Light verb semantics in the<i>International Corpus of English</i>: onomasiological variation, identity evidence and degrees of lightness

Mehl, Seth

doi:10.1017/s1360674317000302

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…In their study, light verbs with higher frequency are more often used in British English, whereas light verbs with lower frequency tend to be more actively used in Irish English (Ronan and Schneider, 2015). Similar cross-regional investigations of Asia English versions have been carried out by Hoffmann et al (2011) and Mehl (2017), but show different results in onomasiological preferences. These previous studies illustrate that exploring the common and specific features of LVCs across languages or varieties is weighted toward LVC detection in machine translation and L2 acquisition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Walking out of the light verb jungle: Exploring the translation strategies of light verb constructions in Chinese–English consecutive interpreting

2023

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Cross-linguistic features of light verb constructions (LVCs) profile a major facet of the typological difference between Chinese and English. By adopting a theory-driven, context-based interpreting task, this study explores the effectiveness and variability of translation strategies in dealing with 12 target LVCs extracted from a Chinese–English Consecutive Interpreting test to capture effective translation strategies fit for Chinese English-as-foreign-language (EFL) learners (N = 66). Appropriate rates and entropy values denoting variability of strategy selection are calculated by using 12 LVC segments and nine strategies, respectively. A correlation test is also carried out for vocabulary knowledge and the appropriate rates of LVCs to assess the efficacy of learners’ vocabulary knowledge in interpreting performance. Results show the general preferences for strategy selection among Chinese EFL learners as well as typical structural patterns in LVC translation. The degree of lightness of the light verbs exerts a reverse effect on the appropriate rates and consistency of strategy selection, and the positive correlation between vocabulary knowledge and LVCs’ appropriate rates suggests the need to incorporate the constructional teaching into the EFL learning curriculum. Thus felicitous conditions of applying the strategies have been proposed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Walking out of the light verb jungle: Exploring the translation strategies of light verb constructions in Chinese–English consecutive interpreting

2023

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“…order, determine). 15 In Mehl (2019), there is a mismatch between the information given in Tables 3 and 4 and the corresponding Figures 3 and 4. Here, we have used the counts listed in the tables.…”

Section: Aspect Ratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Drawing on principles of perception: The line plot

Sönning¹

2022

Preprint

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This paper draws attention to a display type that outperforms many competitors in the face of complexity: the line plot. Though familiar to most (if not all) linguists, this graph type is commonly associated with time series data. The true potential of line plots arguably unfolds in settings with multiple discrete (categorical) predictors, however. In such analytic settings, which are often encountered in corpus-based work, line plots are currently outnumbered by bar charts in the research literature. Our aim is to draw attention to this alternative tool and discuss its added value. Drawing on theoretical and empirical insights into visual perception, design recommendations are set forth, ranging from the choice of visual attributes to the arrangement of variables in the display. Their application to corpus data is demonstrated by redesigning selected graphs from the literature. While the drawbacks of this visual form deserve careful consideration, this paper argues for a more widespread usage of line plots for the communication of (corpus) linguistic data.

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“…Since Jespersen (1965), the so-called light verb constructions have been a highly debated topic in the literature, and have been the object of research in some different languages. According to Mehl (2017) "English light verbs have been an object of linguistic study for nearly a century, and have often been defined in primarily semantic terms" (p. 3). Studies conducted in English include Wierzbicka (1982Wierzbicka ( , 1988, Cattell (1984), Dixon (1991), Stein (1991), Kearns (2002), and Butt (2010).…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies conducted in English include Wierzbicka (1982Wierzbicka ( , 1988, Cattell (1984), Dixon (1991), Stein (1991), Kearns (2002), and Butt (2010). Besides, studies of LVCs have been conducted on a variety of languages: Mehl (2017), a study on LVCs in Singapore English, Hong Kong English, and British English; Montaut (2016), a study on Indian; Korn (2013), a study on Iranian; Nolan (2014), a study on Irish; Chae (1996), a study on Korean; Nazir (2014), a study on Potwari. Moreover, studies on LVCs have been conducted on German.…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

In Light Verb Constructions, the Verb is Light in English, but the Matter is Different in Quranic Arabic

Khallaf¹

2022

مجلة البحث العلمی فی الآداب

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Though light verb constructions have been in the focus of linguistic analysis in English for a fair time, there is no full-fledged linguistic study that tackles such a linguistic phenomenon in Arabic, especially Quranic Arabic. Thus, this paper throws light on such a unique construction in both languages, focusing on the peculiarities that make it so prevalent in Quranic Arabic. The study is divided into two parts. In the first part, light verb constructions in English are discussed, showing their structure, their pros and cons, and justifications for and objections to using them. In the second part, composite predicate (a more suitable term than light verb constructions) is used to refer to periphrastic constructions in Quranic Arabic. In this part, as opposed to light verb constructions in English which have only one function, six functions of the composite predicate in Quranic Arabic are set forth. These functions include 1. obviating ambiguity resulting from the use of a polysemous simple verb, 2. expressing continuity and eternity of an action when a specific aspectual property is intended, 3. compensating for the nonexistence of a corresponding simple verb, 4. evoking certain psychological and mental effects, 5. avoiding dysphemism, and 6. expressing the perfection of performing some rituals.

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Light verb semantics in theInternational Corpus of English: onomasiological variation, identity evidence and degrees of lightness

Cited by 8 publications

References 37 publications

Walking out of the light verb jungle: Exploring the translation strategies of light verb constructions in Chinese–English consecutive interpreting

Walking out of the light verb jungle: Exploring the translation strategies of light verb constructions in Chinese–English consecutive interpreting

Drawing on principles of perception: The line plot

In Light Verb Constructions, the Verb is Light in English, but the Matter is Different in Quranic Arabic

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