At first sight, prayers and letters might appear to be completely different genres. In fact, they show similarities, which make them worth comparing. A typical feature of prayers and letters is “the high involvement of the addressor with the addressee and the fact that the addressor performs speech acts which directly aim at the addressee” (Kohnen forthcoming b: 5). One can say that the basic communicative setting in both genres is similar.
This study will provide a corpus-based linguistic description and comparison of adjective use in prayers, private letters and official letters from the 16th century. Besides the analysis of the individual text types, there will be an analysis of different functional text sections within these three text types.
The linguistic analysis will be on the level of morphology, semantics and syntax. The morphological analysis concentrates on the method and distribution of comparison. In the semantic analysis, the adjectives will be grouped into semantic categories and it will be looked at the distribution of these categories in different text sections. Concerning syntactic aspects, there are two aims. Firstly, it will be distinguished between attributive, predicative and postpositive adjectives. The second aim is to look at occurrences, where more than one adjective modifies a noun phrase and additionally, the composition of these constructions will be considered with regard to the semantic categories the adjectives belong to.
The overall aim of this paper is to find out differences and similarities in these genres and text sections with regard to adjective use and to look at the effect they have on the language.
Kohnen writes concerning prayers that except for the work by Crystal and Davy, Investigating English Style from 1969, “there are hardly any linguistic descriptions, leave alone corpus-based studies” (forthcoming b: 1). On the other hand, there are many studies on letters from the Early Modern English Period, and it would go beyond the scope of this introduction to give an overview of the current status of research. However, what can be said is that there have not been quantitative studies on adjectives, providing a detailed description of the above mentioned text types and different functional text sections.
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Theoretical Background
- 2.1 Grammatical aspects of adjectives
- 2.1.1 Morphological aspects
- 2.1.2 Semantic aspects
- 2.1.3 Syntactic aspects
- 2.2 Background information on Prayers
- 2.3 Background information on letters
- 3. Linguistic analysis and discussion of the findings
- 3.1 Analysis of the prayer corpus
- 3.1.1 Morphology
- 3.1.2 Semantics
- 3.1.3 Syntax
- 3.2 Analysis of the private letter corpus
- 3.2.1 Morphology
- 3.2.2 Semantics
- 3.2.3 Syntax
- 3.3 Analysis of the official letter corpus
- 3.3.1 Morphology
- 3.3.2 Semantics
- 3.3.3 Syntax
Objectives and Key Themes
This study aims to provide a corpus-based linguistic comparison of adjective use in 16th-century prayers and letters (both private and official). The analysis will investigate morphological, semantic, and syntactic aspects of adjective usage across these genres and within different functional sections of each text type. The overall goal is to identify similarities and differences in adjective use that reflect the characteristics of each genre and its communicative purpose. * Comparative analysis of adjective usage across different genres (prayers, private letters, official letters). * Investigation of morphological variations in adjective forms and their distribution. * Examination of semantic categories of adjectives and their distribution across text types. * Analysis of syntactic functions of adjectives (attributive, predicative, postpositive). * Exploration of the relationship between adjective use and the communicative purpose of the texts.Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the study's topic—a corpus-based comparison of adjective use in 16th-century prayers and letters. It establishes the similarities between prayers and letters in terms of addressor-addressee interaction and speech acts. The study's objectives are clearly outlined: to provide a linguistic description and comparison of adjective use across three text types (prayers, private letters, official letters), focusing on morphological, semantic, and syntactic aspects. The chapter highlights the lack of previous corpus-based studies specifically focusing on adjectives in 16th-century prayers and the need for a quantitative analysis of adjectives in these genres, particularly considering different functional text sections. The chapter concludes by introducing the corpora used (Corpus of English Religious Prose and the Helsinki Corpus) and briefly summarizing the methodology. 2. Theoretical Background: This chapter establishes the theoretical foundation for the linguistic analysis. It first delves into the grammatical aspects of adjectives, covering morphological (comparison methods in Early Modern English), semantic (different classifications from various grammars), and syntactic (attributive, predicative, and postpositive uses) features. This section lays the groundwork for the subsequent analysis by presenting the relevant grammatical frameworks and highlighting the variations in adjective use between Early Modern English and Present-Day English. Following the grammatical overview, the chapter provides essential background information on the specific text types under investigation (prayers and letters), which is crucial for understanding the contextual nuances of the linguistic analysis in the later chapters.Keywords
Corpus linguistics, adjective use, 16th-century English, prayers, letters, morphology, semantics, syntax, Early Modern English, genre analysis, quantitative analysis, Helsinki Corpus, Corpus of English Religious Prose.
Frequently Asked Questions: Corpus-Based Linguistic Comparison of Adjective Use in 16th-Century Prayers and Letters
What is the main topic of this study?
This study focuses on a corpus-based linguistic comparison of adjective use in 16th-century prayers and letters (both private and official). It investigates morphological, semantic, and syntactic aspects of adjective usage across these genres and within different functional sections of each text type to identify similarities and differences reflecting the characteristics and communicative purposes of each genre.
What are the objectives of this study?
The study aims to provide a linguistic description and comparison of adjective use across three text types (prayers, private letters, official letters). This includes a comparative analysis of adjective usage across different genres, investigation of morphological variations and distribution, examination of semantic categories and their distribution, analysis of syntactic functions (attributive, predicative, postpositive), and exploration of the relationship between adjective use and the communicative purpose of the texts.
What theoretical background is used in this study?
The study's theoretical foundation includes a review of the grammatical aspects of adjectives, covering their morphological features (including comparison methods in Early Modern English), semantic classifications from various grammars, and syntactic functions (attributive, predicative, and postpositive uses). It also provides background information on the specific text types (prayers and letters) to understand the contextual nuances of the linguistic analysis.
What corpora are used in this study?
The study utilizes the Corpus of English Religious Prose and the Helsinki Corpus.
What are the key themes explored in the study?
Key themes include comparative genre analysis of adjective use in 16th-century prayers and letters (private and official), morphological variation in adjective forms, semantic categorization of adjectives, syntactic functions of adjectives, and the relationship between adjective usage and communicative purpose.
What is the methodology of the study?
The study employs a corpus-based approach, using quantitative analysis to examine adjective usage in the chosen corpora. The methodology involves detailed analysis of morphological, semantic, and syntactic aspects of adjectives across different genres and functional text sections.
What are the chapter summaries?
Chapter 1 (Introduction): Introduces the study's topic, objectives, corpora, and methodology. Highlights the lack of previous corpus-based research on adjectives in 16th-century prayers. Chapter 2 (Theoretical Background): Provides the grammatical framework for the analysis, covering morphological, semantic, and syntactic aspects of adjectives in Early Modern English and background information on prayers and letters.
What are the keywords associated with this study?
Corpus linguistics, adjective use, 16th-century English, prayers, letters, morphology, semantics, syntax, Early Modern English, genre analysis, quantitative analysis, Helsinki Corpus, Corpus of English Religious Prose.
What kind of analysis is performed in the study?
The study performs a quantitative analysis of adjective usage across different genres (prayers, private and official letters), focusing on morphological, semantic, and syntactic aspects. This includes analyzing the frequency and distribution of different adjective forms, semantic categories, and syntactic functions within and across text types.
- Arbeit zitieren
- André Valente (Autor:in), 2009, A corpus-based study on adjective use in 16th century prayers and letters, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/163190
