Chapter
III, Part 2
29. The Inner Processes differ
substantially in their Lexicogrammar from the Outer Processes. As we shall see,
some are paired between greater Intention or Control, e.g., ‘looking’ or
‘finding out’, versus lesser, e.g., ‘seeing’ or ‘thinking’.
30. Perceptions are sensory Actions whose
Prototype Clause Core has ‘Perceiver’ as Subject, ‘Perception’ as Verb
Phrase, and ‘Perceived’ as Object. The key functions are to represent the
proverbial ‘five senses’, though the Lexico-grammar accords them unequal
frequencies. ‘Sight’ ranks the highest, and ‘hearing’ rather lower, and
the other three quite low. For a rough test, the basic Verb forms in the BNC
are: ‘see’ at 115,100, ‘hear’ are 13,079, ‘touch’ at 2431,
‘smell’ at 1108, and ‘taste’ at 672. However, part of the differences is
due to expanded meanings, like ‘see’ for
‘understand’.
31. When Intention or Control do not apply, the
Prototypes for sight and hearing are of course the basic ‘seeing’ and
‘hearing’ [355-56]; and where those factors do apply, the Prototypes could
be ‘watching’ and ‘listening to’ [357-58].
[355] Turning, he saw a barn owl, flying
parallel to him (Forest of the Night)
[356]
He
heard
a man’s gruff voice and a loud slap, followed by lilting laughter. (Frankie)
[357] I watched
London
nightlife
pass
by. I watched the party-goers, the punks, the pimps, the prostitutes, the
princely and the poor. (Furniture)
[358] We listened to the swish as the salvoes passed
overhead. (Invasion)
Negatives with First Person or Second Person
Pronouns as the Subject can signify that some Process is not ‘seen’ or
‘heard’ just because it is improbable [359-62].
[359] He’s a nice boy, but somehow I don’t
see him making it to the top. (City of Gold)
[360] the music
deserves to be heard, and I don’t hear
anybody else doing it (Guitarist)
[361] You don’t see cyclists wearing those doctor’s masks. There are no
more warnings, on polleny days, for asthmatics and hay-fever sufferers. (Time’s
Arrow)
[362] you
don’t
hear
bus
companies
threatening
to
stop
those
services.
(Northern
Echo)
32. Another
well-attested Prototype for the sense of sight implying less Intention and
Control than ‘watching’ but more than ‘seeing’ is ‘looking at’
[363]. ‘Looking’ tends more than those two Verbs to convey a further
Intention, such as Cognition [364] or Emotion [365]; or to assume expanded
meanings like ‘consider’ [366] or ‘inspect’ [367]. The same Verb has a
Subject as Developer in Developments like ‘looking ill’ [368] or ‘looking
older’ [369]; or a Subject in the function of a perceived Affected of some
Dispositive [370-71]. The Colligation ‘look like’ carries mainly Pejorative
Attitudes, as in [372-73].
[363] she looked around at the men
on offer, braying nightclub fools mostly. (Stone Cold)
[364] She looked
at
him
earnestly,
wanting
to
re-establish
understanding.
(First
of
Midnight)
[365] They looked
at each other quizzically, trying to decide how much emotion the other
was prepared to invest (Three Times Table)
[366] The
clubs
looked
at
the
situation
and felt it was time to change. (Clive
Rowlands)BNC
[367] the
operations director says he’ll look into the air-conditioning problem (Profitboss)
[368] In spite of
Corfu he looked very ill to-day (Portrait)
[369] She looked
a good deal older, but her eye was as bright as ever (Portrait)
[370] He was
immediately ashamed of the outburst. She looked stricken (Rich
Pass)
[371] She looked
defeated, quite unlike her normal self (Traffic)
[372] Brummie
men
look
like
lopsided
oafs,
gnomes,
hobgoblins.
(Birmingham
Magazine)
[373] Kevin Coley looked like a pig with a thatched, blond tea cosy on its head.
[…] His wife […] in her spotted dress looked like a Sherman
tank with measles (Polo)
33. For the sense
of hearing, the Medial similar to ‘looking’ is ‘sounding’, e.g.
[374-75]. ‘Sounding like’ is popular, also mainly Pejorative, e.g. [376-77].
[374] The policewoman sounded very wretched,
almost distraught (Best Man)
[375] ‘Really?’
Karl sounded intrigued. ‘Hans, you sound exhilarated’.
(Bury the Dead).
[376]
the jerky bumbling words sounded like
the raving of a madwoman. (Best Man)
[377] The wind […] sounded
like
a
squadron
of
Concordes,
absolutely
blood-curdling.
(Today)
34. Dispositive or Ergative Perceptives occur for sight and hearing. The common meaning is
like ‘cause’ or ‘compel’ for ‘watch’ [378] and ‘listen’ [379];
‘enable’ for ‘see’ [380] and ‘hear’ [381]; and ‘lend an
appearance’ for ‘look’ [382].
[378] Take the food away from him, tie him up
and make him watch us eat (Circus Boys)
[379] She had
listened to several parties, but had made them listen in return (Portrait)
[380] Thomas first
made her see the city in all its architectural wonder. (Memory and Desire)
[381] we can make
ourselves hear music in white noise (Mysteries of Science)
[382] The mask made
me
look
terrifying
and
professional
like
a
commando.
(Not
Company)
35. The other
senses for Perceptions, as indicated by the BNC frequencies in III.30, are far
less favoured, and less prone to assume expanded meanings. The Prototype
‘touching’ in its basic usage is mostly Active with a Human Agent or a human
body part as Subject [383-84]; non-Humans figure in the Active’ [385]; or the
Medial [386]. Negatives can mean complete remoteness from something [387]. The
Passive is mostly for making someone feel a kindly Emotion [388].
[383] Susan touched
the man’s shoulder. The fabric of his jerkin was rough (Nudists)
[384] His fingers
touched hers and his heart gave a jolt (Latchkey Kid)
[385] As the boat touched
the far bank, the leopardess stepped ashore (Kingdoms East)
[386] Suddenly,
catastrophe struck. The plane touched down,
bounced up again, slewed sideways and skidded along the runway, breaking up as
it did so (Ayrshire Heritage)
[387] Everyone in
her orbit knew she never touched alcohol. (The
Prince)
[388] I had been touched by his kindness to my aunts (Woman of My Age)
The Dispositive or Ergative of ‘making
touch’ can narrow [389] or expand [390]:
[389] A Japanese policeman claims the devil made him touch a woman (Ananova)www
[390] Failure made Jackie touch rock bottom (IndiaInfo)www
36. The Prototype
of ‘smelling’ is more inclined than ‘seeing’, ‘hearing’, or
‘touching’ to imply an Attitude. Like ‘looking’, it occurs in Active
with Perceiver as Subject [391-92], or Medial with Perceived as Subject
[393-94], and with either Ameliorative or Pejorative Attitude; Passives like
[395-96] are not frequent. Pejorative dominates the unaccompanied Medial
[397-98], and the Medial Colligations ‘smell like’ [399] and ‘smell of’
[400].
[391] She smelled
the clean tang of his breath (Finishing Touch)
[392] I smelled
sweat and the drink on his breath. (Freely Sing)
[393] The chestnuts
smell real good — all hot and nutty. (Bayswater)
[394] The hallway smelled
beery and unclean. (Dark Dance)
[395] the sweet aroma of barbecue was smelled for miles (Houston Livestock Rodeo)www
[396] It was 7-8 ft tall with a broad back. A rancid stench was smelled (Bigfoot Sightings)www
[397] Paulette put his foot on her lap, tugged off the boot.
[…] ‘God, you smell!’ (Sharpe)
[398] You always find some good in people. I can’t stand
them. They smell. (Sweet Dreams)
[399] His damp swimming costume […] smells like
the bottom of a restaurant slop bin. (Lucker)
[400] The air smelled of
rotten straw, damp, and an overpowering stench (My Enemy)
The Dispositive or
Ergative of ‘making smell’ is for the Medial:
[401] some brands
of diesel now have additives to make them smell sweeter. (Daily Telegraph)
[402] Fags make you smell like ash-trays, play
havoc with yer tongues. (miscellanea)BNC
The expanded meanings of ‘smelling’ as
having a ‘hunch’ or ‘presentiment’ turn out Pejorative [403-04];
disapproval is implied even when the Perceived by itself might seem
Ameliorative, like ‘advantage’ [405] or ‘profits’ [406].
[403] I smell a con […] as surely as I smell
a knocked off car, a crooked log book. (Be an Actor)
[404] ‘Keep your
head down, Laz’, he advised. ‘I smell big trouble.’ (Suburban
Dead)
[405] It just shows
you how pushy the educated classes can be when they smell an advantage
(Awfully Big Adventure)
[406]
Thomas smelled a bigger profit from the up-and-coming developers (Cry
Alone)
37. The Prototype
‘tasting’ has a Lexicogrammar similar to ‘smelling’ in offering both
Active [407-08] versus Medial [409-10], yet (rarely) Passive too [411]. However,
Attitudes favour Ameliorative, as if eating is more pleasurable than sniffing,
even for a ‘cold meal’ [412] or ‘egg and chips’ [413]. Still, the
Colligations ‘taste like’ and ‘taste of’ are usually Pejorative in the
data [414-15].
[407] He tasted
all the bread in the sandwiches and approved the menu. (Belfast
Telegraph)
[408] Corbett tasted
the thick heady ale, pronounced himself satisfied (Prince of Darkness)
[409] His tea
tasted excellent, and there was nobody to disturb him. (Ghost Stories)
[410] The tea
tasted horrible but at least it gave me the chance to think. (Furniture)
[411] Each parcel
of butter is tasted with a long scoop (Omelette)
[412] Although the
meal was a cold one, it tasted delicious. (French
Encounter)
[413] The egg and
chips tasted wonderful,
everything was great. (Vets Might Fly)
[414] The cigarette
tasted like engine grease filtered through sawdust. (Forestalled)
[415] Nopps’ apricot brandy tasted of
petrol, mixed with creosote and hair oil. (Not Company)
In expanded meanings, ‘tasting’ is undergoing an Event
[572] or an Emotion [573].
[416] No visiting country has tasted victory
in a competitive match in Dublin during Jack Charlton’s remarkable tenure as
Republic of Ireland manager. (Belfast Telegraph)
[417] Hogan told me you had…tasted the joys
of connubial bliss. (Dubliners)
The Dispositive or
Ergative of ‘making taste’ is mainly Medial [418], but I found some Actives
too like [419].
[418] We have dozens of ways of making
lobsters taste different. (Other Side)
[419] Poison, however, is a different matter. That’s why I
make my chaplain taste what I eat and drink. (Poisoned Chalice)
38. Commands for
Perceptions naturally prefer Verbs with Intention and Control. I find
‘watch’ and ‘listen’ as genuine Perceptions in Affirmative and Negative
[420-23], but also in expanded meanings: ‘watch’ for ‘be warned about’
[424], and ‘listen to’ as ‘be convinced by’ [425]. For the frequent
‘looking’, I find actual vision [426-27], plus the expanded meanings of
‘considering’ in the Active [428] or ‘appearing’ in the Medial for
Emotions [429]. I find ‘see’ and ‘hear’ as genuine Perceptions only
rarely, and nearly always Affirmative [430-31]; and occurring in Commands for
other Processes, such the Dispositive the Ergatives of ‘seeing’ that some
Action gets done [432] or ‘seeing to it’ that it gets done [433].
[420] Watch your fish carefully at
feeding times (Fishkeeping)
[421] When walking,
look up; fix eyes on a distant spot; do not
watch your feet. (Hearing Loss)
[422] Listen
to the wind among the pines! Yours is a glorious country. (Room With a View)
[423] I’m raving,
I know; don’t listen, Mary; go on with
your work. (Night and Day)
[424] ‘Oh, you
daft loony, you call yourself a sergeant?’ ‘Watch your mouth, Private
No-body.’ (Sergeant Joe)
[425] ‘General
Clinton’, I cried, ‘do not listen to his
lies.’ (Ballantrae)
[426] Just look
what a mess you’re making — I’ve got to clean that up. (Dandelion Days)
[427] ‘Don’t
look out of the window, little boy’, he shouted. ‘Look at the
book.’ (Love of a King)
[428] Look at all the money in the country if we only
worked the old industries (Dubliners)
[429] Look happy
— other people are waiting to be friendly. (Hearing Loss)
[430] Isn’t he
perfectly beautiful? Just see the dimples in his elbows. (House of
Dreams)
[431] I will not be
interrupted. Hear me in silence. (Pride)
[432] See
that execution be done without fail on Master Ridley (Gladstone)
[433] Please see to it that
Miss Asshe receives my note. (Dark Star
Passing)
The other three senses have comparatively few Commands, and
mostly in their straightforward meanings and in the Affirmative:
[434]
Touch the hand of a gentleman! (Little Dorrit)
[435]
Touch me at your peril! or I will forget you are my mother’s son. (Sybil)
[436] Smell
my hot goathide. (Ulysses)
[467] Look at the
water. Smell it! That’s wot we drinks. (Bleak House)
[438] ‘Taste
the wine again, Jane.’ I obeyed him. (Eyre)
[439] We call it ‘Tres de Mayo’ coffee. Taste it.
(Nostromo)
39. For
Perceptions, Denials of Intention like [440-45] are rare in my data. Denials of
Control are more common [446-50]
[440] I didn’t mean to see this band, but I couldn’t help but notice all the people
on stage and their wacky outfits. (Nub Records)www
[441] I didn’t mean to watch it, but we ended up in front of a TV (Jim Bassett)www
[442] If he gets upset
because he thinks that you were listening in to his private conversa-tion, tell
him that you didn’t mean to hear it (Ask
Margo)www
[443] I didn’t
mean to listen, but
they’re so loud. (Wu Fei Duo)www
[444] She didn’t mean to sound
brusque. Perhaps he just made her nervous. (Season for Murder)
[445] I didn’t mean to touch you! It was an accident, I swear. (Twisted
Candy)www
[446] You made sure
you draped yourself where I couldn’t help
seeing you. (Two Can Share)
[447] He slept in a room opposite, with his door ajar. He couldn’t
help hearing the row. (No Enemy)
[448] The bed was so narrow they couldn’t
help touching at the shoulders (WaxWorks)www
[449] I couldn’t help
smelling the sweet smell from the apples. (Xiaochun)www
[450]
The hungry
guests couldn’t help tasting the
masterpieces (Russian Journal)www
40. The most
incontestably Inner Process is Cognition, whose Prototype Clause Core has
the ‘Cogniser’ as Subject, ‘Cognition’ as Verb Phrase, and
‘Cognised’ as Object. Like the Perceptions of sight and hearing, the Verbs
divide according to Intention or Control. Without them, the Prototype would be
‘knowing’ as ‘having knowledge’ [451-52] or ‘being acquainted with
[453-54]. With them as ‘obtaining knowledge’, the Prototypes would be
‘learning’ [455-56] or ‘finding out’ [457-58]. The choice between
Affirmative and Negative is fairly open.
[451] Gardeners know the value
of a really sharp knife for pruning. (Gardeners World)
[452] The
villages do not know the cause of this illness. (Developing
World)
[453] Everybody
in Meadow Brook knew the Bobbseys. (Bobbsey)
[454] I did
not know the uncle well, but he knew my husband (Mother
without a Mask)
[455] James
Kilpatrick learned the skills of breeding horses (Ayrshire
Heritage)BNC
[456] In prison, if
you do not learn stealth, you die. (City of Dreams)
[457]
After
one
fall
too
many,
he went to the doctor and found
out
the
truth. (Daily
Mirror)
[458] the system analyst has not found out the
user requirements. (Information Systems)
More general or superficial Cognition uses
Colligations with ‘about’ [459-60] or ‘of’ [461-62], meaning roughly
‘be/become informed about’ or ‘aware of’.
[459] In Darwin’s
lifetime, physicists did not know
about radioactivity (Problems of Biology)
[460] They learned
about selling, pricing, negotiating, licensing (Atomic Energy
Authority)
[461]
FAMILY knew of whole streets where women
went out to work and men stayed at home and neglected the children. (Women
and Social Policy)
[462] Pupils do not learn
of the social and political implications of scientific discoveries. (Gender
and Subject)
41. The Prototypes
‘think about’ [463] and ‘think of’ [464] imply more Control than
‘knowing’ but less than ‘finding out’. These can mean ‘contemplate’
[465], but also ‘have an opinion of’, usually Pejorative [466]. Colligations
with ‘all’ [467] or ‘nothing but’ [468] can suggest exclusive or
obsessive thinking. ‘Think of’ also occurs in expanded meanings for ‘have
an idea’ [469] or ‘show consideration for’ [470]; when the Subject is the
Impersonal Pronoun ‘one’, the Objects are Things or Humans coming readily to
mind for a Topic [471].
[463] He thinks
about football rigorously (Sunday People)
[464]
In the midst of his own sorrow and pain and torment, he thinks of this dying thief (sermon)BNC
[465]
You know what the Church thinks about
marriage and divorce. Divorce is wrong in the eyes of God! (Love of a King)
[466]
he’s just a parasitical, sexually frustrated man. That’s what I think
of him (Suburbia)
[467]
Take Frau Grossman, all she thinks
about is finery and food. (Lying Together)
[468]
Thought about nothing but cars for the first
twenty-five years of his life, now he thinks
about nothing but polo. (Polo)
[469 Then the
gaffer thinks of a tactical plan for Elland
Road (Today)
[470] A Brownie thinks
of others before herself and does a good
turn every day (Brownie Stories)
[471] Other tyrants have astutely combined populism and
magic: one thinks of Papa Doc and Idi Amin.
(Independent)
42. The
Transitivity of Cognitive Processes is peculiar. ‘Knowing’ in Actives like
[451-54], and in Passives with the Cogniser having ‘by’ [472] or ‘to’
[473] hardly seems to constitute an Action like ‘doing to’ or ‘being done
to’. Also, uses without the Cognised can have a Medial flavour like Enactives
[474-75].
[472] Mr Lear was known by
everyone as ‘a lovely person and a gentleman at all times’. (Northern
Echo)
[473] This document
was known to Naval Intelligence and to the FBI. (FlyPast)
[474] ‘So
what’s changed?’ Deep down he knew. (Sharp End)
[475] All these constituents needed fusing and moulding into
a unity in his mind. He thought and meditated; (Ramsey)
43. ‘Knowing’,
‘learning’, and ‘finding out’ followed by a Dependent Clause imply that
the Clause expresses what somebody holds to be the truth [476-78];
‘thinking’ certainly does not [479], especially in the Colligation ‘I
thought’ to indicate ‘it was supposed to be settled, but I see now it
isn’t’ [480].
[476] I know that you killed two people. I know
that you’re in love with someone (Conjure Me)
[477] I learned that a geriatric cowboy had become President of the mightiest
nation on earth (Redundancy of
Courage)
[478] I found out that I came a poor second to the real love of her