02 209 striking indicator is the increas ed optimism a mong ordinary voters.
A02 210 They are now more optimistic about the economy than at any tim e in
A02 211 the past three years."<quote/><p/>
A02 212 <p_>While the history-making m a y be over for now, there will be no
A02 213 let up in Mr Major's itinerary. He and his wife Norma spend the
A02 214 weekend with the Queen at Balm oral, followed by a two-day tour of
A02 215 Scotland where Tory constituencies remain vulnerable. On W e dnesday,
A02 216 the Premier flies to Paris for talks with P resident Mitterand and
A02 217 meetings with leaders from Russia and the newly-em erging
A02 218 democracies of Eastern Europe.<p/>
A02 219 <p_>After that, he embarks on a programme of visits to m arginal
A02 220 constituencies around Britain. W hile careful not to rule out the
A02 221 autumn option com pletely, the Pr ime Minster has m ade it clear that
A02 222 one high priority is to ensure that he represents Britain in the
A02 223 next stage of negotiations on European union in December.<p/>
A02 224 <p_>The latest popularity research brought more bad news for the
A02 225 Labour Party last night.<p/>
A02 226 <p_>The Newsnight poll of polls, analysing four of the m ain recent
A02 227 surveys, put the Conservatives one point ahead and showed 60 per
A02 228 cent of the electorate satisfie d with John Major' s performance.<p/>
A02 229 <h|>Dropped
A02 230 <p_>The result did not take into account yesterday's Gallup poll,
A02 231 which gave the Tories a 4.5 per cent lead, or the latest fall in
A02 232 interest rates.<p/>
A02 233 <p_>Newsnight gave the Tories 41 per cent, three per cent up since
A02 234 the last similar survey, while Labour dropped back three points.<p/>
A02 235 <p_>The Liberal Democrats gained one, to 15 per cent.<p/>
A02 236 <p_>Backing for Mr Major increased by six points while
A02 237 dissatisfaction with Mr Kin nock rose two to 52 per cent.<p/>
A02 238 <p_>Labour's campaign coordinator Jack Cunningham insisted last
A02 239 night that domestic affairs woul d rescue his party. <quote_>"This
A02 240 is what will determine the out com e of t he election,"<quote/> he
A02 241 said.<p/>
A02 242
A03 1 <#FLOB:A03\><h_><p_>How the Kurds were saved from Saddam<p/><h/>
A03 2 <p_>The creation of a save haven for the Kurds inside Iraq was
A03 3 achieved only after a fortnigh t of intense m a noeuvring. The man who
A03 4 displayed the greatest diplomacy on the world stage was the prim e
A03 5 minister. For, as <tf_>Nicholas Wood<tf/> in London and <tf_>Martin
APPENDIX I
258
A03 6 Fletcher<tf/> in Washington report, it was hi s skills which turned
A03 7 a scheme fraught with polit ical difficulties into reality.<p/>
A03 8 <p_>THE lowest point in John Major's 15-day personal Odyssey to
A03 9 bring succour to the legions of dispossessed Kurds dying in their
A03 10 thousands of cold and hunger in the mountains of northern Iraq came
A03 11 at Arsenal football club a fortnight ago yesterday.<p/>
A03 12 <p_>The prime m i nister, a keen Chelsea supporter, could not have
A03 13 been comforted by the sight of their London rivals crushing Aston
A03 14 Villa 5-0. But far more painf ul for him was the realisation that
A03 15 Margaret Thatcher, his predecessor, h ad emerged from enforced
A03 16 retirement to cham pion the cause of the refugees.<p/>
A03 17 <p_>That same afternoon, Mr s Thatcher had stepped onto her
A03 18 Belgravia pavement to tell the world that <quote_>"legal
A03 19 niceties"<quote/> could not be allowed to stand in the way of a
A03 20 people's salvation. Mr Major, already under fire for his alleged
A03 21 dallying over the poll tax, could have imagined the rest. The
A03 22 Kurdish emigr<*_>e-acute<* />s duly obliged, letting it be
A03 23 known that they had appreciated the chance to talk to a
A03 24 <quote_>"doer not a ditherer"<quote/>.<p/>
A03 25 <p_>By the time he had reached Highbury stadium , Mr Major, from the
A03 26 comfort of his bullet-proof Daim ler, had acted to lim it the damage.
A03 27 After frantic discussions with his aides, including at least three
A03 28 telephone calls during the match, he brought forward the
A03 29 announcement of an outline plan to brin g relief to the Kurds.<p/>
A03 30 <p_>Nevertheless, the morning headlines m ade gri m reading.
A03 31 <quote_>"The voice of conscien ce ... It takes Maggie to speak out
A03 32 for the Kurds"<quote/> trumpete d the <tf_>Daily Mail<tf/> over a
A03 33 story contrasting George Bush's enthusiasm for golf and Mr Major' s
A03 34 passion for football with Mrs Th atcher's sense of occasion. That
A03 35 Thursday, April 4, Mr Major cut short his week's break in
A03 36 Huntingdon to return to London to take charge of the biggest
A03 37 political problem to hit his desk since a rriving in the hot
A03 38 seat.<p/>
A03 39 <p_>As ever in politics, th e criticism was not totally fair.
A03 40 According to one senior Foreign Office source yesterday, after
A03 41 witnessing the harrowing scenes on television of the Kurds fleeing
A03 42 from President Saddam Hussein' s avenging arm y, the prime minister
A03 43 had been driving forward an international relief operation on
A03 44 behalf of the Kurds two days before Mrs Thatcher dram atically
A03 45 raised the stakes.<p/>
A03 46 <p_>Tristan Garel-Jones, the Foreign Office duty minister during
A03 47 the Easter recess, had been left in no doubt of the prime
A03 48 minister's intentions by St ephen W all, his private secretary
A03 49 responsible for foreign affair s, on the Monday before. <quote_>"The
A03 50 message was simple: this th ing is serious. W e want action
A03 51 now,"<quote/> the source said ye sterday. But for the next two days
A03 52 Whitehall's wheels ground slowly as the Overseas Developm ent
A03 53 Administration wavered over th e pounds 20 million costs of the Major
APPENDIX I
259
A03 54 plan.<p/>
A03 55 <p_>By Wednesday, even before Mrs T hatcher's sensational
A03 56 intervention, things were begi nning to take shape. On Thursday,
A03 57 April 4 Mr. Major gave deta ils of the po unds20 million m ountain
A03 58 airlift, while still ruling ou t m ilitary intervention. But the real
A03 59 work was going on behind the scenes on a plan that was to take the
A03 60 European Community and the Americans unawares at special summ it of
A03 61 EC leaders in Luxem bourg on the following Monday.<p/>
A03 62 <p_>With Douglas Hurd, the foreign secretary, on top of Taishan,
A03 63 China's m ost sacred mountain, Mr Major took personal charge of what
A03 64 was to be unveiled as the safe havens plan in Luxembourg. As one
A03 65 delighted minister put it yest erday, <quote_>"he saw the greasy
A03 66 ball lying on the grass, scooped it up, rubbed it twice on his
A03 67 shirt, put his head down, and ran for the line. It was
A03 68 magic."<quote/> The prime m ini ster had 'bounced' both the Americans
A03 69 and the Europeans into following Britain's lead.<p/>
A03 70 <p_>The details of the pr ime minister's <quote_>"safe
A03 71 haven"<quote/> plan were not finalised until he reached Luxem bourg
A03 72 on the Monday of the EC summit. But before he announced them, he
A03 73 secured another diplomatic d eal with Presiden t Mitterrand of
A03 74 France.<p/>
A03 75 <p_>In the shadow of the summ it, the French chaired a m eeting of
A03 76 the Western European Union whic h pledged aid to southeast Turkey.
A03 77 The French want the EC to absorb the union and play a military role
A03 78 in Europe, something Britain and the US have resisted. By letting M
A03 79 Mitterrand have his way, Mr Majo r won French backing for his plan.
A03 80 On the flight to Luxembourg, Mr Major was warned about the risks of
A03 81 pressing his scheme by close advi sers. <quote_>"He was warned that
A03 82 the US was not on board and that the administration wanted to get
A03 83 their troops back home,"<quote/ > one insider said. <quote_>"H e was
A03 84 told he would need troops to make the safe havens plan work. We all
A03 85 said to him "we cannot guarantee success on this. Yo u have to
A03 86 realise there is a possibility of failure and that the Americans
A03 87 and the Europeans might say no."<quote/><p/>
A03 88 <p_>Mr Major, perhaps determin ed to rid him s elf of the dithering
A03 89 tag once and for all, was adaman t that they should press on. Backed
A03 90 by Douglas Hogg, junior minister at the Foreign Office, he told his
A03 91 officials. <quote_>"It's th e right thing to do. Get on with
A03 92 it."<quote/> At the prime minist er's behest, Mr O'Donnell performed
A03 93 one vital service, translati ng the mandarin words of the Foreign
A03 94 Office into a four-point pl an that could be ready<&|>sic!
A03 95 assimilated by the m edia.<p/>
A03 96 <p_>The Americans were told of the plan only after the prime
A03 97 minister arrived in Luxem bour g. Mr Wall briefed Brent Scowcroft,
A03 98 the national security adviser, and Mr Major sent a message direct
A03 99 to President Bush. Sir David Hannay, Britain' s ambassador to the
A03 100 UN, set about persuading the Russians and the Chinese that by
A03 101 interfering in Iraq Britain was not seeking to set a precedent for
APPENDIX I
260
A03 102 Georgia and Tibet.<p/>
A03 103 <p_>Mr Major's enclave propos al received the chilliest of
A03 104 receptions in Washington. Unwilling publicly to snub an ally,
A03 105 Marlin Fitzwater, the White H ouse press secretary, instead dam ned
A03 106 it with faint praise, saying it had <quote_>"some merits"<quote/>
A03 107 and was <quote_>"worthy of consid eration."<quote/> Privately senior
A03 108 administration officials complain ed that the Britis h had failed to
A03 109 consult Washington before putti ng the idea to th e EC and listed a
A03 110 string of objections.<p/>
A03 111 <p_>The Americans had already b een caught on the hop the day before
A03 112 when Richard Cheney, the US de fence secretary, had found himself in
A03 113 the studios of ABC Television wh en the Turkish president, Turgut
A03 114 Ozal, announced a <quote/>"bu ffer state"<quote/> proposal on
A03 115 air.<p/>
A03 116 <p_>One senior American official told <tf_>The Times<tf/> that the
A03 117 idea would never get through th e UN Security Council because China
A03 118 and the Soviet Union would argue that it violated the sovereignty
A03 119 of a member state. It threatened the perm anent fragmentation of
A03 120 Iraq because the enclaves, once es tablished, would be far harder to
A03 121 dismantle. It would alm ost certainly mean US troops re-entering
A03 122 Iraq because <quote_>"we don't see anyone else
A03 123 volunteering"<quote/>.<p/>
A03 124 <p_>In the face of British and European determination to forge
A03 125 ahead, the Bush administration was obliged to devise its own
A03 126 counterplan which was first disc losed by an official travelling
A03 127 from Turkey to the Middle East with Mr Baker on Wednesday last
A03 128 week.<p/>
A03 129 <p_>Mr Fitzwater announced that America had told the Iraqis to
A03 130 cease all military activ ities in the air and on the grou nd north of
A03 131 parallel 36 so that relief operations could proceed unhindered,
A03 132 thus creating what W hite House officials privatel y admitted was a
A03 133 de facto safe haven.<p/>
A03 134 <p_>That night Mr Bush telephone d Mr Major, and after a 20-minute
A03 135 conversation Downing Street and the White House both issued
A03 136 statements saying the two leaders had agreed on the need for a safe
A03 137 haven.<p/>
A03 138 <p_>In a telephone conversation conducted on first nam e terms, Mr
A03 139 Major told the US leader that aid would not be enough and it was
A03 140 vital to get the Kurds off the mountains. Sir David Hannay tackled
A03 141 the problem of convincing the UN to abandon the cherished principle
A03 142 of non-intervention, and by Monday, after talks with
A03 143 Se<*_>n-tilde<*/>or P<*_>e-acute <*/>rez de Cu<*_>e-acute<*/>llar,
A03 144 the UN secretary general, he was making headway.<p/>
A03 145 <p_>Mr Major then spoke to Pres ident Bush and Se<*_>n-tilde<*/>or
A03 146 P<*_>e-acute<*/>rez de Cu<*_>e- acute<*/>llar on Tuesday night,
A03 147 firming up an agreem ent that in siders reckoned was 70 per cent in
A03 148 the bag.<p/>
A03 149 <p_>By the time of the joint W ashington and Downing Street
APPENDIX I
261
A03 150 announcements about the use of force to secure the havens, the
A03 151 prime m i nister's days as a d itherer - if not President Bush's
A03 152 - appeared to be numbered.<p/>
A03 153
A03 154 <h_><p_>Role of West pos es dilemm a for Rafsanjani<p/>
A03 155 <p_>From EDWARD GORMAN in TEHRAN<p/><h/>
A03 156 <p_>THE decision to go ahead with plans for safe areas in northern
A03 157 Iraq has left the Iranian government out in the cold. Tehran is
A03 158 coping with the larg est number of Kurdish refugees, and according
A03 159 to Western diplomats, seem s in a dilemma about how to respond.<p/>
A03 160 <p_><quote_>"They haven't made up their m inds what they
A03 161 want,"<quote/> commented one seni or Western envoy, who said Tehran
A03 162 has been wrongfooted since the c oncept of a safe haven or enclave
A03 163 was first mooted. <quote_>"They have a real dilemma, which they
A03 164 haven't resolved, which has impor tant political and hum anitarian
A03 165 dimensions,"<quote/> he added.<p/>
A03 166 <p_>Throughout the Gulf confront ation, President Rafsanjani's
A03 167 approach has combined conflicti ng impulses. Like the United S t ates,
A03 168 Iran does not want to see Iraq break up, and like Am erica, it wants
A03 169 President Saddam Hussein pushed out of power.<p/>
A03 170 <p_>But despite denouncing the i nvasion and annexation of Kuwait,
A03 171 it has also attacked American and allied m ilitary involvem ent in
A03 172 the region and called for a w ithdrawal. Recently it has blam ed
A03 173 America for encouraging the Kurds in their uprising, and for
A03 174 ignoring the plight of ref ugees on the Iran-Iraq border.<p/>
A03 175 <p_>Tehran has been shut out of the president's plan because it is
A03 176 largely a response to Turkey's needs and because of the continuing
A03 177 deep fracture in American-Iranian relations. It can be expected to
A03 178 criticise the proposals because th ey involve further deploym ents of
A03 179 allied troops and will fuel fears here that the Am ericans are not
A03 180 sincere in their undertakings to withdraw from the region.<p/>
A03 181 <p_>The Iranian government is understandably nervous of any
A03 182 solution to the Kurdish problem which helps to form alise Kurdish
A03 183 aspirations to a separate or au tonomous state, and the implications
A03 184 that may have for m illions of Kurds living on the Iranian side of
A03 185 the border.<p/>
A03 186 <p_>However, President Rafsanjani has made it clear he wishes to
A03 187 see the eventual re patriation of refugees from Iran. Som e observers
A03 188 believe he may choose publicly to distance him s elf from the
A03 189 American plan, while allowing or encouraging as m any refuge es to
A03 190 return home under its auspices as wish to do so. This will require
A03 191 careful presentation by the presiden t, who cannot afford to be seen
A03 192 by his people to be partic ipating in, or endorsing, an
A03 193 American-brokered solution.<p/>
A03 194
A03 195 <h_><p_>Insults pepper B onn accord<p/>
A03 196 <p_>From IAN MURRAY IN BONN<p/><h/>
A03 197 <p_>IT SEEMED a good idea when th e Germ an government and opposition
APPENDIX I
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A03 198 agreed last Friday to work t ogether in two comm ittees to rescue
A03 199 eastern Germany from economic collapse. Before a single meeting can
A03 200 be arranged, however, both si des are at each other's throat.<p/>
A03 201 <p_>Helmut Kohl, the chancellor, yesterday ruled out any idea that
A03 202 the Social Democrats (SPD) woul d be allowed to discuss government
A03 203 policy. Hans-Jochen Vogel, the opposition leader, implied this made
A03 204 little difference since the gove rnm ent was now largely following
A03 205 the interventionis t policy of the SPD.<p/>
A03 206 <p_>The tone of the exchanges is growing m ore vitriolic. The
A03 207 chancellor should whistle off th e firebrands of his party, said
A03 208 Frau Herta D<*_>a-umlaut<*/>ubler-G melin, the deputy SPD leader.
A03 209 The SPD was falsely raising the expectations of poor people in
A03 210 eastern Germany, countered Volker R<*_>u-um laut<*/>he, general
A03 211 secretary of the chancellor's Christian Demo crats (CDU).<p/>
A03 212 <p_>Certainly electione ering is involved, since
A03 213 Rhineland-Palatinate, Herr Kohl 's hom e state, votes for a new
A03 214 parliament on Sunday. Voters there have always picked a CDU
A03 215 government, but opinion polls show the SPD in the lead, and H err
A03 216 Kohl's party risks a hum iliating defeat.<p/>
A03 217 <p_>Despite the argument, the government has abandoned its reliance
A03 218 on private investment to pull the east out of econom i c
A03 219 difficulties. Treuhand, the agency set up to privatise
A03 220 old communist combines, is now helping lam e<? _>-<?/>duck industries
A03 221 to survive rather th an killing them off.<p/>
A03 222
A07 1 <#FLOB:A07\><h_><p_>Dexter's backing his England flops<p/>
A07 2 <p_>By Colin Bateman<p/><h/>
A07 3 <p_>ENGLAND'S Test selectors performed a remarkable act of faith
A07 4 when they named their first Sunday squad of the summer
A07 5 yesterday.<p/>
A07 6 <p_>They have shown faith in the ability and fitn ess of the 11 who
A07 7 lost the last Test, naming them all for the fourth Test against the
A07 8 West Indies which star ts in Birmingham on Thursday.<p/>
A07 9 <p_>They have shown faith in Chris Lewis, the talented but fragile
A07 10 Leicestershire allrounder who is recalled despite leaving doctors
A07 11 baffled over the dizzy spells which have forced him to pull out
A07 12 minutes before his la st two Tests at home.<p/>
A07 13 <h|>Experienced
A07 14 <p_>Yesterday's announcement of the 12 for Edgbaston m ust have
A07 15 caused disappointment for several player' s-in-waiting but their
A07 16 chances could yet come through injuries.<p/>
A07 17 <p_>Mike Atherton's durability fo r a five-day Test without a rest
A07 18 day is still in doubt because of his stom ach strain, while Robin
A07 19 Smith's damaged finger m akes it painful for him to bat against even
A07 20 a county attack.<p/>
A07 21 <p_>Glamorgan's Hugh Morris, as he was at Trent Bridge, is on
A07 22 stand-by.<p/>
A07 23 <p_>Despite the fitness doubts a nd the lack of runs this series
APPENDIX I
263
A07 24 from Atherton, Graeme Hick a nd Allan Lamb - 158 runs from 15
A07 25 innings - the selectors decided on an unchanged top six for the
A07 26 fourth consecutive Test, alt hough they will consider the order.< p/>
A07 27 <p_>Chairman Ted Dexter said: <quote_>"W e felt these batsmen were
A07 28 the best at the start of the su mmer and we still feel th ey are the
A07 29 best.<p/>
A07 30 <p_>"Selection is dictated by having three experienced batsmen in
A07 31 Gooch, Lamb and Smith and thr ee at various stages on the learning
A07 32 curve in Atherton, Hick and Ramprakash.<p/>
A07 33 <p_>"The three 'learners' are all talented players and we see no
A07 34 point in stopping the learning process.<p/>
A07 35 <p_>"Of the experienced batsme n, Lamb is the only one struggling
A07 36 and we are confident he is as likely to produce as anyone."<quote/>
A07 37 The challengers have clearly not made much of an impression. Apart
A07 38 from Morris being in his perm anent stand-by position, Devon Malcolm
A07 39 and Dermot Reeve are dropped af ter be ing in the squad for the third
A07 40 Test.<p/>
A07 41 <h|>Pilloried
A07 42 <p_>There is no hint of a br eakthrough either for David Gower, who
A07 43 is beginning to find his touc h again, or Ian Botham, who m ust
A07 44 surely recognise that England will now never rate him again as a
A07 45 Test class all-rounder.<p/>
A07 46 <p_>And Phil Tufnell must patiently keep taking wickets for
A07 47 Middlesex until the selectors decide his face fits once m ore. The
A07 48 conviction shown by Graham Gooch, Micky Stew art and Dexter in their
A07 49 players has to be admi red if not agreed with.<p/>
A07 50 <p_>The last time the W est Indi es were here in 1988 the selectors
A07 51 were pilloried after using four captains and 23 players in a series
A07 52 lost 4-0. This summer England have used 13 players and are an
A07 53 honourable 1-1 with two to play.<p/>
A07 54 <p_>As opposed to the major overh aul perform ed before every Test in
A07 55 1988, England this summer have re fused even regular services with
A07 56 Gooch clinging firmly to the wheel hoping the wheels don't com e off
A07 57 on the last lap.<p/>
A07 58 <p_>Lewis's recall is, withou t doubt, the most daring thing the
A07 59 selectors have done throughout the series.<p/>
A07 60 <h|>Problems
A07 61 <p_>England will want him to pl ay at Ed gbaston on what is expected
A07 62 to be a slow wicket in place of spinner Richard Illing worth or
A07 63 strike bowler David Lawrence.<p/>
A07 64 <p_>Lewis is understandably as conderned about his f itness as he is
A07 65 upset about suggestions that so me of his problems are figm ents of
A07 66 his imagination, and that he spends m ore time on the physio's couch
A07 67 than on the field.<p/>
A07 68 <p_>Encouragingly, since the Headingley Test, he has not missed a
A07 69 Championship match with Leiceste r, scoring useful runs and bowling
A07 70 182 overs taking 20 wickets.<p/>
A07 71 <p_>Edgbaston will be as vital a gam e for Lewis as it will be for
APPENDIX I
270
A09 132 jumps by jeep before lunch with Haughey. It was an event few would
A09 133 have thought possible afte r Mountbatten's slaughter.<p/>
A09 134 <h|>Explosion
A09 135 <p_>Princess Margaret was the la st royal visitor before that, way
A09 136 back in the Sixties. She stayed at Birr Castle in County Offaly
A09 137 with her then husband the Ea rl of Snowdon, but their trip was
A09 138 marred by a small terrorist expl osion near the estate walls.<p/>
A09 139 <p_>Only three months ago, however, Eire President Mary Robinson
A09 140 made an historic official visit to Britai n, leading to
A09 141 Fine Gael spokesman Brendan McGahon calling for
A09 142 a royal return match, saying: <quote_>"There is a distinguished
A09 143 Royal Family in Britain and we should receive them in the sam e
A09 144 manner President Robins on was received."<quote/><p/>
A09 145
A09 146 <h_><p_>High-flying Major's new status symbol<p/><h/>
A09 147 <p_>PRIME Minister John Major is in need of an aeroplane befitting
A09 148 his sudden status as a globe- trotting international statesman.<p/>
A09 149 <p_>That is why he flew first to Russia, then on to China, not in
A09 150 the ageing VC 10 so favoured by his predecessor, but in a poun ds35
A09 151 million TriStar. <p/>
A09 152 <p_>Speed, of course, is one factor. The VC10, all of 234 years
A09 153 old, is slower and requires many more refuelling s t ops.<p/>
A09 154 <p_>Then, of course, there is the delicate and unspoken matter of
A09 155 statesmanly status.<p/>
A09 156 <p_>France's President Mitterrand travels in a supersonic Concorde.
A09 157 The President of the United St ates flies in one of two Boeing
A09 158 747-200Bs which stand six-storey high, have been dubbed the Flying
A09 159 Taj Mahals, and cost over pounds600 m illion.<p/>
A09 160 <p_>The VC-10-borne Prime Minister is belittled by such high-flying
A09 161 comparison - a point given illustration when he flew into the
A09 162 airforce base near Kennebunkport to consult with George Bush and
A09 163 found himself dwarfed alongsid e one of the president's m ighty
A09 164 Boeings.<p/>
A09 165 <p_>The switch to the TriStar - this one is supplied by British
A09 166 Airways - could signal the move towards the privatisation of VIP
A09 167 travel which has traditionally been handled by the RAF.<p/>
A09 168 <p_>It has certainly brought the British Premier into the m odern
A09 169 age of government air travel - a nd represents yet another definite
A09 170 break from the Thatcher era.<p/>
A09 171 <p_>The TriStar's configurati on is comfortable - the seats are
A09 172 first class and there are single beds for Major, his wife Norma,
A09 173 Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd and Downing Street foreign affairs
A09 174 specialist Sir Percy Craddock.<p/>
A09 175 <p_>Its communication equipment, provided by the electronic spies
A09 176 at GCHG, is of the most sophisticated variety.<p/>
A09 177 <p_>It allows the Prime Minist er to communicate instantly with
A09 178 president Bush. Just as importantly, it has enabled him to keep up
A09 179 with Chelsea's football scores.<p/>
APPENDIX I
271
A09 180
A09 181 <h_><p_>And Another Thing...<p/><h/>
A09 182 <p_>GOOD news for the Princess Royal from Scotland, where fears
A09 183 that her friend, Ol d Etonian farmer John Corbett, 44, might follow
A09 184 HRH into the divorce courts have proved premature.<p/>
A09 185 <p_>Lord Rowallan's son, who lost his family seat - Rowallan Castle
A09 186 - after being hit by massive death duties, is now down to his last
A09 187 1,000 acres after sel ling the castle plus 6,000 acres to a leisure
A09 188 consortium.<p/>
A09 189 <p_>Corbett, who frequently ente rtained Anne and Mark Phillips at
A09 190 Rowallan, has decided to take a to lerant attitude towards his wife
A09 191 Sandie's fondness for a member of the Scottish horse show
A09 192 fraternity, which has been th e talk of equine Scotland.<p/>
A09 193 <p_>He married former groom , Sandie, 29, after divorcing his first
A09 194 wife Jane, and assures me: <quote_>"There was never a
A09 195 split."<quote/><p/>
A09 196
A09 197 <h_><p_>A fortune up in sm oke for tobacco heir<p/><h/>
A09 198 <p_>RECLUSIVE tobacco heiress Do ris Duke, one of the richest women
A09 199 in the world, has disinherited he r adopted daughter, Chandi Hefner
A09 200 - for daring to consort with a man Doris does not approve of.<p/>
A09 201 <p_>Chandi - no relation to Hugh - has been dating a big,
A09 202 good-looking bodyguard who once work ed for Doris in Hawaii.<p/>
A09 203 <p_>Doris - worth 874 m illion dollars at my last count and who
A09 204 recently put up the 4.6 million dollar bail for the Philippines'
A09 205 former first lady, Imelda Marcos when facing fraud charges in New
A09 206 York - objected. And she is used to getting her own way.<p/>
A09 207 <p_>She wanted to see Chandi, w ho is in her 20s, married - but only
A09 208 to someone who m e t her soci ally formidable criteria.<p/>
A09 209 <p_>When Chandi refused to break off her romance with the
A09 210 bodyguard, Doris, 78 - her father founded the giant American
A09 211 Tobacco Company - promptly ord ere d her out of her mansion. She also
A09 212 got her lawyers to retrieve the trust fund she had set up for
A09 213 <quote|>"daughter".<p/>
A09 214 <p_>This strikes me as a charm i ng example of pot calling kettle
A09 215 black - for Doris's own romantic r ecord is hardly on e to set before
A09 216 a daughter, even an adopted one.<p/>
A09 217 <p_>She divorced her first husba nd, Am erican banker and former US
A09 218 Minister to Canada, James R Crom well, after ei ght years on the
A09 219 grounds of "systematic m ental and physical cruelty". She then
A09 220 married Dominican "diplom at" and unconscienced playboy Porfirio
A09 221 Rubirosa (a Pari sian newspaper reporting the wedding mistakenly
A09 222 called her Madame Doris Duck).<p/>
A09 223 <h|>Playboy
A09 224 <p_>She paid him off with a m illion dollars - a lot of m oney in
A09 225 1949 - after just 13 months (Rubi rosa, who died th e quintessential
A09 226 playboy's death by driving his Ferrari into a tree, collected
A09 227 another millio n dollar divorce se ttlement off Woolworth's heiress
APPENDIX I
272
A09 228 Barbara Hutton).<p/>
A09 229 <p_>Her next marital excursion was with a bandleader called Joseph
A09 230 Castro. That union also went the way of all flesh; they were
A09 231 divorced eight years later.<p/>
A09 232 <p_>In between there were brie f grapples with Errol Flynn, a Tory
A09 233 MP and sundry others.<p/>
A09 234 <p_>Doris survived her flings with her finances intact. Chandi - La
A09 235 Duke took her in after her own fa mily threw her out for joining the
A09 236 Hare Krishnas - has not.<p/>
A09 237
A16 1 <#FLOB:A16\><h_><p_>Bad news all round in the year of the cash
A16 2 call<p/>
A16 3 <p_>Gloom is the key word fo r the results season, as Heather Connon
A16 4 reports<p/><h/>
A16 5 <p_>COMPANIES representing 40 per cent of the value of the stock
A16 6 market are due to publish resu lts in the next six weeks. And the
A16 7 picture they paint is likely to be one of alm ost unremitting
A16 8 gloom.<p/>
A16 9 <p_>The results will cove r the first six months of the year when
A16 10 Britain was in the grip of one of the worst recess ions since the
A16 11 war. Companies as diverse as BA T Industries and BTR, George W i mpey
A16 12 and T&N, all reporting this w eek, will d emonstrate this as they
A16 13 report plummeting profits, or even losses. Later in the m onth, RTZ,
A16 14 Rolls Royce, Ratners, Dalgety and Prudential Corporation are likely
A16 15 to add to the stream of bad news.<p/>
A16 16 <p_>But even the worst reporting season for a decade is unlikely to
A16 17 halt the stately rise of the FT-SE 100, up more than a quarter
A16 18 since the beginning of the year . The market already knows the news
A16 19 will be bad - after all, its analysts have sp ent the best part of
A16 20 the last year downgrading forecas ts. But this is expected to be the
A16 21 worst period and the market's eyes are firm ly on the upside, which
A16 22 means next year and 1993.<p/>
A16 23 <p_>It is, however, still pos sible that the reporting se ason will
A16 24 cause the market to falter. Th e two key factors will be the level
A16 25 of rights issues and what co mpany chairmen say about current
A16 26 trading.<p/>
A16 27 <p_>This has been the year of the rights issue. Already, companies
A16 28 have raised more than pounds7bn to repair ravaged balance sheets
A16 29 and to prepare them for the uptur n. Mos t analysts expect at least a
A16 30 further pounds3bn of cash calls by the year-end, which will pu t the
A16 31 total at pounds10m com pared with only pounds3.7bn last year and
A16 32 pounds7bn in the peak year of 1987. There are many potential
A16 33 candidates with large borrowings and low interest and dividend
A16 34 cover. The market favourites, however, are Blue Circle - which
A16 35 reports on Thursday - and Cadbury Schweppes, which produces
A16 36 interims on 11 Septem ber.<p/>
A16 37 <p_>So far, most of the cash calls have been eas ily absorbed. But
A16 38 the institutional cash mountain is fast being deplet ed. Analysts at
APPENDIX I
273
A16 39 UBS Phillips&Drew estim ate that institutions were holding
A16 40 pounds25bn at the beginning of the year. Since then, they have not
A16 41 only swallowed the rights is sues, but also the pounds4.9bn water
A16 42 privatisation and added sign ifi cantly to their holdings of gilts -
A16 43 perhaps by as much as pounds10bn by the end of the year. Paul
A16 44 Walton, UK equity strategist at James Capel, thinks future rights
A16 45 issues could start strain ing institutional toleran ce, and companies
A16 46 asking for more funds could see their shares suffer - particularly
A16 47 if they have been forced to offer a large discount to get the issue
A16 48 away. So far, the discount to th e share price has averaged about 20
A16 49 per cent; as the year goes on, that could grow.<p/>
A16 50 <p_>For most com panies reporti ng over the next few weeks, the
A16 51 statement on current trading will be studied with much m ore
A16 52 interest than the figures them selves. The hope is that chairmen
A16 53 will now be saying the economy is bumping along the bottom and
A16 54 there are glimmers of hope on the horizon.<p/>
A16 55 <p_>County NatWest believes unexpectedly bad news could m e an a
A16 56 period of consolidation. But, as Mr Walton says, that is likely to
A16 57 be the lull before the surge as the recovery picks up next year.<p/>
A16 58
A16 59 <h_><p_>Headlam acquisition near<p/><h/>
A16 60 <p_>THE FOOTWEAR company Headlam Group, were Colin Wyman was
ousted
A16 61 as chairman in May, said yester day tha t it was involved in talks to
A16 62 make a <quote_>"very substa ntial acquisition"<q uote/>, writes
A16 63 Robert Cole.<p/>
A16 64 <p_>The company said negotiati ons to buy a text iles distribution
A16 65 concern with a turnover of pounds85m were near to comp letion.<p/>
A16 66 <p_>The news prompted a flurry of activity in the N orthampton-based
A16 67 company's shares. The stock closed up 4p at 62p.<p/>
A16 68 <p_>On figures for 1990 the ac quisition will increa se the size of
A16 69 the company threefold. Head lam made pounds458,000 pre-tax profits
A16 70 in 1990 on sales of pounds23.3m, down from pounds 936,000
A16 71 previously.<p/>
A16 72 <p_>Releasing the annual results in April, Headlam said it was
A16 73 persevering with its acquisiti ve policy despite having drawn a
A16 74 blank on several occasions.<p/>
A16 75
A16 76 <h_><p_>Why laggard GE C needs new boss<p/>
A16 77 <p_>Clare Dobie, City Editor, argues that finally Lord Weinstock' s
A16 78 day has come<p/><h/>
A16 79 <p_>LORD Weinstock once said he would know when to leave GEC.
A16 80 Nobody would have to tell him.<p/>
A16 81 <p_>But after 28 years as mana ging director of Br itain' s biggest
A16 82 electronics company, that time has now come. Once regarded as the
A16 83 country's most brilliant indust rialist, his reputation has become
A16 84 tarnished.<p/>
A16 85 <p_>'Arnie' has outstayed his welcome. The com pany he created
APPENDIX I
274
A16 86 through an unusual combination of spark and attention to detail is
A16 87 in decline, with falling prof its and a lagging share price.<p/>
A16 88 <p_>Investors, who are seeing ot her shares race ahead, have a rare
A16 89 chance to express their views on Friday at the company's annual
A16 90 meeting. But experience su ggests none will voice criticism.<p/>
A16 91 <p_>To be fair, they have lit tle power. Though shareholders will be
A16 92 asked to vote on the position of his 39-year-old son, Simon, they
A16 93 will not have the chance to vote on Lor d Weinstock's continued
A16 94 presence on the board, despite hi s 67 years of age. Other directors
A16 95 are subject to re-election ev ery three years, but not Lord
A16 96 Weinstock. Thanks to a provisi on in the company' s articles, adopted
A16 97 in 1900, the managing director is exempt from the requirement for
A16 98 re-election.<p/>
A16 99 <p_>While many shareholders priv ately criticise the com pany's
A16 100 recent performance, they are re lu ctant to say anything unfavourable
A16 101 in public. He remains widely revered for the achievem ents of the
A16 102 1960s.<p/>
A16 103 <p_>A statistics graduate and form er civil servant, he joined what
A16 104 was to become GEC at the invita tion of his father-in-law. Michael
A16 105 Sobell, in 1954. In 1967, it ac quired Associated Electrical
A16 106 Industries and a year later English Electric.<p/>
A16 107 <p_>Unlike the AEI bid, the deal with EE, then the largest m erger
A16 108 seen in the UK, was friendly. It had the backing not just of Lord
A16 109 Nelson, who headed EE, but of the Labour government.<p/>
A16 110 <p_>GEC was seen as a standard -bearer for Britain in general and
A16 111 the electronics industry in part icular (som ething which would be
A16 112 anathema to the present Govern m ent, with its opposition to picking
A16 113 winners). Lord W e instock became an industrial hero, credited with
A16 114 single-handedly improving Britain's balance of paym ents. He was
A16 115 widely feared and respected.<p/>
A16 116 <p_>Relations with government have remained an important feature of
A16 117 the company' s operations, in part reflecting its dependence on the
A16 118 Ministry of Defence. The current chairman is Lord Prior, the former
A16 119 secretary of state for employm e nt. And his predecessors include
A16 120 former Tory ministers Lo rds Carrington and Aldington.<p/>
A16 121 <p_>Several other charact eristics visible in 1968, the
A16 122 anno<&|>sic! mirabilis, rem a in traits of the com pa ny to
A16 123 this day. They include meanness (the com pany is known ironically as
A16 124 the Generous Electric Company) , attention to detail - Lord
A16 125 Weinstock reportedly once sa id, <quote_>"Once you drop the detail
A16 126 then I believe the justification for my activity com es to an
A16 127 end"<quote/> - and a determina tion to have cash in the bank.<p/>
A16 128 <p_>Over the years the style may have hardly changed but the
A16 129 performance has - for the worse. In the past 10 years, pre-tax
A16 130 profits, earnings per share and net assets have all fallen in real
A16 131 terms (after adjusting for the effects of inflation).<p/>
A16 132 <p_>But GEC's stated pre-tax prof its rose 40 per cent. In the sam e
A16 133 period the profits of two other leading British com panies, ICI and
APPENDIX I
275
A16 134 Marks and Spencer, rose by 190 and 177 per cent respectively.<p/>
A16 135 <p_>Its performance also looks dull by the side of overseas
A16 136 electronics companies such as Siemens of Germany, where after-tax
A16 137 profits rose 228 per cen t in the last decade.<p/>
A16 138 <p_>GEC's poor profits performance has been reflected on the stock
A16 139 market. Anyone inve sting pounds100 in GEC's shares 10 years ago
A16 140 would find they were worth almost the sam e today, though the
A16 141 pounds100 buys substantially less.<p/>
A16 142 <p_>The same amount invested in either ICI or M&S would have been
A16 143 worth more than pounds400 - although an investor in GEC would have
A16 144 received some com pensation in the form of dividends.<p/>
A16 145 <p_>There are other causes for concern about GEC's recent reco rd.
A16 146 The company is well known for having a huge cash pile, which peaked
A16 147 at pounds1,7bn in 1987.<p/>
A16 148 <p_>While the cash has saved GEC from any financial embarrassm ent
A16 149 during the recession, it also s uggests the company has failed to
A16 150 find industrial projects o ffering comparable returns.<p/>
A16 151 <p_>Research and development spending, though high by UK standards,
A16 152 lags behind the com pany's inte rnational com petitors. Assum ing the
A16 153 company's disclosed spending of pounds435m was by the
A16 154 majority-owned companies, R&D accounted for 7.2 per cen t of sales
A16 155 last year, against 11 per cent at Siem ens. Another worry is the
A16 156 continuing dependence on the (declining) defence industry. Broker
A16 157 BZW reckons it accounts for 23 per cent of attributable profits.<p/>
A16 158 <p_>Then there was the loss in 1986 of the Nimrod defence contract
A16 159 after nine years and nearly pounds1bn. This was a major blow,
A16 160 putting into doubt GEC' s reputation as a reliable defence
A16 161 supplier.<p/>
A16 162 <p_>Lord Weinstock responded with spirit, instructing managers to
A16 163 double profits in the next three or four years. Collectively, they
A16 164 failed to deliver.<p/>
A16 165 <p_>He then took a different approach, launching a second bid for
A16 166 Plessey, long a thorn in GEC' s side, in 1989 together with
A16 167 Siemens.<p/>
A16 168 <p_>The bid was accompanied by a dram atic switch of strategy.
A16 169 Having criticised Plessey for forming joint ventures, GEC went
A16 170 about linking up with not just Siemens, but Alsthom of France and
A16 171 General Electric of the US as well.<p/>
A16 172 <p_>For a short period Lord Weinst ock appeared to be back to his
A16 173 old form, taking the initiative. His sense of humour seemed to
A16 174 improve as he announced each successive deal.<p/>
A16 175 <p_>But the promise of that period has not been fulfilled.<p/>
A16 176 <p_>GEC and Siemens have virtua lly gone their separate ways, and
A16 177 their only remaining m a jor joint venture is GPT, the
A16 178 telecommunications company.<p/>
A16 179 <p_>The business owned by GE is small, focused on domestic
A16 180 appliances. And the larger vent ure with Alsthom, which makes power
A16 181 plants and fast trains, has so far proved financially
APPENDIX I
276
A16 182 disappointing.<p/>
A16 183 <p_>Margins in the joint ventures were 4.4 per cen t against 9.2 per
A16 184 cent for the majority-owned businesses.<p/>
A16 185 <p_>As well as performance, there are worries that the joint
A16 186 ventures may have m ade GEC less vulnerable to a bid.<p/>
A16 187 <p_>In other circumstances a takeover m ight be the market's
A16 188 solution to the problem of underperform ance.<p/>
A16 189 <p_>But any bidder, even assuming he could obtain approval f rom the
A16 190 MoD for a change of control, would risk losing large chunks of
A16 191 business to the joint venture partners.<p/>
A16 192 <p_>If market forces cannot change GE C, who or what can?<p/>
A16 193 <p_>Shareholders, including Prudent ial Corporation which owns 7 per
A16 194 cent of the company, must be am ong the best placed to put pressure
A16 195 on the board. (The Prudential's fo rmer head of investm e nts is a
A16 196 director of GEC).<p/>
A16 197 <p_>Though the larger ins titutions have proved ready to intervene
A16 198 in the affairs of small com pan ies such as Tace, with sales of
A16 199 pounds36m, they are often reluctant to act in the case of larger
A16 200 companies such as GEC, which has sales of pounds9,5bn and 119,000
A16 201 employees.<p/>
A16 202 <p_>The larger institu tions nearly all profess to be interested in
A16 203 what has become known as <quote_ >"corporate governan ce"<quote/>. If
A16 204 it is to mean anything, they mu st act over GEC. Otherwise how can
A16 205 their repeated call for compan ies to appoint non-executives to
A16 206 boards, to split the roles of ch airmen and chief executives and for
A16 207 improved access be taken seriously?<p/>
A16 208 <p_>If shareholders have had a quiet word with Lord Weinstock or
A16 209 his fellow directors, it has not had any noticeable effect. If they
A16 210 have not, why not? Are they scared?<p/>
A16 211 <p_>Some suggest that in rec ognition of Lord Weinstock' s earlier
A16 212 achievements, they are prepar ed to wait for him to retire,
A16 213 presumably within the next three years. They might, however, speak
A16 214 out if there was any sign of his son succeeding him to the top
A16 215 job.<p/>
A16 216 <p_>Other would rather the aut horities - effectively the Bank of
A16 217 England - acted, presumably re m aining behind the scenes, to put
A16 218 pressure on him to step dow n.<p/>
A16 219 <p_>But if neither the share holders nor the bank does m ove, it
A16 220 would be up to the directors. Th ey could get rid of Lord Weinstock.
A16 221 He should be quick to take the hint. Back in 1968 he said:
A16 222 <quote_>"If they [the directors] ceased to trust me I would have to
A16 223 go."<quote/><p/>
A16 224
A17 1 <#FLOB:A17\><h_><p_>V illain with a voice of honey<p/>
A17 2 <p_>Alan Rickman is best known for a string of sinister roles - but
A17 3 he hates being typecast, he tells Jam es Delingpole<p/><h/>
A17 4 <p_>AT ONE stage Alan Rickman threatened to sm ash my face in. At
A17 5 least I thought he did. But I wasn't quite paying attention. His
APPENDIX I
277
A17 6 voice has such as mesmeric quali ty that it is terribly easy to
A17 7 drift off on the delicious musi cality of his speech and forget what
A17 8 it is he is actually saying.<p/>
A17 9 <p_>It came towards the end of our chat. Som e one had mentioned
A17 10 beforehand that Rickman was not an easy person to interview, so it
A17 11 was some time before I plucked up the courage to ask him any really
A17 12 difficult questions.<p/>
A17 13 <p_>But when at last I accuse d him of being cold, cynical and
A17 14 reptilian, he stru ck. <quote_>"I'm really in terested in not having
A17 15 brick walls put up in front of me,"<quote/> he said, referring to
A17 16 those journalists who sought to reduce him to a few easy
A17 17 adjectives. <quote_>"And if it m eans the brick builder gets m y fist
A17 18 in their face, then so be it."<quote/><p/>
A17 19 <p_>So, as I discovered when I played back my tape of the
A17 20 interview, his threat had not b een as direct as I had imagined. But
A17 21 he had made his point. Alan Rickm an does not like being
A17 22 typecast.<p/>
A17 23 <p_>The problem is that, for much of his career, he has been unable
A17 24 to avoid it. He has played th e demonic lead in <tf |>Mephisto, the
A17 25 camp but chilling baddies in <tf_>Die Hard<tf/> and <tf_>Robin
A17 26 Hood: Prince of the Thieves< tf/>, the ic y Valmont in <tf_>Les
A17 27 Liaisons Dangereuses<tf/>... N one of these people are exactly the
A17 28 sort you'd trust to look after your cat while you are away on
A17 29 holiday.<p/>
A17 30 <p_>What mu st make it even more frustrating for Rickman is that he
A17 31 is so terribly go od at playin g these villains . W hen his Sheriff of
A17 32 Nottingham snarls <quote_>"No m o re merciful beheadings!"<quote/>
A17 33 you long to see his goodie-goodi e rival, Kevin Costner's Robin
A17 34 Hood, swinging from the nearest gibbet.<p/>
A17 35 <p_>This was the reason why Cost ner decided to re-s hoot and re-edit
A17 36 the film. Rickman denies that there was any friction on the set,
A17 37 but it is an open secret that, when preview audiences saw the film
A17 38 in its original form, they fou nd the Sheriff much m or e sympathetic
A17 39 than Robin.<p/>
A17 40 <p_>Robin Hood may well be the last tim e Rickman plays the second
A17 41 string to anybody's bow. Hollywood loves him . So does the West End
A17 42 and Broadway, where he distingui shed himself in <tf_>Les Liaisons
A17 43 Dangereuses<tf/>. And even the British film industry has reason to
A17 44 be grateful for his performa nces in its latest of ferings,
A17 45 <tf_>Close My Eyes<tf/> and <tf_>Truly, Madly, Deeply<tf/>.<p/>
A17 46 <p_>Rickman m ay have reached an age at which, as he told one
A17 47 interviewer, he is <quote_>"t oo old to play Hamlet"<quote/>, but
A17 48 virtually any other leading part he wants is there for the asking.
A17 49 At last, he believes, he wi ll be able to confound those casting
A17 50 directors who simply want him to repeat his best-known roles.<p/>
A17 51 <p_>It is understandable that hi s hackles rise when he is accused
A17 52 of specialising in cold, arid cynics. In his defence he cites
A17 53 <tf_>The Lucky Chance<tf/> at the Royal Court. <quote_>"I was
APPENDIX I
278
A17 54 playing somebody com pletely ope n, energised, with a mission, not at
A17 55 all cynical, not at all laid-back, not at all any of those words
A17 56 and people said "Gosh, I didn't know you could do
A17 57 that.'"<quote/><p/>
A17 58 <p_>Perhaps he just been<&|>sic! unlucky. It was not his
A17 59 fault that, say, the television series <tf_>The Barchester
A17 60 Chronicles<tf/> - in which he played the loathsome Obadiah Slop e -
A17 61 succeeded, while the film <tf_>The January Man<tf/> - in which he
A17 62 played a nice guy - did not.<p/>
A17 63 <p_>And yet, he does have this peculiar ability to invest even h is
A17 64 most likeable characters wi th a vaguely chil ling quality. In
A17 65 <tf_>Close My Eyes<tf/>, for example, he plays a generous - and
A17 66 totally harmless - rich cuckol d. But Rickm an endows his character
A17 67 with such an intense inner life that you suspect that, at any
A17 68 moment, he m i ght be about to commit som e monstrous act of
A17 69 violence.<p/>
A17 70 <p_>When I put this to him, Rickm an adopts a pained expression.
A17 71 <quote_>"There is a certain wa rmth, I would have thought,"<quote/>
A17 72 he says, before suggesting that what I saw as coldness was in fact
A17 73 <quote|>"watchfulness". Seeing I am not convinced, he goes on:
A17 74 <quote_>"This is me. I have a certain pitch to m y voice, a certain
A17 75 way of framing my sentences."<quote/><p/>
A17 76 <p_>And there is some truth in that. He speaks slowly, deliberately
A17 77 and almost dream ily, with each phrase fading languorously into a
A17 78 honeyed, dying fall. He sounds in telligent, sometim es sibilantly
A17 79 dangerous, but always ineffably seductive.<p/>
A17 80 <p_>This could well be Rickman' s secret. It is why, for example,
A17 81 his portrayal of the callous rou<*_>e-acute<*/> in <tf_>Les
A17 82 Liaisons Dangereuses<tf/> was so painfully sympathetic. And why,
A17 83 after an hour's exposure to his hypnotic charm, I felt a desperate
A17 84 urge to write the most gushi ngly favourable interview sycophancy
A17 85 could devise.<p/>
A17 86 <p_>He works this trick yet ag ain in his latest W est End play,
A17 87 <tf_>Tango at the End of Wint er<tf/>. Although he is playing a
A17 88 madman, Rickm an does it with su ch quiet reasonableness that his
A17 89 character's weird vision of th e world threatens to overwhelm the
A17 90 supposedly sane view of those who surround him.<p/>
A17 91 <p_>It may sound rem i niscent of <tf_>King Lear<tf/> or <tf_>Henry
A17 92 IV<tf/>, but the difference is that Shakespeare and Pirandello give
A17 93 their characters a head start by granting them the m ost compelling
A17 94 speeches. The text of <tf_>Tango<tf/> does not have this
A17 95 sophistication. The sk ill is all Rickman's.<p/>
A17 96 <p_>While there is now no shor tage of directors willing to pay
A17 97 tribute to his talents, it wa s not always so. Rickman entered RADA
A17 98 late - having trained as a gr aphic designer at Chelsea and The
A17 99 Royal College of Art - and it was some tim e before he found his
A17 100 feet on the stage.<p/>
A17 101 <p_><quote_>"When Alan first came to Stratford,"<quote/> one RSC
APPENDIX I
279
A17 102 director recalls, <quote_>"it wa s terribly embarrassing. There was
A17 103 one season when he was so awful that we had a directors' m eeting
A17 104 and we asked each other 'What <tf_>are<tf/> we g oing to do with
A17 105 him?' But then he just grew up. And suddenly every one wanted this
A17 106 wonderful new l eading man."<quote/><p/>
A17 107 <p_>Rickman him self does not se t too much store by his stint at
A17 108 Stratford. <quote_>"I was with the RSC for three years but I also
A17 109 spent seven years doing plays at the Bush, at Hampstead, and the
A17 110 Royal Court, which I regard just as m uch as my spiritual
A17 111 home."<quote/><p/>
A17 112 <p_>He resents the way regi onal theatre has declined since
A17 113 <quote_>"Thatcher put the boot in"<quote/>. He explains:
A17 114 <quote_>"When I left drama sc hool you could go to a repertory
A17 115 theatre and be in a Shakespear e play or something large where you
A17 116 could go and make ghastly m i stak es. About the only places where you
A17 117 can do that now are the RSC and the National. Everyone's m aking
A17 118 their mistakes in great big p l aces."<quote/><p/>
A17 119 <p_>When talking about the <quot e_>"state of the theatre"<quote/>,
A17 120 Rickman sounds alm ost excited - which is to say that his voice
A17 121 rises a few decibels higher than his customary half-whisper. The
A17 122 only other time he appears to s tir from his customary languor is
A17 123 when I attempt to define him with a few glib adjectives.<p/>
A17 124 <p_>Just as he loathes typecasti ng, so he is unwilling to have his
A17 125 personality summed up in a ne wspaper profile. W hich may be why
A17 126 Rickman has acquired his "diffi cult" reputation and why - albeit
A17 127 with a sharky grin - he made his little rem a rk about fists and
A17 128 brick walls.<p/>
A17 129
A17 130 <h_><p_>'Gaslight' amid the candyfloss<p/>
A17 131 <p_>Byron Rogers makes a pilgrim a ge to Sheringham, where England's
A17 132 last seaside rep company is ending its summer season<p/><h/>
A17 133 <p_>ENGLAND ends here, at the No rth Sea, and its traditions survive
A17 134 in the way an empire survives in its ex tremities long after the
A17 135 centre has crumbled. You get the growing sensation when you arrive
A17 136 in Sheringham in Norfolk that you have stepped back 40 years. There
A17 137 are no Chinese or Indian rest aurants, few mu ltiple stores, and
A17 138 people live above their shops th e way they did everywhere once.
A17 139 Just down the coast at Cromer is the last end-of-p ier variety show
A17 140 and here the last English se aside rep is in summer season.<p/>
A17 141 <p_><quote_>"I came here on holidays when I was seven,"<quote/>
A17 142 says John Laing, who finds himself back again after a long absence,
A17 143 this time to act. <quote_>"The town' s not changed at all, perhaps
A17 144 because it's so small, so inaccessib le. People come here to die. If
A17 145 we're lucky they'll come to watch weekly rep, and then
A17 146 die."<quote/><p/>
A17 147 <p_>Whatever happens in his s ubsequent career the actor will never
A17 148 forget Wednesdays: Wednesdays was when the weekly change round
A17 149 occurred. In the morning he rehear sed and in the evenings appeared
APPENDIX I
286
A22 3 <p_>ROB ANDREW hauled England' s Grand Slam heroes back from the
A22 4 brink of a disastrous Te st defeat against Fiji in Suva
A22 5 yesterday.<p/>
A22 6 <p_>Man-of-the-match Andrew ki cked two drop goals, scored his first
A22 7 England try and made another for Rory Underwood.<p/>
A22 8 <p_>The result re scued a tour that was fl oundering after just one
A22 9 win in four attempts.<p/>
A22 10 <p_>Now England have the conf idence to face the daunting challenge
A22 11 of Australia in Sydney next Saturday.<p/>
A22 12 <p_>Andrew's first touchdown, in his 34th gam e for England, was a
A22 13 great moment for him .<p/>
A22 14 <p_>True, it was a 'dog's dinne r' of a try with Andrew falling on
A22 15 the ball after two players from each side had missed an
A22 16 up-and-under on the Fiji line. But that didn't m atter to Andrew.<p/>
A22 17 <p_><quote_>"Yes, it was speci al for me, although I haven't been
A22 18 too worried about scoring as long as the team's been
A22 19 winning,"<quote/> he said.<p/>
A22 20 <p_><quote_>"I think that was our best win because Fiji h ave
A22 21 improved tremendously since we last faced them and they gave us all
A22 22 kinds of problems."<quote/><p/>
A22 23 <p_>Fiji had England on the rack fo r the first 20 minutes of the
A22 24 second half. The scores were tied 12-12 and Fiji fired four drop
A22 25 goal attempts wide.<p/>
A22 26 <p_>It took a brilliant solo break by Andrew to create a try for
A22 27 old schoolmate Underwood on th e right wing to end the siege.
A22 28 Underwood extended his try record to 28 on the day he becam e
A22 29 England's mo st capped player of all time with 44 appearances.< p/>
A22 30 <p_>All the doubts raised by a poor run-up to the Test were erased
A22 31 by a team that finished with just nine of the Grand Slam side.<p/>
A22 32 <p_>Injuries and loss of form forced the selectors to break up the
A22 33 European champions, and their decisions were proved right.<p/>
A22 34 <p_>Full back Jon Webb kicked te n points in his first Test for two
A22 35 years.<p/>
A22 36 <p_>Martin Bayfield made an outstanding debut at lock alongside
A22 37 Nigel Redman, who only cam e into the game yesterday morning when
A22 38 Paul Ackford pulled ou t with an ankle injury.<p/>
A22 39 <p_>Captain Will Carling had no doubts that the 20 m inutes after
A22 40 half-time was the toughest period of the tour so far.<p/>
A22 41 <p_><quote_>"If we had gone behind, it would have been the end of
A22 42 the game,"<quote/> said Carling.<p/>
A22 43 <p_>England's other try scorer was prop Jeff Probyn, and that was
A22 44 set up by new-boy Bayfield.<p/>
A22 45 <p_><*_>black-circle<*/>Jon Hall, the Bath flanker, flies home to
A22 46 England tomorrow for an explor atory operation on his right knee.<p/>
A22 47
A22 48 <h_><p_>England's struggli ng star will know his fate at
A22 49 lunchtime<p/>
A22 50 <p_>DON'T ROAST LAMB!<p/>
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287
A22 51 <p_>That will only help Windies win the war<p/>
A22 52 <p_>Says Robin Smith<p/>
A22 53 <p_>By Steve Whiting<p/><h/>
A22 54 <p_>ENGLAND batting star Robin Smith last night pleaded with Ted
A22 55 Dexter and the Test sel ectors ... don't axe Allan Lamb.<p/>
A22 56 <p_>The nuggety little Northants captain is having one of his worst
A22 57 patches in Test cricket with onl y 54 runs from five innings against
A22 58 the West Indies.<p/>
A22 59 <p_>People are already forgetti ng the two fighting hundreds he made
A22 60 in the Caribbean two winters a go and want him left out of next
A22 61 Thursday's fourth Cornhill Test at Edgbaston.<p/>
A22 62 <p_>But not Smith, whose early batting exploits in South Africa
A22 63 were often inspired by Lamb's example, and who still feels a buzz
A22 64 when he is at the other end.<p_>
A22 65 <p_><quote_>"Lambie was looking good when he m ade 29 in the second
A22 66 dig at Trent Bridge,"<quote/> he says.<p/>
A22 67 <p_><tf_><quote_>"The West Indi es would love to see us leave him
A22 68 out. They admire him tremendously and I know he gets on
A22 69 exceptionally well with all o f them.<tf/><p/>
A22 70 <p_>"They respect him for what he has done against them . He ha s
A22 71 played very well against them in difficult conditions and they know
A22 72 that.<quote/><p/>
A22 73 <p_><tf_>He plays county cricket with Curtly Am brose and that will
A22 74 give him a bit of extra edge, even though Am bie has got him out a
A22 75 couple of times in this series.<tf/><p/>
A22 76 <p_><quote_>"Ambie m i ght run in to him in a Test match and bowl him
A22 77 a brilliant ball that flies off the outside edge down to third
A22 78 man.<p/>
A22 79 <p_>"Allan will run past Am bie and say 'Why can' t you bowl like
A22 80 that for Northants?'<p/>
A22 81 <p_>"There'll be a little bit of fun between them, but Am bie will
A22 82 be charged up by Allan saying th at, and Allan will be charged up by
A22 83 not wanting to get out to him.<p/>
A22 84 <p_><tf_>"He knows that next year he'll be taking a lot of stick in
A22 85 the Northants dressing room if Am brose knocks him over too
A22 86 often."<quote/><tf/><p/>
A22 87 <p_>This week it was Smith, averaging 93.66 from 281 runs in the
A22 88 series so far, who gave England their biggest scare.<p/>
A22 89 <p_>He dropped out of Hampshire' s gam e against Worcestershire at
A22 90 Portsmouth with a pain in the finger struck by an Ambrose beam er at
A22 91 Southampton three weeks ago.<p/>
A22 92 <p_><tf_>There was an even bigge r scare when he went on to field on
A22 93 Wednesday as sub for his brothe r Chris, whose wife Julie was in
A22 94 hospital for the birth of their first child.<tf/><p/>
A22 95 <p_>But Robin knew all was well when he pulled down a scorching
A22 96 catch at midwicket to rem ove Phil Newport.<p/>
A22 97 <p_>Straightaway he knew he wa s fit to play in the curren t game
A22 98 against Warwickshire and the fourth Test.<p/>
APPENDIX I
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A22 99 <p_><quote_>"There was no way I was going to miss the
A22 100 Test,"<quote/> he said.<p/>
A22 101 <p_><quote_>"I did all the right things - I had my finger X-rayed
A22 102 and I knew it wasn't broken, so I'm not taking a risk."<quote/><p/>
A22 103 <p_>England's other injury wo rry is opener Mike Atherton, who
A22 104 proved his fitness in Lancashire's Championship clash against
A22 105 Middlesex yesterday.<p/>
A22 106 <p_><tf_>That honour could be li ned up for Glamorgan lefthander
A22 107 Hugh Morris, but his pair against the West Indians at Swansea last
A22 108 week could hardly have come at a worse time.<tf/><p/>
A22 109 <p_>A sparkling 84 at Cheltenham yesterday m eans he might still be
A22 110 in when the team is announced at lunchtime today - if only on the
A22 111 basis that lightning can't strike three tim es in the same place!<p/>
A22 112 <p_>If he isn't, watch out for Kent's Mark Benson or even, as an
A22 113 outside gamble, Surrey' s Darren Bicknell ... also lefthanders.<p_>
A22 114 <p_>Graeme Hick m ust have made his place safe with a brilliant 141
A22 115 against Hampshire this week to follow his 88 in the B enson and
A22 116 Hedges Cup Final.<p/>
A22 117 <p_>But thank goodness England aren't the only team with
A22 118 problems.<p/>
A22 119 <p_>Clayton Lamb ert's 99 against Glamorgan at Swansea this week
A22 120 might clinch him the opener's place held shakily until now by P hil
A22 121 Simmons.<p/>
A22 122 <p_>And there is a strong rumour that the West Indies' 22-year-old
A22 123 lefthander Brian Lara only needs r uns against Kent this weekend to
A22 124 clinch his first Test cap.<p/>
A22 125 <p_>And fast bowler Malcolm Marsha ll - who ended Lam b 's innings at
A22 126 Trent Bridge - is having to re st after falling down the steps at
A22 127 the team's hotel.<p/>
A22 128 <p_>The doubts surrounding both Athe rton and the weather might lead
A22 129 England to announce 13 players. My squad:<p/>
A22 130 <p_><tf_>Gooch, Morris, Athert on, Hick, Ramprakash, Sm ith, Lamb,
A22 131 Russell, Pringle, DeFrei tas, Illingworth, Lawrence,
A22 132 Malcolm.<tf/><p/>
A22 133
A22 134 <h_><p_>GRAF UP FOR CUP<p/>
A22 135 <p_>By Hugh Jamieson<p/><h/>
A22 136 <p_>WIMBLEDON champion Steffi Graf is back in the mood to spearhead
A22 137 Germany's bid for Federation Cup glory in Nottingh am this week.<p/>
A22 138 <p_>Graf, the girl who once ru led the world in awesom e fashion,
A22 139 signalled her comeback by regain ing her Wimbledon crown with a
A22 140 gutsy win over Argentinian star Gabriela Sabatini.<p/>
A22 141 <p_>While Yugoslavia's world num ber one, Monica Seles, delays a
A22 142 decision on playing after cont roversially withdrawing from
A22 143 Wimbledon at the last minute, 22- year-old Graf is radiating sm iles
A22 144 again.<p/>
A22 145 <p_><tf_>Her career was torn ap art last year with her father,
A22 146 Peter, involved in a sex scandal - but sin ce he was cleared in a
APPENDIX I
289
A22 147 paternity case, Steffi has started to move in for the k ill.<tf/><p/>
A22 148 <p_>Dad Peter says: <quote_>"She has now got over injuries
A22 149 involving her wrist, arm and shoul der. But, m ore i mportantly, she
A22 150 is happy again with her life - on and off the court. It's like she
A22 151 has been born again and we are now seeing the real
A22 152 Steffi."<quote/><p/>
A22 153 <p_>Seles has been playing in an exhibition in New Jersey but her
A22 154 aim to play in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics could be threatened if
A22 155 she doesn't appear at Nottingham .<p/>
A22 156 <p_><tf_><quote_>"Monica seems to be a little bit m ixed up but we
A22 157 still expect her to honour her commitments and play Federation
A22 158 Cup,"<quote/> says Internationa l Tennis Federation spokesman Ian
A22 159 Barnes.<tf/><p/>
A22 160 <p_>Britain, beaten by the holders USA in last year' s
A22 161 quarter-finals, take on New Z ealand in the opening round with our
A22 162 hopes resting on Jo Durie, Moni que Javer, Clare Wood and Samantha
A22 163 Smith.<p/>
A22 164 <p_>A record 56 teams are in the Cup and, after a qualifying round,
A22 165 the main com petition begins tomorrow with 32 teams.<p/>
A22 166
A22 167 <h_><p_>Mike back on the Test trail<p/><h/>
A22 168 <p_>MIKE ATHERTON yest erday scored the runs that should keep him in
A22 169 the England team for the fourth Test at Edgbaston this week writes
A22 170 STEVE WHITING.<p/>
A22 171 <p_>Middlesex spinners John Em burey and Phil Tufnell, on a slow
A22 172 turner at Uxbridge, may not quite m a tch up to the fury of the West
A22 173 Indies' mean machine.<p/>
A22 174 <p_>But Atherton's 91 in almost five hours, coming after a run of
A22 175 49 in five Test innings as Engl and's opener, showed he is over the
A22 176 stomach injury that kept him out against Notts earlier in the
A22 177 week.<p/>
A22 178 <p_>It was also enough for Engla nd manager Micky Stewart to say:
A22 179 <quote_>"Now he is in the fram e, like everyone else, including Ian
A22 180 Botham."<quote/><p/>
A22 181 <p_>What Atherton didn't need was his sad end, controversially
A22 182 given out leg before as he swep t Tufnell. It was his highest first
A22 183 class score since 62 against Der byshire in May. Lanc ashire went on
A22 184 to make 329 - a lead of 79.<p/>
A22 185 <h|>Victim
A22 186 <p_>Botham did his hopes of an England recall little good, despite
A22 187 Stewart's assurances.<p/>
A22 188 <p_>'Beefy' fell for only five to Derbyshire' s Allan Warner as
A22 189 WORCESTERSHIRE were dismi ssed for only 218 and, following on 154
A22 190 behind at Kidderminster, closed at 110-4.<p/>
A22 191 <p_>Graeme Hick, desperately looki ng for another big innings boost,
A22 192 managed only 24 before falling vic tim to Derbyshire' s teenage pace
A22 193 sensation Dominic Cork. Worse was to com e for Hick when he was run
A22 194 out for three in the second innings.<p/>
APPENDIX I
290
A22 195 <p_>Botham's long-time England colleague David Gower will have to
A22 196 wait for a chance to overhaul Geo ff Boycott's England run aggregate
A22 197 record.<p/>
A22 198 <p_>Gower didn't last long against WARW ICKSHIRE tearaway Allan
A22 199 Donald, making only 18 before becom ing the South African's 51st
A22 200 first class victim of the season. HAMPSHIRE lost Robin Smith for a
A22 201 duck as they struggled to 176 all out - a lead of 250.<p/>
A22 202 <h|>Stuttered
A22 203 <p_>Darren Bicknell, Surrey's opener who could come into the
A22 204 England selector's reckoning, gave them a timely nudge with a fine
A22 205 80 against YORKSHIRE at Guildfo rd, passing 1,000 first class runs
A22 206 for the season on his home ground. Af ter Surrey declared at 250-2 -
A22 207 39 behind - Yorkshire we re in trouble at 42-3.<p/>
A22 208 <p_>WEST INDIES opener Phil Simmons guaranteed keeping his Test
A22 209 place after hitting a patient 77 against KENT at Canterbury. His
A22 210 place had been in danger followi ng a total of only 86 runs in six
A22 211 innings in the series.<p/>
A22 212 <p_>Brian Lara, who might have grabbed Simmons' Test spot, m ade
A22 213 only 19. But Gus Logie warmed up for Edgbaston with a whirlwind 70
A22 214 off 76 balls as the tourists reached 310-7.<p/>
A22 215
A22 216 <h_><p_>Platt's that - at pounds5.5m<p/><h/>
A22 217 <p_>DAVID PLATT finally joined Ba ri last night in a record-busting
A22 218 pounds5.5 million deal.<p/>
A22 219 <p_>Aston Villa's England star signed for the Italians after eight
A22 220 hours of talks.<p/>
A22 221 <p_>The pounds5.5m deal shatters the British trans fer record set
A22 222 when England winger Chris Waddle went from Tot tenham to Marseille
A22 223 for pounds4.25m.<p/>
A22 224 <p_>Platt, once given a free tr ansfer by Manchester United and
A22 225 bought by Villa from Crewe for pounds200,000, has signed a
A22 226 three-year contract worth about pounds4million.<p />
A22 227 <h|>Move
A22 228 <p_>Bari beat off a late mo ve by Marseille and Platt said:
A22 229 <quote_>"I'm very excite d about going to Italy.<p/>
A22 230 <p_>"It seems to have taken an age for the transfer to be
A22 231 completed, but I'm 100 per cent certain it's the right
A22 232 decision."<quote/><p/>
A22 233 <p_>Platt, with seven goals in his 21 England appearances, added:
A22 234 <quote_>"I've spoken to Graham Taylor and he assures m e joining
A22 235 Bari won't affect my England prospects."<quote/> Villa chairm an
A22 236 Doug Ellis said: <quote_ >"Given the size of the transfer, it is
A22 237 only right I spell out the size of the fee.<p/>
A22 238 <p_>"We have added one extra clause - Villa will receive 50 per
A22 239 cent of the differential if Davi d is sold on by Bari."<quote/><p/>
A22 240
A25 1 <#FLOB:A25\><h_><p_>AITC faces split threat<p/>
A25 2 <p_>by Jeff Prestridge<p/><h/>
APPENDIX I
291
A25 3 <p_>THE Association of Invest ment Trust Com panies, the trade body
A25 4 representing the pounds20 billi on investm ent trust industry, is
A25 5 losing its battle to stop a nu mber of top companies defecting.<p/>
A25 6 <p_>The walk-out, which was led by the pounds572 million British
A25 7 Investment Trust and could ex tend to another 14 trusts, has been
A25 8 inspired by AITC' s decision to ask members for m ore fees to support
A25 9 a marketing campaign.<p/>
A25 10 <p_>The seeds of the campaign were sown last year by AITC chairm an
A25 11 Philip Chappell when he called on the 200 mem bers to cough up
A25 12 pounds5 million to launch an a ssault on the private investor
A25 13 market. The plan is to drive discounts down by doubling the num ber
A25 14 of private investors.<p/>
A25 15 <p_>While Chappell' s plans were watered down to pounds1.7 million,
A25 16 the effect is members' fees, payable this month, have doubled. Five
A25 17 companies, British Investme nt, RIT Capital Partners, Graham s
A25 18 Rintoul, Glasgow Incom e and Yeoman, have said they will no t pay so
A25 19 they will have to resign. Other trusts yet to m ake up their minds
A25 20 include Gartmore Am erica and the pounds320 million Scottish
A25 21 National trust.<p/>
A25 22 <p_>The reasons for the revolt are numerous. Some trusts feel the
A25 23 campaign will not benefit them directly because they are already
A25 24 standing at a premium to net a sset value. others with wind-up dates
A25 25 soon are miffed they are having to pay the sam e fees as other
A25 26 trusts.<p/>
A25 27 <p_>Last week, AITC's executiv e committee discu ssed the crisis to
A25 28 see if a comprom ise could be worked out. It is believed chairman
A25 29 Michael Hart und Chappell agreed to visit the waverers.<p/>
A25 30 <p_>AITC's Lesley Renvoize said : <quote_>"It is sad to lose any
A25 31 member but hopefully they will be ba ck. British Investment has left
A25 32 before and we'd welcom e it back."<quote/><p/>
A25 33
A25 34 <h_><p_>Hellenic adds fizz to investment in Greece<p/>
A25 35 <p_>by Ray Mgadzah<p/><h/>
A25 36 <p_>CAPITALISM with a Greek flavour is on the march and British
A25 37 investors are being offered th e chance to quench their thirst for
A25 38 foreign shares by backing Greece' s top soft drinks bottler Hellenic
A25 39 Bottling Company.<p/>
A25 40 <p_>Hellenic, headed by Gerard Re idy, is expected shortly to become
A25 41 the first Greek company to set as ide a s izeable part of its equity
A25 42 for foreigners in a pioneerin g offer expected to raise nearly
A25 43 pounds70 million through a listing on the Athens stock market.<p />
A25 44 <p_>That would put a value of pounds300 m illion on Hellenic, which
A25 45 holds the Coca-Cola franchise for Greece, Ireland und Nigeria and
A25 46 also supplies fruit juices. Hell enic has two- thirds of the Greek
A25 47 soft drinks market and half of its fruit juice sales. I t s offer
A25 48 will mark the first m ove by Greece to entice foreign capital by
A25 49 allowing investors to take part in new issues. Other companies,
A25 50 including the soon-to-be priva tised telephone service are also
APPENDIX I
292
A25 51 expected to target foreigners. Thanks to legal changes, Hellenic is
A25 52 setting aside 6.5 per cent of its equity fo r the overseas offer.<p/>
A25 53 <p_>The British are expected to pick up the lion's share of the
A25 54 foreign tranche. Hellenic, which is owned by Leventis-Ioannou
A25 55 Group, is offering 25 per cent of its shares in the float. It is
A25 56 being advised by merchant bank Schroders with Hellenic Industrial
A25 57 Development Bank as lead bank. City institution s tend to show a
A25 58 greater thirst fo r foreign stock than Europeans but Greek shares
A25 59 have usually been offered in numbers to o small to attract
A25 60 interest.<p/>
A25 61 <p_>Leventis-Ioannou's activitie s include Middle East construction.
A25 62 It is controlled b y two of Greece's leading families.<p/>
A25 63
A25 64 <h_><p_>Lloyd's capacity hit as mem bers quit<p/>
A25 65 <p_>by Robert Tyerman<p/><h/>
A25 66 <p_>THE Lloyd's of London insuranc e market now admits its capacity
A25 67 to write insurance is falling fast as syndicate losses and the
A25 68 prospect of its first overa ll deficit since 1967 cause a rising
A25 69 tide of members to quit.<p/>
A25 70 <p_><quote_>"Capacity is alre ady well down from last year's
A25 71 pounds11.25 billion,"<quote/> Lime Street spokesm an Nick Doak told
A25 72 the <tf_>Sunday Telegraph<tf/>. Some observers estim ate it could
A25 73 have fallen to under pounds8 billion by next year.<p/>
A25 74 <p_>Until recently, although m e mbership had fallen from its 1980s
A25 75 peak of 33,000 to 26,700, capacity was being maintained, as
A25 76 individual members committed m ore of their wealth to the market.
A25 77 With the pound strong against the dollar Lloyds' s all-important
A25 78 ability to take on American ri sks was also enhanced. This trend was
A25 79 not unwelcome to Lloyd's chairm an David Coleridge and the council,
A25 80 which felt a return to fewer, more substantial und less panicky
A25 81 members would be appropria te for today's tough conditions. < p/>
A25 82 <p_>But capacity is now falli ng while the dollar is rising again
A25 83 und increasing concern is being expressed about the amounts owed by
A25 84 insurance syndicates to th e Lloyd's American Trust Fund, which
A25 85 collects and distributes dollar-d enominated prem iums and claims.<p/>
A25 86 <p_>A leading underwriter is be lieved to have pulled out of the
A25 87 hull market because he feels prem iums are too low, while more bad
A25 88 loss news is expected from the Gooder-Walker syndicates 290 and
A25 89 298, which wrote excess-of-loss among other business, som e brought
A25 90 by broker Bill Brown's Walsham group.<p/>
A25 91 <p_>This comes on top of the pounds320 m illion losses faced by
A25 92 members of the Feltrim synd icates and the hundreds of millions
A25 93 potentially payable on pollution claims.<p/>
A25 94 <p_>It is thought the Lloyd's authorities would like to see the
A25 95 number of syndicates and member s' agencies reduced to produce a
A25 96 more streamlined, better equipped m arket.<p/>
A25 97 <p_>Some sources have sugges ted a bottom limit of 300 members per
A25 98 agent. Other market practi tioners would like to see m e mbers
APPENDIX I
293
A25 99 required to write a minimum cover of pounds500,000 and deposit
A25 100 pounds10,000 cash apiece to create a substantial reserve.<p/>
A25 101
A25 102 <h_><p_>Cray fishes with pounds111m for bait<p/><h/>
A25 103 <p_>HOURS after he launched Cray Electronics' pounds111 million
A25 104 hostile bid for software consultancy SD-Scicon on Friday, chairman
A25 105 Sir Peter Michael was in confident mood.<p/>
A25 106 <p_>From a basem ent room in the old City morgue, hom e of an
A25 107 adviser, Michael outlined the plan that he hoped would sound the
A25 108 death knell for the independence of a 1980s glamour stock that has
A25 109 turned into a 1990s fallen angel.<p/>
A25 110 <p_>He summed up his message with the words: <quote_>"SD -Scicon is
A25 111 a company that has no m anagement, no strategy and no
A25 112 profits."<quote/> The share bid w ith a cash alternative was final
A25 113 in the absence of a counter offe r and shareholders would do best to
A25 114 take it - or so he said.<p/>
A25 115 <p_>SD-Scicon chief executive Ph ilip Swinstead, who has a stake in
A25 116 the company worth pounds5.6 m illion, is expected to put up a fierce
A25 117 defence. Analysts reckon the offe r may flush out rival bids. In the
A25 118 past bids from Sema, Cap Gemi ni Sogeti and Thorn EMI have been
A25 119 mooted.<p/>
A25 120 <p_>Either way the scene is set for a bruising contest.<p/>
A25 121 <p_>In one corner stands Michael, former chairm a n of UEI, the
A25 122 electronics and engineering group sold for pounds50 0 million to
A25 123 Carlton Communications in 1989. He is advised by Morgan Grenfell.
A25 124 Michael led a new team into Cray another fallen 1980s glamour
A25 125 stock, 18 months ago. Now he has SD-Scicon's biggest shareholder,
A25 126 British Aerospace, with 25 per cent, on his side. <p/>
A25 127 <p_>In the other corner stands Swinstead, SD-Scicon's founder. He
A25 128 retook the helm a few months a go, revamping the board, appointing a
A25 129 non-executive chairman. Sam uel Montagu is advising.<p/>
A25 130 <p_>The prize is a company that has fallen on hard tim es. This year
A25 131 analysts' forecasts range from pounds5 m illion to pounds11 million,
A25 132 revealing the extent of uncertainty surrounding the group's future
A25 133 after a run of poor results. Its woes are blam ed on the pounds70
A25 134 million takeover by Systems Desi gners of Scicon in 1988, one of a
A25 135 number of purchases made by Swinstead, and loss-m a king contracts,
A25 136 some of which are s ubject to litigation.<p/>
A25 137 <p_>In 1984, two years after it made its stock m a rket debut,
A25 138 Systems Designers stood on a hist oric p/e of 78. The shares peaked
A25 139 at 118p in 1986 but now Cray is offering just 42p.<p/>
A25 140 <p_>Swinstead has chosen to k eep a low profile so the task of
A25 141 fronting the defence has fallen on chairman John Jackson, who also
A25 142 heads Cambridge Electronics Industries.<p/>
A25 143 <p_>Jackson explains the corner stone of his defence. Cray wants
A25 144 SD-Scicon on the cheap when it is com ing through a difficult time,
A25 145 he says. Shareholders are set to reap the reward if they remain
A25 146 loyal.<p/>
APPENDIX I
294
A25 147 <p_>SD-Scicon supporters say rece nt software bidders have paid a
A25 148 price above the sales of thei r target. Examples include the
A25 149 takeover of Hoskyns by Cap Ge mini Sogeti and the purchase of
A25 150 Quotient by ACT.<p/>
A25 151 <p_>CGS paid pounds286 million for sales of pounds189 m illion while
A25 152 ACT paid pounds27 million for about pounds22 m illion of sales.
A25 153 SD-Scicon has sales of pounds256 million but Cray is offering less
A25 154 than half of this.<p/>
A25 155 <p_>But Michael counters th at SD-Scicon is overshadowed by
A25 156 loss-making contracts, against which it wrote off pounds20 m illion
A25 157 last year. They cast doubt on the quality of what remains.<p/>
A25 158 <p_>Some analysts share this view. <quote_>"Scicon is a can of
A25 159 worms. It is going to take the be st managem ent in the world to sort
A25 160 it out,"<quote/> says Tressa n MaCarthy of Panmure Gordon.<p/>
A25 161 <p_>SD-Scicon says hostile bids are anathema to people businesses.
A25 162 But investors might have other ideas and m ay, like BAe, choose to
A25 163 take what is left of their money and run.<p/>
A25 164 <p_>Ray Mgadzah<p/>
A25 165
A25 166 <h_><p_>Grampian bids for pounds56m tonic<p/><h/>
A25 167 <quote_>"WHAT we are proposi ng is effectively a managem ent
A25 168 buy-in."<quote/> Grampian Holdings ch airman Bill Bughes wants to
A25 169 persuade investors his pounds56.5 m illion hostile bid for
A25 170 pharmaceutical group Macarthy, ow ner of Savory&Moore and John
A25 171 Bell&Croydon, is more than an opportunistic calling of the low
A25 172 point in Macarthy's fortunes.<p/>
A25 173 <p_>Macarthy, whose last dividend was paid out of reserv es, sees it
A25 174 differently. "My firs t reaction was one of amazement," says chief
A25 175 executive Ian Parsons. Some investors were m ore prescient. The
A25 176 Stock Exchange is investigating the spurt in Macarthy's share price
A25 177 from 160p on Tuesday morning to 192p on Wednesday before the bid
A25 178 announcement.<p/>
A25 179 <p_>Few believe Grampian's pres ent m ix of convertible and equity
A25 180 worth 206.4p a share will be the last word - Macarthy now stands at
A25 181 230p. But a return to near 1989's peak of 355p is not to be
A25 182 expected, even if anothe r bidder enters the fray.<p/>
A25 183 <p_>Parsons, in the driving seat since August 1989 after the
A25 184 departure of Nicholas Ward, in sists his team can make it grow
A25 185 without help from Glasgow-based Grampian, whose operations range
A25 186 from veterinary produc ts to sports shoes.<p/>
A25 187 <p_>The Macarthy camp suggests Grampian is just a ragbag. H ughes
A25 188 claims a strategy of going for m a rket leadership in <quote_>"niche
A25 189 products"<quote/>. This makes a log ical target of Macarthy, with
A25 190 such gems as Farillon, distributor to hospitals and wholesalers of
A25 191 insulin and rubella vaccin e.<p/>
A25 192 <p_>Recent comparisons favour Gr ampian, whose profits rose 220 per
A25 193 cent between 1986 and 1990 to pounds13.1 m illion. Macarthy's
A25 194 increased by only 7 per cent to a depressed pounds4.6 m illion. Over
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A25 195 that time, it has underperform ed the FT All-Share Index by nearly
A25 196 50 per cent, while Grampian shares hav e outperformed Macarthy's by
A25 197 almost 400 per cent. In 1986 inst itutions led by John Govett put in
A25 198 Ward as chairman. An Ernest Saunders
A25 199 prot<*_>e-acute<*/>g<*_>e-acute<* /> at Guinness, where he headed
A25 200 retailing, Ward set abou t beefing up Macarthy.<p/>
A25 201 <p_>But he took it into ph armaceuticals wholesaling just when one
A25 202 of the two market leaders, Unic hem , was gobbling up market share by
A25 203 offering stakes to retailers in return for exclusivity and making
A25 204 life tough for competitors.<p/>
A25 205 <p_>Macarthy bought the Drumm ond pharmacists from Guinness for
A25 206 pounds42.6 million in 1987, funded by a rights issu e at pounds4.
A25 207 Much earlier, Hughes had spent 10 years building up Drummond. In
A25 208 1988 Macarthy bid pounds65 m illion for Unichem itself. It failed
A25 209 and Macarthy's m arket share slumped from 11 per cent to 5 per cent
A25 210 until the courts ruled Unichem' s share stake distribution scheme
A25 211 illegal in mid-1989 - it has s i nce returned to m ore than 10 per
A25 212 cent.<p/>
A25 213 <p_>Last August Macarthy sold its wholesale business to the Dutch
A25 214 Medicopharma group for pounds15.75 m illion, at a pounds6 million
A25 215 loss. Parsons points to recent turnrounds in veterinary products
A25 216 and elsewhere. Analysts expect a modest profits upturn to between
A25 217 pounds5 million and pounds5.5 m illion in the year to September
A25 218 1991.<p/>
A25 219 <p_>Macarthy's five-year contract to source 90 per cent of certain
A25 220 drugs from Medicopharma m ight ma ke AAH and Unichem, with their own
A25 221 franchises, think twice before bi dding but Lloyds Chem ists might be
A25 222 interested.<p/>
A25 223 <p_>The Grampian package offers an historic p/e ratio of 17.8 and a
A25 224 yield increase of 4 per cent.
A25 225
A27 1 <#FLOB:A27\><h_><p_>PLAN REFUSED<p/>
A27 2 <p_>Club may appeal over big new sports com plex<p/>
A27 3 <p_>ROLAND WATSON<p/><h/>
A27 4 <p_>COVENTRY and North Warwicks hire sports club may appeal against
A27 5 the decision to refuse it planning permission for m as sive
A27 6 development in the green belt.
A27 7 The top city club wanted to build a major sporting complex on
A27 8 farmland near Stoneleigh.<p/>
A27 9 <p_>It wants to leave its Bi nley Road HQ, where sport has been
A27 10 played for 80 years, because upkeep costs are outstripping
A27 11 income.<p/>
A27 12 <p_>The aim of the m ove would be to increase membership, improve
A27 13 facilities and strengthen finances.<p/>
A27 14 <p_>But councillors in Warwic k have dashed the club's hopes.<p/>
A27 15 <p_>They unanimously threw out the scheme saying it was far too
A27 16 large for the proposed site.<p/>
A27 17 <p_>The huge complex would have covered 42 acres of land at New Era
APPENDIX I
302
A28 42 rather than to allow themselves to be forced into a quick fix and
A28 43 suffer later.<p/>
A28 44 <p_>Government sources were hi nting yesterd ay that the consultative
A28 45 document, containing a series of options, might not be ready even
A28 46 after next week's Cabinet meeting.<p/>
A28 47 <p_>Downing Street is hopi ng that a meeting of the Cabinet
A28 48 committee considering the repla cem ent tax will take place tomorrow
A28 49 but this is not certain. Earlier in the week a series of informal
A28 50 meetings were all that were expected.<p />
A28 51 <p_>One source said: <quote_ >"The earlies t we think it (the
A28 52 consultative doc ument) will come will be next week or the week
A28 53 after. It's got to go to Cabine t. It won't be able to go to this
A28 54 week's Cabinet. It could even be the week after next."<quote/><p/>
A28 55 <p_>The continuing delays suggest at best an attempt to fine-tune
A28 56 the package but, at worst, disarray over the way forward.<p/>
A28 57 <p_>Labour's local government spokesman, Mr David Blunkett, rounded
A28 58 on the Government last night.<p/>
A28 59 <p_>He said: <quote_>"It is sheer hypocrisy for the Conservatives
A28 60 to delay their detailed alte rnative proposals to the poll tax and
A28 61 existing local government st ructure and functions when they
A28 62 themselves chided the Labour Party exactly 12 m onths ago for 'not
A28 63 having a clear alternative'.<p/>
A28 64 <p_>"It is now time for the G overnm ent - with all the resources
A28 65 that they possess through the Ci vil Service and comp uter facilities
A28 66 - to spell out for the British electorate just what their policies
A28 67 mean.<p/>
A28 68 <p_>"If they do not, then it is clear that the British electorate
A28 69 will be unable to make a ju dgme nt on what exactly the Conservative s
A28 70 have to offer in the local elections.<p/>
A28 71 <p_>"Their candidates acro ss the country will be offering local
A28 72 people nothing. Their own supporte rs will have no clear idea what
A28 73 it is that they are expected to vote on an d the conclusion will
A28 74 have to be drawn that the confusion, dithering and incompetence
A28 75 will continue."<quote/> <p/>
A28 76 <p_>But there is a boost for th e beleaguered Mr Major today: 15
A28 77 Parliamentary hopefuls and counc illors backing him are publishing a
A28 78 statement of support.<p/>
A28 79
A28 80 <h_><p_>Kinnock to woo floa ting voters in crucial conference
A28 81 speech<p/>
A28 82 <p_>By PHIL MURP HY, Political Correspondent at the Labour Party
A28 83 conference in Brighton<p/><h/>
A28 84 <p_>THE Labour leader, Mr Neil Kinnock, will today seek to wo o the
A28 85 floating voters with a vision of Labour Britain as a land of
A28 86 opportunity for all.<p/>
A28 87 <p_>In a crucial speech, Mr Kinnock will use his annual keynote
A28 88 address to the party conference to contrast his vision of a Labour
A28 89 government offering opportunity for the m any with what he claims is
APPENDIX I
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A28 90 a Tory administration offering opportunity only for the few.<p/>
A28 91 <p_>Mr Kinnock will also seek to bolster confidence in Labour's
A28 92 ability to manage the economy. He will claim that a Labour
A28 93 government will be comm itted to sustained growth, freed from the
A28 94 boom and bust of the Tory years.<p/>
A28 95 <p_>His speech follows the outlin ing by the Shadow Chancello r, Mr
A28 96 John Smith, and the Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary, Mr Gordon
A28 97 Brown, of party economic polic y at the conference yesterday.<p/>
A28 98 <p_>Mr Smith repeated his ple dge to increase retir ement pensions by
A28 99 pounds5 for a single pensioner and pounds8 for a m arried couple,
A28 100 and also his promise to incr ease child benefit to the level it
A28 101 would have been had the Tories not restrained it - pounds9.55 per
A28 102 week.<p/>
A28 103 <p_>Labour would end what Mr Smith called <quote_>"The scandal of
A28 104 poverty pay"<quote/> with a mi nimum wage set first at pounds3.40
A28 105 per hour, and would restore the direct link between pensions and
A28 106 earnings and prices - a link severed by the Tories.<p/>
A28 107 <p_>The Shadow Chancellor also repeated his plan to pay for
A28 108 increased pensions and child benefit through an increase in
A28 109 top-rate income tax from 40p to 50p.<p/>
A28 110 <p_>Mr Smith stressed again a constant them e of conference -
A28 111 Labour's drive to use more of the talents of the British people.<p/>
A28 112 <p_>He said: <quote_>"I want to see a nation energised by the
A28 113 skills of its workforce and the technology of the workplace. I w ant
A28 114 us to build a society where im aginative training programm es and
A28 115 decent child care provision enable women who want to work and m ake
A28 116 their vital contribution to our econom y and to our
A28 117 society."<quote/><p/>
A28 118 <p_>The Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary, Mr Brown, heralded
A28 119 <quote_>"a new investm ent decade"<quote/> under Labour. Three new
A28 120 investment initiatives in m a nufacturing, skills and technology
A28 121 would, he claimed, make Britain the training and technology capital
A28 122 of the world.<p/>
A28 123 <p_>He also announced an emergenc y jobs and training package, to be
A28 124 implemented in the <quote_>"fi rst few days"<quote/> of a Labour
A28 125 government, investing in manuf acturing, setting up industrial
A28 126 development agencies in the regions, and a new defence
A28 127 diversification agency.<p/>
A28 128 <p_>But he drew the most ferv ent applause for his attacks on the
A28 129 Tories.<p/>
A28 130 <p_>Mr Brown accused the Prim e Minister of presiding over
A28 131 <quote_>"one of the worst collaps es in manufacturing investment
A28 132 since the 1930s"<quote/>.<p/>
A28 133 <p_>Referring to secret donati ons to the Tory Party by a Greek
A28 134 billionaire, he said: <quote_> "Let us recall their theme in 1987 -
A28 135 making Britain great again.<p/>
A28 136 <p_>"And this from a party th at now disgracefully depends on
A28 137 American-style election dirty tricks, on dubious Hong Kong
APPENDIX I
304
A28 138 donations and, most shamefully of all, on a Greek billion aire
A28 139 moving his money out of colonels and into Majors - an affront to
A28 140 democracy and to Britain."<quote/><p/>
A28 141 <p_>He said the people who had done best under the Tories w e re the
A28 142 5,000 millionaires, who had become m u lti-millionaires.<p/>
A28 143 <p_><quote_>"The 5,0000 who have had cumulative tax cuts of pounds5
A28 144 bn - money which should have gone to child benefit and
A28 145 pensions."<quote/><p/>
A28 146 <p_>It was the <quote_>"Tory version of the feeding of the
A28 147 5,000"<quote/>, he said.<p/>
A28 148 <p_>Earlier, the Shadow Empl oyment Secretary, Mr Tony Blair,
A28 149 fiercely attacked the Government over the length of Britain's dole
A28 150 queues, saying: <quote_>"A Govern ment that tolerates three m illion
A28 151 unemployed and m ore is a Gove rnment prepared to shatter the
A28 152 cohesion on which our so ciety depends."<quote/><p/>
A28 153 <p_>He said Labour would legislat e to require all employers to make
A28 154 a minimum investment in traini ng, or pay a contribution to a local
A28 155 or national training effort.<p/>
A28 156
A28 157 <h_><p_>Governor <quote_> "reported IRA Plot"<quote/><p/>
A28 158 <p_>Brixton row fuels pressure on Baker<p/>
A28 159 <p_>By PHIL MURPHY, Po litical Correspondent<p/><h/>
A28 160 <p_>DEMANDS for the Home Secret ary, Mr Kenneth Baker, to resign
A28 161 erupted again last night afte r the sacked governor of Brixton
A28 162 Prison spoke out over th e IRA jail-break affair.<p/>
A28 163 <p_>Mr Reg Withers claim ed he had passed on to his superiors
A28 164 reports that two suspected IRA terrorists were planning to break
A28 165 out of Brixton, months before their successful es cape in July.<p/>
A28 166 <p_>It emerged yesterday that the IRA tried to force a m e mber of
A28 167 staff at Brixton Prison to smuggle a gun to the two suspects,
A28 168 Nessan Quinlivan and Pearse McAuley.<p/>
A28 169 <p_>The attempt backfired when Mr Withers was told of the plan in
A28 170 February, and alerted the Ho me Office Prison Department.<p/>
A28 171 <p_>As part of the effort to th wart any breach of security the two
A28 172 IRA suspects were moved from D-wing to A-wing at Brixton.<p/>
A28 173 <p_>But five months later, on July 7, Quinlivan and McAuley pulled
A28 174 a loaded gun on officers escorting them from the prison chapel and
A28 175 escaped over the prison wall.<p/>
A28 176 <p_>Mr Withers later yesterday retracted suggestions that he had
A28 177 written directly to the Home Office calling for Quinlivan and
A28 178 McAuley to be transferred from Brixton - but the Home Office
A28 179 accepted that the former governor had issued a warning to th e
A28 180 Prison Department.<p/>
A28 181 <p_>A Home Office spokeswom an sa id that the disciplinary inquiry
A28 182 now under way would consider whether anyone sho uld face action as a
A28 183 result of failure to pass that information on to senior Prison
A28 184 Department and Home O ffice staff and Ministers.<p/>
A28 185 <p_>The same spokeswoman said th at the Home Secretary would not be
APPENDIX I
305
A28 186 resigning.<p/>
A28 187 <p_>However, serious questions are being asked about the Prison
A28 188 Department's failure to act on th e tip-off, which was also backed
A28 189 up by police information.<p/>
A28 190 <p_>The police information, which also warned that the escape
A28 191 attempt would take place af ter Mass in the prison chapel, was
A28 192 apparently not passed to Mr Withers.<p/>
A28 193 <p_>Mr Withers, 59, has b een told to take leave until his
A28 194 retirement in October, followi ng an inquiry into the incident by
A28 195 the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Judge Stephen Tumim.<p/>
A28 196 <p_>Mr Baker, who is on holiday in France, rejected a call from the
A28 197 Shadow Home Secretary, Mr Roy Hattersley, for a full public inquiry
A28 198 into the circumstances of the Brixton escape.<p/>
A28 199 <p_>The Labour spokesman also called for publication of as m u ch as
A28 200 possible of the Tumim report into the break-out. Only sections of
A28 201 the report were released earlier in the week.<p/>
A28 202 <p_>Mr Hattersley warned that , without such a public inquiry, Mr
A28 203 Baker's position might becom e impossible. Earlier this week the
A28 204 Shadow Home Secretary had stoppe d short of calling for Mr Baker' s
A28 205 resignation.<p/>
A28 206 <p_>Now he believes that, without further clarification of what
A28 207 happened, Mr Baker might have to go.<p/>
A28 208 <p_>The Liberal Democrats last ni ght repeated their view that the
A28 209 Home Secretary should quit.<p/>
A28 210 <p_>A spokesman, Mr Mike Carr, said: <quote_>"This whole business
A28 211 is getting murkier and murkier. Earlier in the week we called for
A28 212 the Home Secretary's resignati on. In the light of Mr W ithers's
A28 213 comments we are now certain th at that was the right thing to
A28 214 do."<quote/><p/>
A28 215 <p_>The controversy stoked up by the decision to force Mr Withers
A28 216 to take early retirement had taken a fresh turn when the former
A28 217 governor broke his si lence over the affair.<p/>
A28 218 <p_>In a report in the London Evening Standard, Mr Withers said:
A28 219 <quote_>"I'm being blam ed for thi ngs which were absolutely outside
A28 220 of my control. It is not in my power to move prisoners.<p/>
A28 221 <p_>"I made a report to my s uperiors indicating that these m en
A28 222 should not be in Brixton. I am very distressed that all this has
A28 223 been laid at my door."<quote/><p/>
A28 224 <p_>Though he later spelled out in a statement that he was not
A28 225 claiming to have written to the Hom e Office requesting the
A28 226 transfer, the underlying allegati on that he did contact the Prison
A28 227 Department remained intact.<p/>
A28 228 <p_>However Mr Baker's deputy, the Hom e Offic e Minist er, Mrs Angela
A28 229 Rumbold insisted: <quote_>"The gove rnor had prior warning. The Hom e
A28 230 Secretary and I did not. If we ha d been told we would have done
A28 231 something."<quote/><p/>
A28 232 <p_>Responding to Mr Hattersley' s calls for an inquiry and for
A28 233 publication of more of the Tumi n report, Mrs Rumbold said in a
APPENDIX I
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A28 234 letter to the Shadow Home Secretary last night:
A28 235
A32 1 <#FLOB:A32\><h_><p_>St rength in depth the key<p/>
A32 2 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>ATHLETICS<p/><h/>
A32 3 <p_>SPRINGHEAD HARRIERS strength in depth shone through as they
A32 4 swept to a last-ditc h win over Goole Youth AC.<p/>
A32 5 <p_>Honours were even with only the youths and senior men's relays
A32 6 to come and Springhead won th em both with som e s pectacular running
A32 7 to clinch victory by just four points, 173-169.<p/>
A32 8 <p_>Many personal bests were set and there were new club records
A32 9 from Adele Foster with 27 seconds in the under 15 girls 200m and
A32 10 for close rivals Claire Dunn, 27.1 and Jacquie Burke 27.3.<p/>
A32 11 <p_> Richard Woodmansey - the new find of the season in the senior
A32 12 men's group, set a new record in th e long jump with a leap of 5.13m
A32 13 and in the youths section Paul Cooper turned his back on the track
A32 14 and leapt 6.31m in the long jum p which was never bettered on the
A32 15 day.<p/>
A32 16 <p_>Young Marc Webster shone in the under 11 m i nor boys' shot with
A32 17 5.07m and there were two new r ecords in the m en's javelin from
A32 18 junior Craig Napper with 40.46 m and from Mark Hewson with 42.54m on
A32 19 his senior debut.<p/>
A32 20 <p_>Finally, Allison English pulle d out a tremendous leap of 4.31m ,
A32 21 in the under 13 minor girls' long jum p to set a season's best and
A32 22 then followed that up with a winning leg in the 4x100m relay which
A32 23 Springhead won in 59.1.<p/>
A32 24 <p_><*_>bullet<*/>East Hull Harr ie rs' Peter Harriso n made a winning
A32 25 comeback at the weekend.<p/>
A32 26 <p_>On Sunday he came first in the 800m in the Humberside Masters
A32 27 held at the Costello Stadium and he completed a hat-trick of wins
A32 28 by romping home in the 1500 and 800m in the 50-54 age group.<p/>
A32 29 <p_>On Saturday he claimed second place<&|>sic! he'd had in the
A32 30 East Hull Harriers Summer League.<p/>
A32 31
A32 32 <h_><p_>Lambert makes a swift return<p/>
A32 33 <p_>By Malcolm Richardson<p/>
A32 34 <p_>SEAHAWKS REPORTER<p/><h/>
A32 35 <p_>HUMBERSIDE Seahawks player-coach Dale Lambert today
A32 36 praised the fracture clinic at Hull Royal Infirmary for 'altering'
A32 37 his fiberglass cast which means he can now m ake his come-back in
A32 38 tonight's Pennine Cup clash w ith Blackb urn Blackhawks at the Ice
A32 39 Arena (5.45).<p/>
A32 40 <p_><quote_>"They have been marvellous to m ake such adjustments to
A32 41 the cast which means I can now get a glove on"<quote/> enthused
A32 42 Lambert, who has a broken thumb and is being forced to m a ke his
A32 43 return two weeks earlier than anticipated - and against doctor's
A32 44 orders!<p/>
A32 45 <p_><quote_>"No-one wants me to play for another couple of weeks
A32 46 but I don't see I have any alte rnative"<quote/> says Lamb ert.<p/>
APPENDIX I
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A32 47 <p_><quote_>"With our guest im port Ransome Durcar having this week
A32 48 signed for Durham we just have n' t been able to find a replacement -
A32 49 and in any case I need to get back into the thick of the
A32 50 action."<p/>
A32 51 <p_>Disappointed with m uc h of the Seahawks' recent performances he
A32 52 has been issuing a battle-cry th is week to shake th em out of their
A32 53 summertime blues.<p/>
A32 54 <p_><quote_>"The holiday is over, it's time we all got back to
A32 55 work"<quote/> he storms.<p/>
A32 56 <p_>Tonight the Seahawks hold an 11-4 lead from the first leg of
A32 57 the Pennine Cup, a new challenge match between the two clubs, and
A32 58 Lambert is using the chan ce to try out his fitness.<p/>
A32 59 <p_><quote_>"I've been out for a couple of weeks and I need to get
A32 60 used to the pace of the game again,"<quote/> he says.<p/>
A32 61 <p_><quote_>"Sunday's match is m uch more important when we play
A32 62 Billingham in the Autum n C up<quote/> (5.45 at the Ice Arena).<p/>
A32 63 <p_><quote_>"The British Ice Ho ckey Association have given us a
A32 64 second chance in this competition and w e have to grab
A32 65 it."<quote/><p/>
A32 66 <p_>The Seahawks were beaten 9-6 at Telford on Tuesday but the BIHA
A32 67 overturned the result and gave th e Seahawks a 5-0 win after Telford
A32 68 illegally iced import Dan Sweeney.<p/>
A32 69 <p_>It means the Seahawks now surprisingly top the table on goal
A32 70 difference from Nottingham , w ho, howe ver, have a match in hand.<p/>
A32 71 <p_>All the signs are that th e group ch ampions will be decided on
A32 72 the final match - when Nottingham visit Hull on September 29.<p/>
A32 73
A32 74 <h_><p_>Hull II hold on for Yorkshire League victory<p/>
A32 75 <p_><*_>black-square<*/>TABLE TENNIS<p/><h/>
A32 76 <p_>SEVEN of Hull's Yorkshire Ta ble Tennis League sides went into
A32 77 action last week, with five ma tches taking place on H u mberside and
A32 78 the Mens II and Ladies tr avelling to Scarborough and Leeds
A32 79 respectively.<p/>
A32 80 <p_>Hull's Division 1 side got away to a winning start despite a
A32 81 maximum for Ashley Hodgson for Scarborough. Dave Randerson, Ian
A32 82 Parker and Mark Farnill each scored two victories for Hull II who
A32 83 ran out 6-4 winners.<p/>
A32 84 <p_>Hull III 9, Keighley 1. Dave Burnham and Mark W illiams (3 each)
A32 85 and newcomer from York, Chris Haynes (2) scored well in Hull III's
A32 86 runaway 9-1 win over Keighley.<p/>
A32 87 <p_>Leeds II 6. Hull Ladies 4. Hull Ladies, with Irene and Nicky
A32 88 Thompson, the first mother and daughter com bination to represent
A32 89 the county both winning twice, went down 6-4 to Leeds II.<p/>
A32 90 <p_>Hull Vet 3, York 7. Mick Farnill (2), Dave Bartlett scored wins
A32 91 as Hull Vets went down 7-3 to York. Terry Jarvis won twice as Hull
A32 92 Vet II lost 8-2 to Bradford. Hull Vet III were 7-3 winners over
A32 93 Halifax with seven games going the distance. Alan Hedley (3), Ron
A32 94 Wicks and Mick North (2) were in good form for Hull IV as they
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