Denison, David

English

Editors at the OED have hesitated over the part-of-speech attribution of long in such idioms as I won't be long / This won't take long / before long, considering Adverb, Adjective, Noun and even Pronoun. I review the evidence for word class in their data. In previous work I have argued against the assumption that every word in every grammatical sentence must belong to one and only one word class. An extended discussion in Denison (2013) suggested that key in a key decision cannot be assigned in any non-arbitrary fashion to either N or Adj, and that it is best regarded as underspecified. I will make a similar claim for Adj ~ Adv underspecification in certain usages of long. Two questions follow from this. Does this support the case for conflating the Adj and Adv classes (Giegerich 2012)? And if not, is this word class vagueness of the same structural type as the type with noun premodifiers like key? Denison, David. 2013. Parts of speech: Solid citizens or slippery customers? Journal of the British Academy 1, 151-85. Giegerich, Heinz J. 2012. The morphology of –ly and the categorial status of 'adverbs' in English. English Language and Linguistics 16.3, 341-59

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The University of Manchester ResearchThis won't take longLink to publication record in Manchester Research ExplorerCitation for published version (APA):Denison, D. (2014). This won't take long. In host publicationPublished in:host publicationCiting this paperPlease note that where the full-text provided on Manchester Research Explorer is the Author Accepted Manuscriptor Proof version this may differ from the final Published version. If citing, it is advised that you check and use thepublisher's definitive version.General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the Research Explorer are retained by theauthors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise andabide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.Takedown policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please refer to the University of Manchester’s TakedownProcedures [http://man.ac.uk/04Y6Bo] or contact uml.scholarlycommunications@manchester.ac.uk providingrelevant details, so we can investigate your claim.Download date:08. Jun. 2022Denison, ‘This won’t take long’, SHES12 1David DenisonSHES 12Manchester17-18 May 2014Reviewing draft revisions of long for OEDResearch questions1. Are the PoS labels for long in OED correct?2. If not, what should labels be?3. If some are underdetermined (vague), what are the consequences? Slides of talk available on http://tinyurl.com/UMan-DD comments welcome Thanks to Matthew Bladen of OED for drawing my attention to problematic PoS labels for long.3Headwords for long in OEDlong adj.1 and n. ‘great in measurement from end to end’, etc.long adj.2 = long/along (of) ‘attributable to’long v.1 ‘lengthen’,  ‘yearn’long v.2 ‘to be appropriate to’long adv.1 ‘for a long time’long adv.2 = alonglong prep. = along-long suffix endlong, headlong, etc.†lengh n. ‘length’4The OE noun leng(o), lengu (26× in YCOE) survives to 17th century.OED has a brief entry but does not bring it into the history of long. Will ignore.Headwords for long in OEDlong adj.1 and n.long adj.2long v.1 [entries first published 1903, not yet fully updated]long v.2long adv.1long adv.2long prep.-long suffix†lengh n. ‘length’5Denison, ‘This won’t take long’, SHES12 2long adj. in OED – selected senses1. Great in spatial measurement OE-long low rowing boats2. Having a certain spatial extension OE-about a quarter of an inch long5. Great in serial extent or duration (OE) ME-long letters6. Having a great extent or duration OE-her long twilight of decrepitude and decay9. Too long, lengthy, tedious ME-He is apt to be long in his descriptions.7All found in OElang-/long-_ADJ occurs 357× in YCOE (incl. cp and spl)long adv. in OED – selected senses1. For or during a long time OE-Ȝet ic mei longe libben; We have long been expecting a packet.2. a. The suppression of the qualified adj., adv., or phrase, in expressions like to be long about one's work, causes the adv. long to assume the character of an adj. compl. = ‘occupying a long time’, ‘delaying long’. c1290-b. not to be long for this world 1822-4. At/from/to a far distant time a1400-long since; long after (X); but he cut his teeth long before me6. Throughout the period specified (ME) eModE-the whole summer long; all day long8lange/longe_ADV occurs 608× in YCOE (incl. cp and spl)long adv. in OED – selected senses1. For or during a long time OE-Ȝet ic mei longe libben; We have long been expecting a packet.2. a. The suppression of the qualified adj., adv., or phrase, in expressions like to be long about one's work, causes the adv. long to assume the character of an adj. compl. = ‘occupying a long time’, ‘delaying long’. c1290-b. not to be long for this world 1822-4. At/from/to a far distant time a1400-long since; long after (X); but he cut his teeth long before me6. Throughout the period specifiedthe whole summer long; all day long10Problem 1c1275 Þe king sende his sonde after Brien þa wes to longe.c1300 Sumdel þe pope was anuyd þat he hadde i-beo so longe [rhyme onder-fonge].a1425 Lunet þare stode in þe thrang, Until Sir Ywainethoght hir lang.2008 I have to go out,‥but I won't be very long. OED currently places this pattern s.v. long adv.1 2a because of explicit morphology of earliest two. Editors proposed (Mar 2014) moving all but first two to long adj.1, with a cross-reference between the entries.11Penn Treebank The Penn Parsed Corpora from ME onwards tag long as Adjective regardless of context, sometimes within NP-MSR brackets:LONG is always treated as an adjective. See NP measure phrases for the conventions concerning adjectives used as measure phrases.a long_ADJ story_Nfive_NUM feet_NS long_ADJnot_NEG long_ADJ behind_ADVto_TO have_HV dwelled_VBN here_ADV the_D longest_ADJS(Santorini 2010)12Denison, ‘This won’t take long’, SHES12 3Adj, ‘function’ = measure NP( (IP-MAT (CONJ but)(NP-SBJ *con*)(DOD did)(NEG not)(VB last)(NP-MSR (ADJ long)) (. .))(ID AUSTEN-180X,175.333))13Why Adj in Penn Parsed corpora? (My speculation) Most measure phrases of time are NPs (all night) or PPs (for ten years), but function of PPs not labelled. Long in measure NPs varies with the NP (a) long time, therefore treat as elliptical with missing Noun head, whether the actual noun time or an abstract placeholder noun with that general meaning. [???] But e.g. briefly is parsed as(ADVP (ADV briefly))14Adj or Adv? What is the evidence for Adj vs. Adv, and has the PoSchanged over time? OED implies that original Adv long was adjunct modifying such constructions as be about one’s work, be at a task. Ellipsis of (usually) a PP left long as complement of be. This slot is more often filled by AdjP than by AdvP. If long is here an Adj, it is a predicative-only Adj. Predicate-only adjectives recognised in English linguistics as a subclass, though in Hengeveld’s typological classification (1992, etc.), only attributive use is criterial for a class of adjectives.15Adj or Adv? Adv?And many oþere londes þer ben , þat it were to long to telle or to nombren CMMANDEV,96.2317 Mony oþer myracles he dyd þat wer to long to tell ; CMMIRK,8.203 Adj?and yn mony oþer myscheves þat he suffurd , þat wern to long to tell .  CMMIRK,70.189516Semantics Long ≈ a long time, but the latter is less a predicative complement than an adverbial. The sentencePerson X will be a long time (at this task)doesn't mean that X is themself a period of time: it means that X will be at the task for a long time. Rough semantic equivalence may suggest a similar grammatical function but needn’t mean the same word class (cf. He's miserable/a misery). On those grounds, both long and a long time would be adverbials in clause structure, and hence long (by itself) an Adv.17Vagueness in PoS assignment I have argued (Denison 2013) that there are now dozens of former nouns which in some contexts and for some speakers cannot be assigned a unique word class. For speakers who have both N and Adj entries in their lexicon for the underlined words,a powerhouse songThis is rubbish.the word classes here are underdetermined. Neither speaker/writer nor hearer/reader needs to worry, and the linguist cannot decide in non-arbitrary way.18Denison, ‘This won’t take long’, SHES12 4Adj ~ Adv vagueness with long? The morphology doesn’t help. In some cases it is a moot point whether long is predicated of an NP (like Adj) or modifies the verb (like Adv). Because relevant uses of long are post-verbal, word class of long affects the phrasal projection but arguably not the tree structure (of non-abstract H & P type).19Other Adj ~ Adv interchange Two OED senses s.v. look v.9a. intr. To have the appearance of being; to seem to the sight. […] Const. a predicative n. or adj., or a predicative adv. (as well, ill = ‘in good, bad health’).b. with adv. of manner (†or adv. phr.): to have a certain look or appearance.Things had, by that time, begun to look badly for all concerned. (1891) Perhaps cf. German wütend ‘angry/angrily’ inDie Frau kam wütend näher. (ex. Eva Schultze-Berndt) Probably not a sufficient reason to abandon the Adv~Adjdistinction in English (cf. Giegerich 2012) if conventional PoS are maintained at all.20long n. (s.v. Adj.1  headword)1. Phrases with prepositions  variously OE/ME/ModE-umbe long; before long; for long; at the longest2. a. Without prep. ‘much time’ 1488-Der sone, this lang quhar has thow beyne?I do not think it will take long to …b. It was/is/will be long before/until/etc. (OE) ME-As it was long before he could be perswaded to4-8. long ‘long note, long syllable, long block’ (masonry), etc. – routine elliptical formations22Problem 2 The following patterns are treated by OED s.v. long n. B.1-2:before longfor longthis/that longit will be long before Why label them as nouns?23Against a noun analysis Morphology is like Adj/Adv and unlike N Inflects for comparison in these constructions, but not for plural:before any/much longerat the longestit will be longer before Syntax is like Adj/Adv and unlike N Allows premodification by so, how, very, too, this/that ‘very’:before very longafter too longHow long will it be?24Denison, ‘This won’t take long’, SHES12 5Against a noun analysis Long doesn’t have normal noun distribution. Complements of a preposition can be any XP, even if NP is the default expectation:before the game NPfor real; as new AdjPbefore now; until very recently AdvPfrom beyond the grave PP by trying harder VP25Against a noun analysis Long doesn’t have either morphology or syntax of a noun. (nor the semantics) Most parsimonious analysis of before long is as PP containing AdvP:[PP beforeP [AdvP longAdv]with long as Adverb. So also Huddleston & Pullum (2002: 569).26Against a pronoun analysis Note at beginning of draft OED entry for long n. says:It may perhaps be analysable as a pronoun which always stands for the noun phrase ‘a long time’; cf. similar constructions at more pron. But more can be a Determiner. All D (except a, the, every) have predictable alternative role as head of NP (traditionally, Pronoun). And long is never a Determiner. NP a long time is functionally an adverbial. Sharing a function (if true) doesn’t imply sharing same word class.27long n. in OED1. Phrases with prepositions  variously OE/ME/ModE-umbe long; before long; for long; at the longest2. a. Without prep. ‘much time’ 1488-Der sone, this lang quhar has thow beyne?I do not think it will take long to …b. It was/is/will be long before/until/etc. (OE) ME-As it was long before he could be perswaded to The verb take is normally transitive, with NP object. Does this make long a noun in won’t take long?29Against a noun analysis No, though more troubling than PP data, and also found with ?transitive have, need, spend and give (H& P 2002: 569). Morphology is like Adj/Adv and unlike N Inflects for comparison in these constructions, but not for plural:This won’t take any longer; The form-filling took (the) longest. Syntax is like Adj/Adv and unlike N Allows premodification by so, how, very, too, this/that ‘very’:It didn’t need very long; We won’t spend that long.How long do we have? Verb take not always transitive (take against, take off, take sick).30Denison, ‘This won’t take long’, SHES12 6But … Some V + long idioms do marginally allow a passive:?Longest was taken by the form-filling.How long was spent filling in forms? how long = AdvP internally but behaving a bit like NP externally Because this only occurs in relation to these idioms, probably no need to argue for a mixed category. Cf. alsoTomorrow never comes;When shall we meet? Tomorrow should be OK Functional slot of subject most often and readily filled by NPs, but can sometimes be filled by another class.31Further evidence of PoS PPs can occur in the same slot as the alleged NP:Will it take long?It should only take until next Thursday.This too argues against a noun analysis of long. Parallel Danish data suggests that long is an adverb:Hvor længe tog det at komme igennem det? how  long    took it to come through   itUmlauted længe adv. is clearly distinct from lang adj. (Thanks to Sten Vikner, in comments at SHES and later communication.)32Tentative explanation Most likely origin of It won’t take long and similar patterns is a gradual analogical spread, always in post-verbal position, from one construction type to another. Not really helpful to try to pin down the PoS at every stage, but if a single label is insisted on, Adv is still probably closest. Some of the possible steps are illustrated in following slides, with sample illustrations. Relative chronology needs checking, though corpus data may be sparse.34Verb be + longAdv (Examples and definitions from OED draft.) ‘As complement of impersonal uses of the verb to be, expressing the notion of the passage of a long period of time’ OE-It was not long afterwards, that … (1656) ‘As complement of the verb to be, expressing the notion of protracted occupation in some task, or of absence or delay’ c1275-Goe, Ile not be long. (1612)35Verb be + longAdj (Examples and definitions from OED draft.) ‘With implication of excessive duration: continuing too long; tediously lengthy; (of a speech, a literary work, etc.)’ OE-The sad catastrophe were long to tell (1738) ‘Hence, of a speaker or writer: prolix, long-winded.’ a1586-He is apt to be long in his descriptions. (1717)36Denison, ‘This won’t take long’, SHES12 7‘Intransitive’ verb + longAdvÞe dom sal ben sone idon, ne last hit nowiht longe. (a1200, OED)Þe maumates ne mi3hte no leng duyre (c1300, MED)as long as I live (c1450, MED) Associated with non-affirmative contexts Post-verbal long in PDE is explicitly called an NPI (negatively-oriented polarity-sensitive item) by Huddleston & Pullum (2002: 823, 825).37‘Transitive’ verb + longÞe member‥nedeþ longe or it be souded. (?a1425 MED)too little for us to spend long upon (1694 OED draft)How long will it take to be full in this case? (1763 OEDdraft)What there she did, took me full thrice as long To ravel out. (1832, OED)which did not take long (1834, OED)They didn’t spend long over it. (1922 COHA)But I don't have long to stay in Chicago. (1953, COHA)38Danish going the same way? Both trans. and intr. verbs occur with period of time as NP:Det vil ikke vare/tage lang tid ‘It won’t last/take a long time’ Intr. verb also fine + længe adv.† :Det vil ikke vare længe/*lang ‘It won’t last long’ Trans vb. with inanimate subjects starting to appear + længe, but odd:?*Det vil ikke tage længe ‘It won’t take long’ Corpus examples all show reduced salience of adverb as ‘object’, either through fronting of hvor længe ‘how long’ or by indirect object intervening. (Cf. English data on previous slide; corpus work needed!) Only tage ‘take’ found so far in corpus, and never with human subject., but bruge ‘use’ (i.e. 'spend time') with human subject sounds possible. Many thanks to Sten Vikner (pers. comm., 19 May 2014)†Native umlauted form of adv., but Ger. Länge n. ??secondary source.39ReferencesDenison, David. 2013. Parts of speech: Solid citizens or slippery customers? Journal of the British Academy 1, 151-85.Giegerich, Heinz J. 2012. The morphology of –ly and the categorial status of 'adverbs' in English. English Language and Linguistics 16.3, 341-59.Hengeveld, Kees. 1992. Parts of speech. In Michael Fortescue, Peter Harder & Lars Kristofferson (eds.), Layered structure and reference in a functional perspective, 29-55. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Hengeveld, Kees, Jan Rijkhoff & Anna Siewierska. 2004. Parts-of-speech systems and word order. Journal of Linguistics 40, 527-70.Huddleston, Rodney & Geoffrey K. Pullum. 2002. The Cambridge grammar of the English language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Santorini, Beatrice. 2010. Annotation manual for the Penn Historical Corpora and the PCEEC. http://www.ling.upenn.edu/hist-corpora/annotation/index.html.41http://tinyurl.com/UMan-DDcomments welcome

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