Sunday 21 October 2018

Difficulties In Identifying Circumstantial Elements: Abstract And Metaphorical Expressions Of Circumstance


Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 332):
In the modern elaborated registers of adult speech and (especially) writing, the circumstantial elements have evolved very far from their concrete origins – especially the spatial ones. It is beyond our scope here to treat these developments systematically; here are a few examples, with suggested interpretations:
they closed down with the loss of 100 jobs [Accompaniment: addition]
the directive was now with the Council of Ministers [Accompaniment: comitation]
we have now been introduced to a new topic [Location: place]
we learn from this experiment [Manner: means]
the committee decided against their use [Cause: behalf ‘not + in favour of’]
the problem lies in our own attitudes [Location: place]
the group will work through all these materials [Extent: distance]
the venture would have failed without the bank’s support [Contingency: default]
my colleague works for the transport section [Cause: behalf]
these products are made to a very high standard [Manner: quality]
we have been asked to assist in a further project [Matter]
consult the chart for the full operational details [Cause: purpose]