Two fundamental aspects of conceptual and linguistic structure are examined in relation to one another: organization into
strata, each a
baseline giving rise to the next by
elaboration; and the conceptions of
reality implicated at successive levels of English clause structure.
[...] Read more.
Two fundamental aspects of conceptual and linguistic structure are examined in relation to one another: organization into
strata, each a
baseline giving rise to the next by
elaboration; and the conceptions of
reality implicated at successive levels of English clause structure. A clause profiles an
occurrence (event or state) and
grounds it by assessing its epistemic status (location vis-à-vis reality). Three levels are distinguished in which different notions of reality correlate with particular structural features. In
baseline clauses, grounded by “tense,” the profiled occurrence belongs to
baseline reality (the established history of occurrences).
Basic clauses incorporate perspective (passive, progressive, and perfect), and since grounding includes the grammaticized modals, as well as negation,
basic reality is more elaborate. A basic clause expresses a
proposition, comprising the grounded structure and the epistemic status specified by basic grounding. At higher strata, propositions are themselves subject to epistemic assessment, in which conceptualizers negotiate their validity; propositions accepted as valid constitute
propositional reality. Propositions are assessed through
interactive grounding, in the form of questioning and polarity focusing, and by
complementation, in which the matrix clause indicates the status of the complement.
Full article
