Antonymy: A Corpus-Based Perspective (Routledge Advances in Corpus Linguistics) PDF
Preview Antonymy: A Corpus-Based Perspective (Routledge Advances in Corpus Linguistics)
Antonymy Antonymy is the technical name used to describe ‘opposites’, pairs of words such as poor/rich, love/hate and male/female. Antonyms are a ubiquitous part of everyday language, and this book provides a detailed, comprehensive account of the phenomenon. As well as re-appraising traditional semantic theory and re-evaluating existing categories of antonymy, the book raises wider issues, such as: Where do new antonyms come from? (cid:1) Which pairs can be regarded as ‘good opposites’? (cid:1) Why do antonyms tend to favour a particular sequence in text? (cid:1) Does word class affect the function of antonymy? (cid:1) These questions are addressed from a corpus-based perspective, using statisti- cal evidence derived from a 280-million-word corpus of newspaper text. Fresh, empirical statements are made about antonymy, and over 350 authentic examples of how ‘opposites’ function in the text are recorded and analysed. This book demonstrates how traditional linguistic theory can be revisited, updated and challenged in the corpus age. It is essential reading for anybody with a particular interest in antonymy or a more general concern about semantics or corpus linguistics. Steven Jones is a lecturer in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Central Lancashire. Routledge advances in corpus linguistics Edited by Anthony McEnery Lancaster University, UK and Michael Hoey Liverpool University, UK Corpus-based linguistics is a dynamic area of linguistic research. The series aims to reflect the diversity of approaches to the subject, and thus to provide a forum for debate and detailed discussion of the various ways of building, exploiting and theorising about the use of corpora in language studies. 1 Swearing in English Anthony McEnery 2 Antonymy A corpus-based perspective Steven Jones 3 Modelling Variation in Spoken and Written English David Lee Antonymy A corpus-based perspective Steven Jones London and New York First published 2002 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004. © 2002 Steven Jones All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Jones, Steven, 1974– Antonymy: a corpus based perspective / Steven Jones. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Antonyms—Data processing. P325.5.A48 J66 2002 401(cid:1).43—dc21 2001058888 ISBN 0-203-16625-6 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-26085-6 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0–415–26374–3(Print Edition) To Mum and Dad, my favourite antonymous pair Contents List of tables x Foreword xi Acknowledgements xvii 1 The ‘unique fascination’ of antonymy 1 ‘Opposites’ or ‘antonyms’? 1 Why study antonymy? 2 Omnipresent antonyms 7 2 A brief history of antonymy 9 Defining antonymy 9 Traditional categories of antonymy 11 Intuitive approaches vs. data-based approaches 20 Antonymy and corpora 21 Antonymy then and now 23 3 Approaching antonymy afresh: issues of data and methodology 25 Creating the database 25 Classifying the database 35 Database distribution 39 4 New classes of antonymy I: Ancillary Antonymy 45 What is Ancillary Antonymy? 45 A taxonomy of B-pairs 48 How ancillary are A-pairs? 53 Parallelism 56 Conjunctions 57 A-pair/B-pair detachment 59 The ancillary effect 60 viii Contents 5 New classes of antonymy II: Coordinated Antonymy 61 Distribution of Coordinated Antonymy 61 Frameworks of Coordinated Antonymy 63 Productivity of Coordinated Antonymy 73 The coordinated effect 74 6 New classes of antonymy III: minor classes 75 Comparative Antonymy 76 Distinguished Antonymy 81 Transitional Antonymy 85 Negated Antonymy 88 Extreme Antonymy 91 Idiomatic Antonymy 93 Residual database sentences 95 Major classes vs. minor classes 102 7 The endemicity of antonymy 104 Antonymy and co-occurrence 104 The average antonymous pair 114 ‘Good opposites’ 117 So is antonymy endemic? 118 8 Antonym sequence 120 Sequence statistics 120 Sequence rules 123 Why are sequence rules sometimes ignored? 131 Antonyms: irreversible or idiomatic? 136 9 Antonymy, word class and gradability 138 Does word class affect the function of antonymy? 138 Does gradability affect the function of antonymy? 149 Different pairs, similar usage 153 10 Tomorrow’s antonyms 154 Framework productivity 154 Seed word 1: good 156 Seed word 2: natural 160 Seed word 3: style 164 Is antonymous profiling possible? 166 Contents ix 11 Antonymy: past, present and future 168 Antonymy past 168 Antonymy present 171 Antonymy future 175 So what is antonymy then? 178 Appendix 180 Notes 181 Bibliography 188 Index 191
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