Phrasal verbs in the spoken language of the past: Formal

and stylistic features

Paula Rodríguez-Puente University of Cantabria

CILC 2015 - Valladolid

Purpose

�  PVs related to spoken language in PDE, but not in EModE (Thim 2006a, 2012).

�  To analyse the formal and stylistic features of phrasal verbs in the OBC from 1720 to 1913.

�  Can PVs be related to spoken and colloquial styles between the LModE period and the 20th c.?

�  To compare the results from the OBC with those from previous research with ARCHER.

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The Old Bailey Corpus

�  14 million words.

�  Based on the Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London’s central criminal court.

�  It documents spoken English from 1720 to 1913.

�  Taken down in shorthand by scribes in the courtroom; verbatim and faithful representation of the spoken language of the time.

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Trial proceedings

Culpeper & Kytö (2010: 17)

�  Speech-based genres: genres based on a ‘real-life’ speech event, e .g. trial proceedings (not represented in ARCHER).

�  Speech-like texts: neither based on nor designed to be like speech, but which contain features which are speech-like, e.g. Letters and diaries.

�  Speech-purposed texts: designed to be articulated orally, either as monologues (sermons) or reproducing real-time interaction (drama).

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The data

�  Section of the OBC. �  Files organised in 4 periods: 1720-1749,

1750-1799, 1800-1849 and1850 to 1913. �  Ca. 100,000 words per sub-period; 150,000 for

the last one. �  XML tags: <speech>. �  Texts from a variety of years

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Period Filename Words Year Words per sub-

period 1720-1749 OBC-17250407 7,015 1725

105,453

1720-1749 OBC-17250630 6,273 1725 1720-1749 OBC-17250827 8,277 1725 1720-1749 OBC-17260420 8,695 1726 1720-1749 OBC-17300116 6,624 1730 1720-1749 OBC-17320906 29,529 1732 1720-1749 OBC-17450116 13,052 1745 1720-1749 OBC-17471014 25,853 1747 1750-1799 OBC-17520218 14,206 1752

101,729

1750-1799 OBC-17621020 14,493 1762 1750-1799 OBC-17780603 18,887 1778 1750-1799 OBC-17900224 54,143 1790 1800-1849 OBC-18020602 23,569 1802

100,853 1800-1849 OBC-18350615 35,577 1835 1800-1849 OBC-18430703 41,707 1843 1850-1913 OBC-18640229 44,510 1864

146,230 1850-1913 OBC-18930501 56,449 1893 1850-1913 OBC-19130304 45,271 1913

Total words 454,265 454,265 6

Procedure �  POS-tag �  WordSmith Tools 6 �  Tags (CLAWS):

o  RP: prep. adverb, particle (e.g about, in). 1)  With such like Discourse we pass’d away the Time till the

Company broke up. (1725-OBC-POS-17250827) 2)  I found a mass of them on his desk the books had been

getting behind. (1893-OBC-POS-18930501) 3)  [H]e ought then to bring forward the contribution book

to show who is in arrears. (1864-OBC-POS-18640229) 4)  Little boy do you want to go past? (1835-OBC-

POS-18350615) 5)  [T]hey [the handkerchieves] had all been pinned

together. (1843-OBC-POS-18430703)

o  RL: locative adverb (e.g. alongside, forward). 7

Definition of PVs

�  A combination of a verb plus a particle of adverbial nature which form a lexical and semantic unit to various degrees.

6)  So, I am looking after their interests. (BNC J9M S_meeting) – PREP. VERB

7)  Menzies was seething and he broke in on the last words. (BNC A0N W_fict_prose) – PHRASAL PREP- VERB

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Definition of PVs

�  Literal and idiomatic combinations (e.g. Bolinger 1971, Makkai 1972, Claridge 2000).

�  Idiomatic and non-idiomatic constructions share many syntactic characteristics.

�  Non-idiomatic combinations are “the core from which f igurat ive types are ult imately derived” (Claridge 2000: 47).

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Results: 5,512 examples

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Trial proceedings vs. other genres

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Trial proceedings vs. other genres

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Trial proceedings vs. other genres

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The particles

�  25 different types out of the 35 listed by Claridge (2000: 46)

aback, aboard, about, above, across, after, ahead, along, apart, around, ashore, aside, astray, asunder, away, back, behind, by, counter, down, forth, forward(s), home, in, off, on, out, over, past, round, through, to, together, under, up (Claridge 2000: 46)

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Particle Tokens Norm. Freq. aback 1 0.02 aboard 2 0.04 about 48 1.05 across 10 0.22 along 61 1.34 apart 1 0.02 aside 12 0.26 away 577 12.70 back 394 8.67 behind 9 0.19 by 28 0.61 down 723 15.91 forth 3 0.06 forward(s) 32 0.7 in 527 11.6 off 218 4.79 on 147 3.23 out 1,205 25.52 over 119 2.61 past 5 0.11 round 61 1.34 through 15 0.33 together 6 0.13 under 1 0.02 up 1,307 28.77 Total 5,512 15

�  Up = commonest particle in all the periods of the language (see Potter 1965: 287, Hiltunen 1983: 208, Brinton 1988: 223n, Martin 1990, Hiltunen 1994: 136, Tanabe 1999: 123, Claridge 2000: 126, Biber et al. 1999: 413, Wild 2010: 228, 317-319).

�  Out = infrequent in OE; later growth (Ishizaki 2012:249)

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17

1720-1749   1750-1799   1800-1849   1850-1913  Particle Tokens Particle Tokens Particle Tokens Particle Tokens out 316 up 401 up 279 out 339 up 291 out 277 out 273 up 336 down 165 down 211 down 178 down 169 away 146 in 117 away 169 away 162 in 139 away 100 in 120 in 151 off 77 back 83 back 104 back 143 back 64 off 43 off 45 on 77 along 21 over 28 round 35 over 54 on 17 on 21 on 32 off 53 over 17 about 17 over 20 about 14 about 12 along 17 along 10 along 13 by 11 round 16 by 6 through 10 aside 8 forward(s) 15 about 5 round 7 forward(s) 7 by 10 forward 5 across 6 round 3 behind 3 past 4 forward 5 aboard 2 forth 3 across 3 aside 2 behind 2 through 2 behind 2 behind 2 through 2 aside 1 together 2 aback 1 together 2 past 1 apart 1 by 1 across 1 together 1 aside 1 together 1 through 1 under 1

�  Aback, apart and under (1 token each), aboard (2 tokens) and forth (3 tokens).

8)  I was rather taken aback. (1913-OBC-POS-19130304)

9)  It is a confined place as it is set apart for him to make up black lead. (1835-OBC-POS-18350615)

10)  When the fire had been got under I saw Morris Loufer. (1913-OBC-POS-19130304)

11)  Why then D-- you all I'll kill you when I have got ye aboard. (1725-OBC-POS-17250630)

12)  He set forth his distresses and miseries. (1778-OBC-POS-17780603)

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�  ARCHER: counter (1 token (13)), aback, above and under (2 tokens each), and astray, asunder and to (4 tokens each).

13)  [H]e will be touched with the patriotic frenzy of the times, and run counter till aw my designs. (1792mack.d4b)

�  Above, astray, asunder, counter and to not in OBC.

�  Aboard: common in ARCHER (espec. travel journals).

�  Aback: infrequent in ARCHER and OBC; only in the compound take (sb.) aback.

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�  Forth decreases during EModE (see Martin 1990: 111; Hiltunen 1994: 134, Nevalainen 1999: 423; Brinton & Traugott 2005: 124; Ishizaki 2009).

�  Replaced by out (Akimoto 2006: 25).

�  Decreasing tendency observed in ARCHER

14)  “Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” (ARCHER 16xxbuny.h2b)

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The verbs �  229 verbal bases

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Verb   Tokens   % out of total tokens  

go   912   16.54%  

come   841   15.25%  

take   526   9.54%  

get   323   5.85%  

run   198   3.59%  

bring   167   3.02%  

pick   165   2.99%  

put   157   2.84%  

call   117   2.12%  

pull   108   1.95%  

�  Like in PDE, mostly native, monosyllabic or disyllabic with the accent on the first syllable (Martin 1990: 115; Claridge 2000: 54; Thim 2006a: 219).

OBC �  81.22% (186 types) = monosyllabic �  10.91% (25 types) = disyllabic with accent on first

syllable �  7.86% (18 types) = exceptions to the general

tendency: o  14 two-syllable verbs with accent on second syllable: (convey, halloo, proceed, beckon, contain, decline, entice, holloa, invite, pursue, return, select, arise, decoy)

o  3 three-syllable verbs: (deliver, continue, partition) o  1 four-syllable verb (accompany).

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�  Germanic origin: 65.50% (150 types)

�  French and AN: 25.76% (59 types)

�  Latin: 2.62% (6 types)

�  Echoic, imitative, onomatopoeic or unknown: 6.11% (14 types)

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The combinations

�  602 PVs

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Combination   Tokens  

go out   276  

come in   212  

take up   178  

come up   168  

go away   162  

come back   147  

pick up   147  

get up   133  

take out   130  

come out   117  

�  259 hapax legomena (43.02%)

�  88 dislegomena (14.61%). 15)  Yes, it was added up 6s. more than I owed. (1864-OBC-

POS-18640229) 16)  As for the Management in bringing this Wedding about I

have heard Mrs. Gregory and the rest of our People say that at first they only talked of it in a Banter. (1725-OBC-POS-17250827)

17)  I ran after and caught up to prisoner. (1913-OBC-POS-19130304)

18)  Their only time was upon the occasion of Funerals, when the Vault was not closed up till the next Day. (1747-OBC-POS-17471014)

19)  I was putting away the articles and I missed a pair of gold bracelets. (1790-OBC-POS-17900224)

20)  When the door was open, the man set off. (1790-OBC-POS-17900224)

21)  He thought there were face-bricks enow, if they could be sorted out. (1864-OBC-POS-18640229)

22)  I was washing up, and the prisoner said, “I will wipe the spoons for you.” (1843-OBC-POS-18430703)

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23)  His head had been bandaged up. (1893-OBC-POS-18930501)

24)  I was just about to branch over when a policeman put out his arms and I ran into them. (1913-OBC-POS-19130304)

25)  He fetch’d the Crank down out of the Room and so i t was conveyed off . (1747-OBC-POS-17471014)

26)  Sylvester decoy’d the Prisoner away. (1725-OBC-POS-17250630)

27)  He was stab’d into the Body thro’ the Coat, Wastecoat, and Shirt, and the Blood lay guthing out upon the Floor under him. (1725-OBC-POS-17250630)

28)  […] getting a cag of rum up, and staving the head of it out: they cut the main gears, and let the yards come about their heads. (1752-OBC-POS-17520218)

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�  OBC

�  ARCHER

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    1720-49   1750-99   1800-49  1850-1913   Total  

Types   256   273   258   329   602  Tokens   1,303   1,367   1,296   1,546   5,512  TTR   0.19   0.19   0.19   0.21   0.10  

   1650-

99  1700-4

9  1750-9

9  1800-

49  1850-

99  1900-

49  1950-

90  Total  

Types   406   372   412   458   465   524   578   1,579  

Tokens   974   876   932   934   1,212   1,200   1,346   7,474  TTR   0.41   0.42   0.44   0.49   0.38   0.43   0.42   0.21  

Syntactic features

�  2,664 transitive PVs �  2,848 intransitive PVs �  VPO (28) and VOP (29) arrangements: 29)  I fastened up my house the night before it

was broke open. (1790-OBC-POS-17900224 30)  Did she or he carry the bundle out? (1745-

OBC-POS-17450116)

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ARCHER   OBC  

VPO   1,481 (41.34%)   775 (29.09%)  

VOP   939 (26.21%)   1,247 (46.8%)  

Other   1,162 (32.43%)   642 (24.09%)  

Total   3,582   2,664  

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31)  Give it me back again. (1864-OBC-POS-18640229)

32)  I took in from the prisoner at the bar three sheets at separate times (1802OBC-POS-18020602)

33)  He rented his jacket open himself, and out dropped this watch stand. (1790-OBC-POS-17900224)

34)  And down he set about two yards from me. (1802OBC-POS-18020602)

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Conclusions

�  Differences in the type and number of particles. �  Differences in the type and number of

combinations. �  TTR lower in trial proceedings. �  VOP order predominates in trial proceedings

(vs. VPO in ARCHER).

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Conclusions

�  In historical corpora, the data are preserved only randomly and are “only indirectly related t o e v e r y d a y s p o k e n communication” (Nevalainen 1999b: 499).

�  We try to make “the best use of bad data” (Labov 1994: 11),

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THANK YOU!

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