Lecture Note
A Synchronic and Diachronic Analysis of Dummy It
-
University:
Boston University -
Course:
CAS LX 110 | Say What? Accents, Dialects, and Society Academic year:
2023
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Views:
394
Pages:
23
Author:
5CelestialChronicle
20
11
sio
n
Ve
r
Pr
ep
ub
lis
he
d
Leg it, floor it, snuff it:
A synchronic and diachronic analysis of
dummy it. 20
11
Dummy it
(1) (…) when six or seven groups would bus it from city, (…).
but also diachronically …
Ve
r
(1) Let vs legge it a little. [OED 1601]
sio
n
[Detroit Free Press 1995]
Pr
ep
ub
lis
he
d
(2) I have the pleasure to inform you that your mother-in-law
snuffed it. [OED 1896]
2 sio
n
20
11
Dummy it
Ve
r
When considering to leg it, to snuff it, … we are faced with the
question of:
Pr
ep
ub
lis
he
d
“What motivates the occurrence of it ?”
3 20
11
Structure
Introduction
II.
Status of dummy it
III.
Dummy it in previous research
IV.
Imperatives and dummy it
V.
Does dummy it enhance the verbal territory of a V?
VI.
The role of pseudo-objects in (de)transitivization
VII.
Conclusion
Pr
ep
ub
lis
he
d
Ve
r
sio
n
I.
4 20
11
Dummy it violates Argument Structure Constraints
frog is generally assumed to be a Vintr (if a V at all …)
sio
n
OED: “intr., and trans. with it. slang (chiefly U.S.). To move
quickly, to hurry; to leap or move like a frog.”
d
Ve
r
(1) He appeared in the evening frogging Ø up the steps of the
dwelling opposite. [Cox, P. Squibs of California, 1874] intransitive use
the Ox, 1945]
ep
ub
lis
he
(2) The four of us frogged it along the dark lane. [Kitchen, F. Brother to
semi-transitive use
But not with a fully-fledged O:
(3) *frogging the steps of the dwelling opposite
Pr
pseudo-object it appears to be licensed by Vintr
transitive use
5 sio
n
20
11
What is the status of it?
b. Passivization test
Pr
ep
ub
lis
he
c. Extraction test
d
a. Insertion test
Ve
r
Standard tests for direct objecthood:
6 sio
n
20
11
Standard tests for direct objecthood:
a. Insertion test
[Kozinsky 1979: 158]
Ve
r
Principle: V and Od tend to be adjacent
Everybody out! Move it! [COCA 1991]
(2)
*... move quickly it out!
ep
ub
lis
he
d
(1)
Pr
dummy it behaves just like Ods by not allowing insertions
between V and NP.
7 Passivization Test
20
11
b.
Ve
r
sio
n
(1) I have the pleasure to inform you that your mother-in-law
snuffed it. [OED 1896]
active
passive
ep
ub
lis
he
d
(2) *(...) that it was snuffed by your mother-in-law.
Pr
unlike canonical Ods dummy it does not allow passivization
8 Extraction Test
20
11
c.
sio
n
(1) Every year, your mother-in-law insists on planning the entire
Thanksgiving meal (…). [COCA 2009]
Ve
r
(2) It is the entire Thanksgiving meal that your mother-in-law
insists on planning.
Od extractable
ep
ub
lis
he
d
(3) ... your mother-in-law snuffed it.
(4) *it was it that your mother-in-law snuffed. Od non-extractable
Pr
unlike canonical Ods dummy it does not allow extraction
9 Tests for direct objecthood
sio
n
20
11
Tab. 1.
-
Extraction
+
+
-
-
Dummy it
ep
ub
lis
he
d
Direct objects
Passivization
Ve
r
Insertion
-
Pr
it ~ pseudo-object
10 20
11
Structure
Introduction
II.
Status of dummy it
III.
Dummy it in previous research
IV.
Imperatives and dummy it
V.
Does dummy it enhance the verbal territory of a V?
VI.
The role of pseudo-objects in (de)transitivization
VII.
Conclusion
Pr
ep
ub
lis
he
d
Ve
r
sio
n
I.
11 sio
n
20
11
Dummy it in previous research
Ve
r
a. Listed as an idiomatic use that causes pitfalls in automatic
POS tagging. [cf. Boyd et al. 2005: 40]
b. Cited as part of a set of resultative constructions
ep
ub
lis
he
d
1988: 55]
[cf. Salkoff
c. Mentioned as a structure that extends from OE to EModE
associated with a change from Synthetic > Analytic [cf.
Pr
Rissanen 1999: 261]
12 20
11
sio
n
Extending Salkoff’s [1988: 45] list
of resultatives in the “wayconstruction paradigm”
Possessive + way
Reflexive self
dummy it
Ø
Ve
r
7 pseudo-objects that share some
degree of functional overlap illustrated
for the V MOVE:
d
(1) They run in laughing (…) as Virgil moves his way into the
center (…). [COCA 1999]
[BNC wridom1]
ep
ub
lis
he
(2) Move yourself, Porter, said the uniformed figure brusquely.
(3) Hurry up! Tom yelled from the living room a couple of days
later. Move it, Judy.
Pr
(4) He shouted at Mariana, grabbing at her arms and dragging
her upright. Move ! he yelled. Quick-! [BNC wridom1]
13 Ve
r
sio
n
20
11
7 Pseudo-objects
illustrated for the V
MOVE
POSS way
Reflexive self
dummy it
Ø
Cognate objects
_________________
Particle
Particle + Reflexive self
(1) Steven moves a sudden move toward the Police Officer.
d
[COCA]
ep
ub
lis
he
(2) We'll have to move on! she sobbed. [BNC wridom1]
(3) We do deep breathing exercises instead, said Otley, (…), his
paunch moving itself up a notch. [BNC wridom1]
Pr
All these pseudo-objects are semantically light, ie they do not
14
carry a significant semantic load. 20
11
Structure
State of the art
II.
Status of dummy it
III.
Imperatives and dummy it
IV.
Does dummy it enhance the verbal territory of a V?
V.
The role of pseudo-objects in (de)transitivization
VI.
Conclusion
Pr
ep
ub
lis
he
d
Ve
r
sio
n
I.
15 20
11
Imperatives and dummy it
Dummy it occurs strikingly often with imperatives.
Rissanen [1999:256]: originally intr. motion Vs can take a
coreferential O in the imperative:
sio
n
•
(1) Good Margaret runne thee to the parlour [Shakespeare. Much Ado
Ve
r
about Nothing, c. 1598]
•
ep
ub
lis
he
d
“They seem to be retained longest in imperatives“ [Rissanen
1999:256]. Explanation in terms of transitivization to express
“involvement“ or “emphasis“
Henry [1995:50]: imperatives in Belfast often involve a
coreferential O.
(2) Run youse to the telephone!
•
Similar uses appear to be found in German:
Pr
(3) Geh du ans Telefon! (contrastive stress)
Geh Ø ans Telefon!
‘answer the phone‘
16 20
11
Strikingly, other pseudo-objects also tend to occur with
imperatives …
sio
n
particles:
Ve
r
(1) Geh mal! Nimm nur! Schau doch!
Are move it! shove it! somehow related to these strategies?
Do they reinforce the imperative?
•
Is a monosyllabic V not sufficient to express an illocutionary
act as forceful as the imperative?
ep
ub
lis
he
d
•
Pr
But: This cannot be the whole story because dummy it is not
restricted to imperatives.
17 20
11
Structure
State of the art
II.
Status of dummy it
III.
Imperatives and dummy it
IV.
Does dummy it enhance the verbal territory of a V?
V.
The role of pseudo-objects in (de)transitivization
VI.
Conclusion
Pr
ep
ub
lis
he
d
Ve
r
sio
n
I.
18 sio
n
20
11
It-support?
d
Ve
r
Rissanen [1999: 26]: “It can often be found with verbs recently
converted from adjectives or nouns. The dummy object probably
made it easier to analyse the new derivative as a verb“:
ep
ub
lis
he
(1) The Turks could not French it so handsomely. [OED, cited in
Rissanen 1999: 261]
Pr
Dummy it highlights the verbiness of weakly established Vs
19 ep
ub
lis
he
d
Ve
r
sio
n
20
11
Are the Vs listed in the OED or Merriam-Webster‘s?
Pr
Vs taking dummy it are inconsistently treated as trans. or intr.
20 20
11
Does it enhance the verbal territory of already existing Vs?
sio
n
floor is well-established in the sense: ‘to cover with a floor’ or “to
bring to the floor, knock down (boxing), have a fall. [OED]
Ve
r
(40) Eke pave or floore it wele in somer tyde. [OED: Palladius’ De Re
Rustica, c. 1420]
well-established sense
ep
ub
lis
he
d
(41) He commanded them all to shoote at once, and flore the
enemie, if possible they could. [OED: Lancashire Tracts 1642]
well-established sense
But no OED entry for:
(42) "Mansell said: “I got a good start and I just floored it.” [The
Guardian 1997]
new sense ‘accelerate’
Pr
in assuming new V senses floor is equipped with the pseudoobject it thereby modulating its transitivity.
21 sio
n
20
11
Metaphorical extension
Ve
r
(1) "I was going about 55kph [34mph] on a slight descent and
he [the motorbike rider] just floored it to get through a gap
from behind (…) [The Guardian 2003]
d
no gas pedal involved that might be floored, but a handle bar
Pr
Headline]
[The Guardian 2000
ep
ub
lis
he
(2) Highway panic as snake legs it to freedom.
22 sio
n
>
ep
ub
lis
he
Concrete
Primary
Literal
Ve
r
Loss of number opposition
The man legged it.
*The men legged them.
Transition of meaning
d
1.
(1)
(2)
2.
20
11
Dummy it as an instance of grammaticalization
Abstract
Secondary
Figurative
OED: earliest sense of snuff (14. cent.): “That portion of a
wick, etc., which is partly consumed in the course of
burning (…)”
to snuff a candle
>
person snuffs it
Pr
3. Semantic bleaching of it: non-referential
23
A Synchronic and Diachronic Analysis of Dummy It
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