The family of impersonal constructions in European Portuguese : an onomasiological constructional approach
In this thesis, I explore the constructions speakers of European Portuguese use to express the impersonal function in language. Impersonalisation is defined as a functional category which demotes or suppresses participants from the event scene through the construal speakers impose on the event being described. Impersonals also comprise types of events which naturally lack participants, such as natural events. In this thesis, I will focus specifically on impersonalisation as a device used by the speaker to demote or suppress the participants in the event frame and which rank higher in the semantic role hierarchy. Upon the investigation of a transcribed oral corpus of European Portuguese, and departing from the defmition of impersonalisation, the following constructions were identified which convey an impersonal meaning: se constructions (anticausative, passive, desubjective and potential se constructions), the periphrastic passive construction, nominalisations (action and de-adjectival nominals) and infinitival constructions, haver constructions, lexical constructions, and personal- and indefinitepronoun constructions. The construction grammar perspective enables the analysis of the above structures as pairings
Afonso, Susana Pinto Cavadas
The family of impersonal constructions in European Portuguese : an onomasiological constructional approach. In this thesis, I explore the constructions speakers of European Portuguese use to express the impersonal function in language. Impersonalisation is defined as a functional category which demotes or suppresses participants from the event scene through the construal speakers impose on the event being described. Impersonals also comprise types of events which naturally lack participants, such as natural events. In this thesis, I will focus specifically on impersonalisation as a device used by the speaker to demote or suppress the participants in the event frame and which rank higher in the semantic role hierarchy. Upon the investigation of a transcribed oral corpus of European Portuguese, and departing from the defmition of impersonalisation, the following constructions were identified which convey an impersonal meaning: se constructions (anticausative, passive, desubjective and potential se constructions), the periphrastic passive construction, nominalisations (action and de-adjectival nominals) and infinitival constructions, haver constructions, lexical constructions, and personal- and indefinitepronoun constructions. The construction grammar perspective enables the analysis of the above structures as pairings
family impersonal construction european portuguese constructional approach explore construction speaker european portuguese use_express impersonal function_language define functional_category suppress participant event scene construal speaker impose event describe also comprise type event naturally lack participant natural event focus_specifically device_use speaker suppress participant event frame rank higher semantic_role hierarchy upon investigation transcribe oral corpus european portuguese depart follow construction identify convey impersonal meaning construction passive potential construction passive construction action adjectival nominal construction lexical construction personal construction construction grammar perspective enables analysis structure