Usage of but in general
The following facts and deductions are taken from the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. This book is a corpus-based grammatical study whose authors used the British National Corpus and the Longman Spoken American Corpus as their main sources. (1) I think he will have salad but he doesn’t like tomatoes. (CONV) (2) A: The golden rule is if you’re reversing you must look behind you! B: Yeah, but she said she did. (CONV) (3) A: If perhaps you were to spread erm – a wire netting over the pond Mollie? B: Well yes I know, but I’m not having that! But erm – what I am going to do but I can’t do it until – the spring. (CONV)1 The registers in the Longman Spoken and Written Corpus are conversation (CONV), fiction (FICT), news (NEWS) and academic prose (ACAD). This selection of the above sentences supports the theory that the word but is most frequent in conversation (and fiction), and least frequent in academic prose. The high frequency of but can be explained by the high frequency of negatives in conversation. Negation and contrast are closely related topics. Moreover, conversation is interactive. The high frequency in both cases results from this interactivity. “The speaker can use but to modify a statement (1), and the addressee can use it to express a contrary opinion, refute a statement by the interlocutor, reject a suggestion, etc. (2, 3)”. 2
The distribution of but in the other registers is more difficult to explain: One answer to the question of low frequency in academic prose may be that contrast is more often expressed by other words in that register. “Forms such as although, however, nevertheless, and on the other hand are more frequent in academic prose than in the other registers.”3 Another interesting finding is that of but as a sentence/turn- initial coordinator. Although it is said that placing a coordinator at the beginning of an orthographic sentence is not right on the level of style, coordinators are quite frequent in this position in actual texts. But, for example, is very likely to be found in sentence/turn- initial position. But the frequencies are higher in fiction and news reportage than in academic writing. This probably shows that especially dialogue in fiction and quoted speech in news include more spontaneous reactions. Furthermore, in written texts, sentence-initial coordinators often occur at paragraph boundaries...
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- 1 INTRODUCTION
- 1.1 Usage of but in general
- 1.2 FUNCTIONS of BUT
- 2 MATERIAL AND METHOD
- 3 RESULTS
- 4 SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
The objective of this study is to analyze the meanings and functions of the word "but" in the English language, drawing on corpus linguistic methods. The analysis focuses on the distribution and usage of "but" across different registers of spoken and written English.
- The frequency and distribution of "but" in different registers (conversation, fiction, news, academic prose).
- The grammatical functions of "but" (conjunction, preposition, adverb, part of a complex structure).
- The role of "but" as a sentence/turn-initial coordinator and its pragmatic implications.
- The relationship between the usage of "but" and negation/contrast.
- Analysis of "but" in the ICE-GB corpus.
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
1 INTRODUCTION: This introductory chapter lays the groundwork for the study by examining the general usage of "but" based on the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English, a corpus-based study utilizing the British National Corpus and the Longman Spoken American Corpus. It establishes that "but" is most frequent in conversation and fiction, and least frequent in academic prose, connecting this to the high frequency of negatives and the interactive nature of conversation. The chapter also explores the less straightforward distribution of "but" in other registers, suggesting that alternative words expressing contrast are more common in academic prose. Finally, it highlights the interesting phenomenon of "but" as a sentence/turn-initial coordinator, often found at paragraph boundaries in written texts, creating a marked effect and suggesting more spontaneous reactions in fiction and news compared to academic writing. The examples provided illustrate the diverse contexts in which "but" appears.
2 MATERIAL AND METHOD: This chapter details the methodology employed in the research. The study utilizes the ICE-GB sample corpus, containing 21,809 words of spoken and written texts from 1990-1993. The researcher employs the 'Variable Query' function to search across separate text categories, facilitating the investigation of differences between written and spoken English. The ICE-GB corpus, automatically tagged and parsed by the TOSCA tagger, allows for analysis using 'Text Fragment Query', 'Category', and 'Features' functions. The appendix includes a printed version of the ‘Text Fragment Query’ results for the word "but".
3 RESULTS: This chapter presents the quantitative findings of the study. The total frequency of "but" in the ICE-GB corpus is 104, occurring with a probability of 0.48%, meaning it appears at least once in every 209 words. A table illustrates the distribution of "but's" different functions: coordinating conjunction (34.6%), preposition (1.9%), adverb (1%), complex subordinator (62.5%). The analysis reveals that almost two-thirds of the uses of "but" function as connectors, including instances where it acts as an initiator linked to the following element, as well as all instances functioning as turn-openers in dialogues.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
Corpus linguistics, English grammar, conjunction, "but," register variation, spoken English, written English, ICE-GB corpus, word function, sentence-initial coordinator, negation, contrast.
Frequently Asked Questions: Analysis of "But" in English
What is the overall objective of this study?
This study aims to analyze the meanings and functions of the word "but" in English, utilizing corpus linguistic methods. The focus is on "but's" distribution and usage across different registers of spoken and written English.
What are the key themes explored in the study?
The study explores the frequency and distribution of "but" across various registers (conversation, fiction, news, academic prose), its grammatical functions (conjunction, preposition, adverb, part of a complex structure), its role as a sentence/turn-initial coordinator and its pragmatic implications, the relationship between "but" and negation/contrast, and a detailed analysis of "but" within the ICE-GB corpus.
Which corpus is used in this research and how is it analyzed?
The primary corpus used is the ICE-GB corpus, a collection of spoken and written texts. The analysis leverages the corpus's tagging and parsing capabilities, employing functions like 'Variable Query', 'Text Fragment Query', 'Category', and 'Features' to investigate the different uses of "but" in various text categories.
What are the main findings regarding the frequency and distribution of "but"?
The word "but" appears with a probability of 0.48% in the ICE-GB corpus (approximately once every 209 words). It's most frequent in conversation and fiction, and least frequent in academic prose. The study also notes that alternative words expressing contrast are more common in academic prose than "but".
How does the study categorize the grammatical functions of "but"?
The study categorizes the grammatical functions of "but" as follows: coordinating conjunction (34.6%), preposition (1.9%), adverb (1%), and complex subordinator (62.5%). A significant portion (almost two-thirds) of its uses function as connectors, including instances as an initiator linked to a following element and as turn-openers in dialogues.
What is the significance of "but" as a sentence/turn-initial coordinator?
The study highlights the interesting use of "but" as a sentence/turn-initial coordinator, particularly at paragraph boundaries in written texts. This usage creates a marked effect and suggests more spontaneous reactions in fiction and news compared to academic writing.
What are the chapter summaries?
The study is organized into four chapters: Chapter 1 (Introduction) provides background on the general usage of "but"; Chapter 2 (Material and Method) details the methodology and corpus used; Chapter 3 (Results) presents the quantitative findings of the analysis; and Chapter 4 (Summary and Discussion), not fully detailed in this preview, likely summarizes the key findings and their implications.
What are the key words associated with this study?
Key words include: Corpus linguistics, English grammar, conjunction, "but," register variation, spoken English, written English, ICE-GB corpus, word function, sentence-initial coordinator, negation, and contrast.
- Quote paper
- Susanne Busch (Author), 2002, Meanings and Functions of But, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/37411
