A Constructional Approach to Interpersonal Metaphor of Modality (Peking University Linguistics Research, 7)

This book is a current and comprehensive study that incorporates constructional frameworks to inquire grammatical metaphor of modality (MM) for more adequate description and explanation of grammatical metaphor. It conducts semantic analysis of MM via a refined cognitive model and investigation of its lexicogrammatical forms from corpus-based constructional approach. The result is a reliable and systemic record of MM in real use, coupled with theoretical refinement from a cognitive perspective to illuminate its ‘metaphoricity’ motivation. The constructional approach and methodology exemplified in this book provide fresh insights, rich data, and a feasible solution for the adequate description and explanation of grammatical metaphor phenomena and the form-meaning interactive complexity in modality. Acknowledgments 6 Contents 7 Abbreviations and Acronyms 10 List of Figures 12 List of Tables 13 1 Introduction 14 1.1 Form-Meaning Mapping and Grammatical Metaphor 14 1.2 Defining Interpersonal Metaphor of Modality 15 1.3 Goals of This Book 16 1.4 Theoretical Orientation 16 1.5 Methodology Prospects 17 1.6 Outline of the Book 18 References 18 2 GM Theory and Interpersonal Metaphor of Modality 20 2.1 The Theory of Grammatical Metaphor 20 2.1.1 Clarification of Key Notions 20 2.1.2 The Development of GM Theory 21 2.1.3 Ideational Metaphor and Interpersonal Metaphor 25 2.1.4 The Current State of GM Studies 28 2.2 The Systemic Functional Approach to Modality 30 2.3 SFL Approach to Interpersonal Metaphor of Modality 31 2.4 The Semiotic Grammar Alternative to Metaphor of Modality 33 2.5 The Problems with GM Theory and MM Studies 35 2.6 Summary 37 References 38 3 Towards a Constructional Approach to Metaphor of Modality 41 3.1 General Research Questions 41 3.2 Constructional Approaches to Grammar 42 3.2.1 Cognitive Grammar as a Construction Grammar 43 3.2.2 Cognitive Construction Grammar 44 3.3 Subjectivity from a Constructional Perspective 46 3.3.1 Modality and Subjectivity 46 3.3.2 Subjectivity and Intersubjectivity from a Constructional Perspective 49 3.4 Towards the Constructional Approach to Metaphor of Modality 52 3.5 The Usage-Based Model 55 3.6 The Corpus-Linguistic Methodology 57 3.7 Summary 59 References 59 4 The Semantic Motivation of MM 62 4.1 Theoretical Basis 62 4.2 The Proposal of a Refined Model 67 4.3 The Semantic Analysis of MM 70 4.4 Summary 74 References 75 5 The Lexical and Syntactic Properties of MM 77 5.1 The Usage-Based Model and Corpus-Based Method 77 5.2 The Syntactic Properties of MM 81 5.2.1 Problems with Constituency Analysis 81 5.2.2 The Syntagmatic Structure of MM 84 5.3 [It be ADJ that P] Construction 86 5.3.1 The Productivity of the Construction 86 5.3.2 The Lexical Properties of the Construction 90 5.4 [I VMental that P] Construction 97 5.5 [I be ADJ that P] Construction 110 5.6 Summary 112 References 112 6 The Pragmatics and Discourse Functions of MM 115 6.1 Discourse as the Research Instrument 115 6.2 [I VMental that P] Constructions 117 6.2.1 Functions of the Construction in Discourse 117 6.2.2 The Distributional Features of the Construction 122 6.3 [I VVerbal that P] Constructions 124 6.4 [It be ADJ that P] Construction 127 6.4.1 The Functions of This Construction in Discourse 128 6.4.2 The Distributional Features of the Construction 138 6.5 Summary 146 References 147 7 Conclusion 149 7.1 Summary of Major Findings 149 7.2 Implications and Contributions of the Study 151 7.3 Limitations and Future Research 152 Reference 153 Appendix A 154 Appendix B 158 Appendix C 169 Appendix D 172 Appendix E 174 Bibliography 177