A Semantic Approach to Examining English Causative Constructions (Published)
This phraseological study argues that the causative construction [make Object to Verb] ([make O to V]) derived from [make O V] is acceptable when a semantic approach is adopted, and clarifies that: (i) the essence of communication is to convey meaning, which is reflected in syntactic patterns and (ii) semantics takes priority over syntactic patterns. The semantic and syntactic features of [make O to V] were semantically examined and the extended constructions in other causative constructions, such as [get O to V], [have O V], and [let O V], were assessed. Because these are generally low-frequency, age-old contemporary English constructions, the derived constructions with causative usages, such as [make O to V], [get O V], [have O to V], and [let O to V], were found to be hindered by prescriptive grammar. As this study was focused on meaning, examining usages considered incorrect can reveal new unobserved language aspects.
Keywords: Phraseology, age-old usage, causative constructions, corpus-based, semantics over syntax
Functional Conversions of Phraseological Units Working As Prepositions (Published)
This research presents examples from corpora where ‘in spite of’ directly follows clauses and behaves like a conjunction although the phenomenon has not been widely acknowledged and has been regarded as a mistake. This study empirically investigates whether ‘in spite of’ and other group prepositions expressing concession cause a functional shift from a preposition to a conjunction without causing any morphological changes. The research procedure is as follows: (i) The frequency of [in spite of + SV] in universally available corpora is shown from synchronic and diachronic perspectives; (ii) it is clarified how [in spite of + SV] is used in context, semantically and syntactically; (iii) what influences the establishment and functional conversion of [in spite of + SV] into a conjunction is explained; and (iv) whether other phraseological units expressing concession express the same phenomenon as [in spite of + SV] is explored based on quantitative and qualitative viewpoints.
Keywords: Concession, Conjunction, Corpus-Based Research, Functional Shift, Group Prepositions, Phraseological Units, Phraseology