Questioning the concept of predication

Jean-Pierre Gabilan

Abstract


It is a common practice to consider that all sentences can be divided into two separate units traditionally called subject (NP) and predicate (VP). Applying this type of analysis to all sentences poses a major problem, that of not being able then to tell apart sentences whose structures have nothing in common and whose purposes are totally different. Talking of predication for both: “She went to France”. and “She did go to France”. just does not make any sense in so far as the com­ponents of these two sentences do not have the same status at all. The meta-operational approach distinguishes between Subject + Verb (+ Object) and NP/VP types of sentences. In the latter case, the structure NP/VP codes a non assertive status of the units forming the sentence. The whole concept of predication must then be re-examined, which we propose to do in our presentation. Analyses are based on examples taken from French and English and will deal with grammatical items taken from both languages. A few words are said about German and Polish.


Keywords


predication; non assertive status; meta-operational approach

References


Adamczewski, H. (1975). Esquisse d’une théorie de DO. In : S. P. Corder, E. Roulet (eds.) Some Implications of Linguistic Theory for Applied Linguistics (pp. 47–55). Bruxelles : Aimav & Paris : Didier.

Adamczewski, H. (1976). Le Faire et le dire dans la grammaire de l’anglais. In : S. P. Corder, E. Roulet

(eds.). Theoretical Approaches in Applied Linguistics (pp. 71–84). Bruxelles : Aimav & Paris : Didier.

Adamczewski, H. (1991). Le Français déchiffré, Clé du langage et des langues. Paris : Armand Colin.

Gabilan, J.-P. (2006). Grammaire expliquée de l’anglais. Paris : Éditions Ellipses.

Gabilan, J.-P. (2011). L’imparfait français et ses traductions en anglais : approche méta-opérationnelle. Publication du laboratoire L. L. S. de l’Université de Savoie.

Guillaume, G. (1984). Langage et science du langage. Paris : Librairie A.-G. Nizet.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/ff.2018.36.1.69-86
Date of publication: 2018-11-05 11:24:36
Date of submission: 2018-02-01 09:34:01


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