Adverb orientation: semantics and pragmatics

ELIA 3, 2002, 299-315 ADVERB ORIENTATION: SEMANTICS AND PRAGMATICS José Ma ía Ga cía Núñez Uni e sidad de Cádiz O ien a ion is a well known p ope y o some ad e bs in English. Ea ly app oaches o he opic simply o e ed a sys ema isa ion o pa aph ase ela ions be ween hese ad e bs and he co esponding adjec i es. Cu en cogni i e (Nakamu a, 1997) and E en Logic (Ga cía Núñez, 1999) app oaches ha e disco e ed simple seman ic componen s in ad e b o ien a ion. This s udy p esen s cases o Subjec O ien ed Ad e bs p agma ically o ien ed o non explici pa icipan s, and demons a es ha he p oposed analyses in e ms o simple meaning componen s p o ide a good basis o a p edic i e and explana o y accoun o ad e b o ien a ion o bo h explici and implici pa icipan s. Key wo ds: hema ically dependen ad e bs, e en ad e bs, ad e b scope, hema ic s uc u e, deon ic modali y 1. Ad e b o ien a ion Since Jackendo (1972), a numbe o ad e bs in English ha e been ci ed as exhibi ing he p ope y o o ien a ion. In e y gene al e ms, o ien a ion can be desc ibed as he p ocess by which he adjec i al oo o an ad e b can be asc ibed o some pa icipan in he e en modi ied by he ad e b; u he mo e, o ien a ion is assumed o a ge one pa icula a gumen : sen ence subjec . To illus a e his in oduc o y de ini ion, conside sen ences (1)-(4) and hei espec i e pa aph ases in he co esponding (a) sen ences. Es udios de lingüís ica inglesa aplicada 300 J.M. Ga cía Núñez ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315 (1) Ma ha willingly sen he sec e iles o John. (1a) Ma ha was willing o send he sec e iles o John (2) John was willingly sen he sec e iles by Ma ha. (2a) John was willing o be sen he sec e iles by Ma ha. (3) Ma ha wisely sen he sec e iles o John. (3a) I was wise o Ma ha/ Ma ha was wise o send he sec e iles o John. (4) John was wisely sen he sec e iles by Ma ha. (4a) I was wise o John/ John was wise o be sen he sec e iles by Ma ha. As can be seen in he examples, bo h ac i e and passi e subjec s can be a ge s o o ien a ion1. Some au ho s (McConnell-Gine 1982, E ns 1984, Wyne 1994) ha e no ed ha o ien a ion is a hema ically a he han a syn ac ically based 1 He e we omi cases o o ien a ion o passi e deep subjec s like he one in (i) (pa aph ased in (ii)). (i) John was sen he sec e iles wisely by Ma ha. (ii) John was sen he sec e iles in a wise manne by Ma ha. In o he wo ds, we will ocus on cases o wha can be e y gene ally classi ied as disjunc and p e e bal adjunc occu ences o ad e bs. The p e e bal adjunc occu ence o wisely in ac i e sen ences like (iii) is ambiguous be ween a subjec -o ien ed and a manne eading. He e we a e in e es ed only in he o me . (iii) Ma ha wisely sen he sec e iles o John. Lea ing ou pos e bal adjunc occu ences o o ien ed ad e bs will no a ec he discussion below. Ad e b o ien a ion: Seman ics and… 301 ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315 p ocess2. Sen ences whe e ad e b o ien a ion ails o ake place in he p esence o a subjec a e aken o cons i u e good e idence ha hema ic condi ions (mo e speci ically, agen i i y) a he han syn ac ic condi ions a e he key ea u e o o ien a ion. (5) * Ma ha eluc an ly ecei ed he le e . (6) * John was wisely seen by Ma ha. 2. O ien a ion: a seman ic/ p agma ic p oblem A less obse ed ac abou hese subjec -o ien ed ad e bs is ha some o hem can a imes be o ien ed o pa icipan s ou side he a gumen s uc u e o he sen ence, which is an amoun o saying ou side he explici con en o he u e ance. Qui k e al. (1981: 625-626) pu s o wa d and discuss examples like (6) and (7), whe e wisdom is asc ibed o some pa icipan in e able om he con ex o u e ance. (7) Wisely, he mee ing ended ea ly oday. (8) Wisely, Bill’s ca is in a ga age o e nigh h oughou he win e . In hese examples he pa icipan s whose wisdom is highligh ed by he ad e b, hough implici and in e able om con ex , a e s ill iden i iable as he indi iduals who b ough abou he e en s desc ibed in he sen ences, i.e., a e agen i e pa icipan s. Ano he impo an hing o no ice is ha o ien a ion o an implici agen in ol es sen ence modi ica ion, while o ien a ion o a hema ic agen in ol es VP modi ica ion. Tha is, in (7) and (8) he whole sen ence is judged wise and he pe son who caused he e en emains implici . On he o he hand, in (9) we ha e wo possible in e p e a ions: ei he he sinking o 2 The e is ne e heless a ia ion among hese au ho s as o how s ong he co espondence be ween syn ac ic and hema ic s uc u e is. They a e no hence equally likely o keep o he subjec -o ien a ion hypo hesis. 302 J.M. Ga cía Núñez ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315 he ship is judged as wise and Joan is he agen ha caused he e en , o he whole e en (including he agen ) is judged as wise; on he la e in e p e a ion he agen esponsible o he b inging abou o he e en mus again be an implici agen , someone who had Joan sink he ship. (9) Wisely, Joan sank he ship. I is impo an o no ice ha (7) and (8) a e no sui able con ex s o all ypes o o ien ed ad e bs. Willingly, which was classi ied as an o ien ed ad e b on a pa wi h wisely, canno o ien o an implici agen , as he unaccep abili y o (10) makes mani es . (10) * Willingly, he mee ing ended ea ly oday. Any solu ion o he p oblem o o ien a ion mus be consis en wi h he di e ences and simila i ies be ween o ien ed ad e bs. Failu e o do so will necessa ily mean missing he ac s abou he g amma / p agma ic dis inc ion, o hose abou he seman ic homogenei y o ad e b o ien a ion, espec i ely. On his ske chy i s app oxima ion o (7)-(10), we a e, on he one hand, dealing wi h he hema ic concep s (less so wi h he syn ac ic ones) ad oca ed by p e ious heo ies o ad e b o ien a ion, and, on he o he , eso ing o a p agma ic in e en ial p ocess which ce ainly goes beyond he limi s o syn ax o seman ics. In so doing, we ha e come ac oss he so o gene al heo e ical p oblem we wan o add ess in his wo k: how can p agma ics be made con inuous wi h g amma ?, how can g amma bias p agma ic in e en ial p ocesses? I is a his poin possible o se he goals o his wo k. Fi s o all, i seems necessa y o es ablish wha kind o linguis ic phenomenon o ien a ion is. Is i a g amma ically o a p agma ically cons ained phenomenon? Should we analyse ad e b o ien a ion as a ully g amma ically cons ained Ad e b o ien a ion: Seman ics and… 303 ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315 phenomenon, o should we le ou p agma ic abili ies do pa o he wo k? Secondly, do o ien ed ad e bs o m a homogeneous class, o a e he e di e ences be ween hem?, do hese di e ences impinge on o de e mine he kind o o ien a ion hey ealise? In he nex sec ion, we assess he empi ical bene i s o h ee heo e ical p oposals ha migh in p inciple be able o accoun o he e ised ac s. The i s wo ely on a ully g amma ical ea men o ad e b o ien a ion; he las one, he one we will a gue o he e, allows o a p agma ic ea men cons ained by seman ic ac o s. 3. G amma ically-based accoun s o ad e b o ien a ion The i s heo e ical possibili y we will explo e consis s in analysing ad e b o ien a ion oge he wi h o he hema ic phenomena as lexico-g amma ically speci ied. In his pe spec i e, subjec o ien ed ad e bs (SOAs hence o h) would assign hema ic p ope ies o a numbe o a gumen s in he s uc u e in which hey appea . This possibili y has been explo ed in ela ion o adjec i al modi ica ion and he hema ic s uc u e o NPs by Higginbo ham (1985). He a gues qui e con incingly ha modi ie s bea a hema ic g id o emp y a gumen s uc u e o hei own which, as i we e, is subo dina ed o he hema ic g id o he lexical ca ego y hey modi y and bo ows a gumen s om i . To illus a e his posi ion, conside wo sen ences like (11) and (12). (11) Ma y sank he ship. (12)Ma y willingly sank he ship. The p oposal unde e ision would claim ha he ansi i e e b sink in (11) con ains he g amma ical in o ma ion ha i s ex e nal a gumen is an Agen and i s in e nal a gumen a Theme/ Pa ien . Being a lexico- 304 J.M. Ga cía Núñez ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315 g amma ical speci ica ion, ailu e o mee his equi emen yields an ung amma ical exp ession. We can now, on he basis o his ske chy p esen a ion, hypo hesise wha would be he ough ou lines o a lexico-g amma ical ea men o ad e b o ien a ion: he hema ic g id o willingly in (12) would con ain an emp y slo o be illed by a hema ic agen in he a gumen s uc u e de ined by he p edica e sink. The p oposal would wo k accep ably well o willingly, which, acco ding o he e iewed ac s, sys ema ically o ien s o he Agen . Howe e , i would ail o accoun o he o ien a ion o sen ence-modi ying ca elessly o an implici agen . On his basis, we can p o isionally conclude ha ad e b o ien a ion o a hema ic Agen is encoded in he g amma ical con en o eluc an ly bu no in ha o ca elessly. An al e na i e heo e ical app oach would es on an iden i ica ion o o ien a ion possibili ies and s uc u al loca ions. As we ha e seen (c . oo no e 1) he wo ele an s uc u al loca ions a e p e e bal posi ion and sen ence posi ion. This app oach is he one adop ed by Jackendo (1972), Thomason and S alnake (1973), T a is (1988) o Bowe s (1993). All o hem ha e ied o accoun o he o ien a ion ac s on he assump ion ha syn ac ic posi ion su ices o cons ain in e p e a ion. Omi ing de ails abou he p ecise na u e o he heo ies launched, we can see ha hese p oposals wo k well in he case o p e e bal ad e bs (which o ien o agen a gumen s), bu can ha dly p o ide a s able a ge o o ien a ion in he case o sen ence SOAs ( he agen a gumen in he case o eluc an ly, he agen a gumen o an implici agen in he case o sen ence ca elessly). G amma ically-based accoun s o SOAs do no seem o gua an ee he empi ical co e age o he ac s pu sued in his wo k. In he ollowing sec ions, we p esen a heo y o SOAs which bo h u ges an in e ac i e iew o he seman ics/ p agma ics in e ace and yields empi ical bene i s in ela ion o he e ised ac s. Ad e b o ien a ion: Seman ics and… 305 ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315 4. Subjec -o ien ed ad e bs and deon ic modali y Nakamu a (1997) om a Cogni i e G amma pe spec i e, and Ga cía Núñez (1999) wi hin an E en Logic amewo k p o ide accoun s o ad e b o ien a ion which make use o wo in ima ely ied concep s: hema ic s uc u e and deon ic modali y3. The idea is ha SOAs exp ess some kind o deon ic e alua ion o he e en s which hey modi y4. Roughly, he ad e bs in (13) and (14) somehow e e o some pe son ( he speake in (13), he agen in (14)5) who judges he epo ed e en as undesi able o some eason o o he , and who is esponsible o he b inging abou o he ele an e en . (12) Ma ha oolishly pu he sec e iles ou on he ke b. (13) Ma ha eluc an ly pu he sec e iles ou on he ke b. Close conside a ion o hese cons i uen s o ad e b o ien a ion and hei g amma ical ealisa ions will lead, we belie e, o a ully explana o y accoun o he ac s and p oblems ske ched ou in sec ions 1 and 2 abo e. 3 The idea appea s mo e clea ly in Ga cía Núñez (1999) han in Nakamu a (1997), o his la e au ho , hough also iden i ying subjec o ien ed ad e bs wi h modal seman ics, ails o dis inguish be ween modal deon ic a ge ( he pe son who e alua es) and hema ic a ge ( he pe son esponsible o he ac ion). 4 As we a e no dealing he e wi h modalisa ion o non ac ual p oposi ions (as is he case wi h modal deon ic e bs), deon ic modali y should be unde s ood mo e in i s deside a i e ( igh / w ong e alua ing) han in i s ins umen al sense. A e all, as Lyons s a es in ela ion o deon ic modali y, “... he so-be-i componen (...) is in ended o ha e an ins umen al meaning, bu i may be assumed o ha e de eloped ou o , and o include, an on ogene ically p io deside a i e” (Lyons, 1977: 826). 5 As his dis inc ion p o es c ucial bo h o dis inguishing SOAs and o he e ised ac s, we will, ollowing Wyne ’s (1994) e minology, e e o wisely- ype SOAs as E en Ad e bs (EAs hence o h), and o eluc an ly- ype SOAs as Thema ically-Dependen Ad e bs (TDAs hence o h). The o me ad e bs a e also known as agen -o ien ed ad e bs (F ey 2000), he la e as men al a i ude ad e bs (E ns 2000). 306 J.M. Ga cía Núñez ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315 Once we accep ha o ien ed ad e bs a e like deon ic eadings o modal e bs, we simply ha e o eloca e concep s and ca ego ies which a e well-es ablished in modal seman ics. Fo example, i is ai ly uncon o e sial ha deon ic modal e bs equi e an agen , i.e., can only ope a e on a p oposi ion whose hema ic s uc u e includes an Agen , o whose p ocessing in a con ex in ol es he p esence o an agen . This can be seen in (15) (wi h an explici agen ) and (16) (wi h an implici agen ). (14) Ma ha mus pu he sec e iles away. (15) Ma ha mus ecei e he sec e iles omo ow (you/someone mus see o i ha she does). Likewise, modal deon ic e bs also imply an e alua o (a deon ic sou ce in Lyons’s (1977: 824) e ms). In bo h (15) and (16), his e alua o coincides wi h he speake ,a s he pa aph ases in (15a) and (16a), espec i ely, show. (15a) I is desi able om he speake ’s poin o iew ha Ma ha should pu he sec e iles away. (16a) I is desi able om he speake ’s poin o iew ha Ma ha should ecei e he sec e iles omo ow. The ac ha e alua o s can coincide wi h sen ence agen s is no a peculia i y o o ien ed ad e bs ei he . A deon ic modal e b like would a he also implies an agen i e e alua o . (16) Ma ha would a he keep he sec e iles in a sa e place. (17a) I is desi able om Ma ha’s poin o iew ha she should keep he sec e iles. A pa ial de ini ion o ad e b o ien a ion can be o e ed a his poin : i is he p ocess h ough which a subjec -o ien ed ad e b selec s an agen . This de ini ion is pa ial because i does no accoun o he pe cei ed syn ac ic di e ences in o ien a ion. In o he wo ds, he heo y will no be comple e Ad e b o ien a ion: Seman ics and… 307 ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315 un il his new concep ion o o ien a ion is shown o bea on he abo e e iewed syn ac ic cons ain s on o ien a ion. In o de o explain he syn ac ic ealisa ion o o ien a ion, i is necessa y o ake in o accoun he seman ic ype modi ied by he ele an ad e bs. In he ligh o a deon ic classi ica ion o o ien ed ad e bs, he ques ion o wha s a e o a ai s is modi ied by he ad e b becomes a cen al one. As is well known, deon ic modal e bs ope a e on p oposi ions exp essing po en ial o possible s a es o a ai s (s a es o e en s). Robe s (1986: 212-213) o Ga cía Núñez (1999: 439-442) claim ha TDAs and EAs modi y p edica es deno ing ac ual e en s. A so o complemen a y ela ion seems o ob ain: deon ic modali y as exp essed by modal e bs deno es he desi abili y o a s a e o a ai s which is o be b ough abou by some agen ; deon ic modali y as exp essed by an o ien ed ad e b deno es he desi abili y o an ac ual e en b ough abou by some agen . To pu i g aphically, he modal o ce o wo sen ences like (18) and (19) would di e in he way shown by (18a) and (19a). (17) Ma ha mus bu n ou he sec e iles (18a) Deon ic pole: desi able E alua o : speake Po en ial s a e o a ai s: Ma ha bu ns he sec e iles. (18) Ma ha wisely bu n ou he sec e iles (19a) Deon ic pole: desi able E alua o : speake Ac ual e en : Ma ha bu n he sec e iles. 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