Full-verb Inversion in Written and Spoken English: 127 (Linguistic Insights: Studies in Language and Communication) - Softcover

Prado Alonso, José Carlos

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3034305354 ISBN 13: 9783034305358

Publisher: Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, 2011

Synopsis

This book presents a comprehensive corpus-based analysis of full-verb inversion in present-day English. The author examines the distribution and pragmatic functions of full-verb inversion in different fictional and non-fictional text styles as well as in the spoken language. Surprisingly enough, inversion in oral communication has not yet received the attention it deserves, since most work on the topic has been restricted to the written language. It has often been claimed that full-verb inversion occurs mainly in written discourse, but these claims have not yet been backed up by a detailed corpus-based analysis. This book provides a more conclusive picture of the distribution of full inversion in speech and writing and analyses the distinct pragmatic functions that the construction serves in these two modes of communication.

About this title

About the Author

Carlos Prado-Alonso is a member of the research project Variation, Linguistic Change and Grammaticalization based in the Department of English and German of the University of Santiago de Compostela.

Edition details

• Publisher: Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3034305354
• ISBN 13: 9783034305358
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 261