Semantic Prosody in Middle Construction Predicates: Exploring Adverb + Verb Collocation in Middles

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore the collocation Adverb + Verb in the English middle construction in the particular cases of four of the most productive predicates found in the construction (cut, drive, handle, and sell) [Levin 1993] in combination with Facility, Time and Quality-oriented adverbs/adverbial phrases [Heyvaert 2001, 2003; Davidse and Heyvaert 2007]. The data collection process is conducted through a corpus of contextualized examples taken from three different sources, and aiming at the compilation of a trustful catalogue of instances which includes formal and textual, as well as written manifestations of spoken conversations, and even cyber language. The sources used are the BNC, the COCA, and the MBLA-SC [Maroto 2019]. The total number of instances examined is 207. The data analyzed reveals that Adverb + Verb collocations in middle constructions which include the predicates and the adjuncts previously mentioned possess a chiefly positive semantic prosody [Oster and van Lawick 2008]. Such positive semantic prosody is provided by the semantics of the adverb/adverbial phrase in question, not by the semantics of the verb or the noun. Moreover, the productiveness of middle Adverb + Verb collocations involving a positive semantic prosody is assumed as a clear indication of the connection between this grammatical structure and its use in both real life and literature, mainly found in contexts which embroil the promotion or foregrounding of the inherent qualities and selling skills of a given product, as it happens in the field of advertisement.