2.2.1 In traditional grammar
The research of CMs from the perspective of traditional grammar is mainly based on grammatical structures rather than on meanings.This section mainly reviews the studies of conjunctive resources by Fries(1957),Gunter(1984)and Quirk et al.(1973,1985).
Fries(1957:251)uses the umbrella term conjunctions to refer to those linguistic devices which connect separate sentences and he divides words into function words and other words.The former is further divided into 15 groups(Group A-O),among which Group J is more or less similar to what conjunction means since“the words of Group J are thus functioning units by means of which sentence units are included in larger structures”(Fries,1957:100).
Being similar to Fries(1957),Gunter(1984)also employs conjunctions as the joint name to refer to the conjunctive resources and divides them into four semantic patterns:adversative conjunctions,causal conjunctions,additive conjunctions and temporal conjunctions.Furthermore,three grammatical classes of conjunctions are analyzed:coordinating conjunctions,subordinate conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs.According to Gunter(1984:3),these three grammatical categories could be differentiated by their positions.For example,position[1]is at the beginning of the first sentence to be joined;position[2]is precisely between the two sentences;and position[3]is at the very end of the second sentence.
Quirk et al.(1973:613)give a thorough interpretation of the semantic and grammatical features of adverbials,which is the umbrella term of the conjunctive resources.There are four categories of adverbials:adjuncts,subjuncts,disjuncts and conjuncts.As Quirk et al.(1973:504)illustrate,adjuncts closely resemble other sentence elements such as subject,complementation,and object.They(Quirk et al.,1973:505)point out two general categories of adjuncts-predication adjuncts and sentence adjuncts,and predication adjuncts are then divided into two sub-categories:obligatory adjuncts and optional adjuncts.The former are indispensable in that if they are deleted,the whole clause is not grammatically right.In Example(8),into a butterfly and in a hurry belongs to obligatory adjuncts.
(8)The chrysalis slowly turned into a butterfly.(Quirk et al.1973:506)
She was in a hurry.(Quirk et al.1973:506)
In contrast with obligatory adjuncts,optional adjuncts could be either added or deleted,without changing the grammaticality of the clause,such as in a blue gown in Example(9).
(9)The Queen arrived in a blue gown.(Quirk et al.1973:510)
Moreover,Quirk et al.(1973:511)points out that the most obvious way in which sentence adjuncts mark themselves off from predication adjuncts is by their relative freedom of position,such as on the platform in Example(10).
(10)She kissed her mother on the platform.(Quirk et al.1973:511)
On the platform,she kissed her mother.(Quirk et al.1973:512)
Specifically,according to Quirk et al.(1973:526-566),the semantic categories of adjuncts are separated into space adjuncts such as on the platform in Example(10),time adjuncts such as last month in Example(11),manner adjuncts such as coldly in Example(12),means,instrument,and agent adjuncts such as surgically in Example(13),as well as adjuncts of respect such as legally in Example(14).
(11)He came to Shanghai last month.(Quirk et al.1973:555)
(12)She spoke to him coldly.(Quirk et al.1973:557)
(13)He decided to treat the patient surgically.(Quirk et al.1973:559)
(14)She’s advising them legally.(Quirk et al.1973:563)
According to Quirk et al.(1973:566-567),subjuncts operate a subordinate role in comparison with other clause elements.Based on their explanation,wide orientation of subjunct represents that the subordinate role may apply to the whole clause in which the subjunct functions,while narrow orientation represents that the subjunct may be subordinated to an individual clause element or even to an item forming part of a clause element.For example,
(15)He kindly offered me a ride.(Quirk et al.1973:569)
(16)Casually,Leslie greeted the stranger.(Quirk et al.1973:573)
Kindly in Example(15)is a wide-oriented subjunct to express politeness and propriety;while casually in Example(16)is in a sense subordinate to an element in clause structure or even to a constituent of the phrase or clause realizing an element.
Furthermore,Quirk et al.(1973:615)divide disjuncts into two categories:style disjuncts and content disjuncts(also known as attitudinal disjuncts),among which style disjuncts convey the speaker/writer’s judgement on the style and form of the contents he/she says or writes and confirm his/her authority for the contents.By using content disjuncts,the speaker/writer makes observations on the actual content of the utterance and its truth condition.
Disjuncts and conjuncts are sometimes called sentence adverbials(Quirk et al.1973:631)because they can relate one sentence to another.It is necessary to look beyond the particular grammatical unit in which they appear.They(Quirk et al,1973:631-632)explain that disjuncts are related to the speaker’s authority for the accompanying clause,while conjuncts represent the speaker’s assessment of how he/she views the connection between two clauses.As to the classification of conjuncts,there are seven semantic categories(Quirk,1973:634):(1)listing conjuncts such as first of all,furthermore,to conclude;(2)summative conjuncts such as altogether,overall,therefore;(3)appositive conjuncts such as namely,for example,in other words;(4)resultive conjuncts such as accordingly,consequently,hence;(5)inferential conjuncts such as else,otherwise,in that case;(6)contrastive conjuncts such as rather,again,on the other hand;(7)transitional conjuncts such as by the way,meantime,subsequently.From the perspective of traditional grammar,disjuncts and conjuncts are closely related with CMs in this dissertation.
At home,there are three characteristics of studying conjunctive resources from the perspective of traditional grammar.Firstly,the researches of Chinese conjunctive devices are much more than the studies of the CMs of other languages.According to the summary of Li(李娜,2010),until 2009 there are nearly 800 academic papers being related with the research of conjunctive resources,among which about 57% are about the studies of Chinese CMs(e.g.,田范芬,2004;徐朝红,2007;刘百顺,2008)and the rest are about English,Russian,French and Japanese CMs.Chinese scholars mainly research the CMs based on one monograph(e.g.,张亚茹,2005;熊永祥,钱宗武,2007).Zhou(周刚,2002)discusses the dimension and classification and reviews the developing history of Chinese CMs.Furthermore,he compares different positions of the Chinese,English and Japanese CMs in the texts.Secondly,Chinese scholars incline to research individual connective rather than a combined study of various CMs(e.g.,吴克炎,2004;刘婷婷,2008).Thirdly,the audiences of these researches are mainly the students.Li(李娜,2010)concludes that among the academic achievements of CMs in China,about 200 papers in 300 are written for students,especially juniors and seniors,in order to help them master the usage of various conjunctive devices in their writing.