Monday 17 August 2015

Misconstruing Parataxis As Addition (Extension)

Martin (1992: 236):
Additives are treated in this way to simplify the representation since they often combine with other external relations (e.g. and so, and then, and thus etc.) and are extremely frequent in certain modes.

Blogger Comment:

In such cases, the expansion relation is determined by the second conjunction: so, then, thus.  When functioning structurally (logically), rather than cohesively (textually), the and only marks the paratactic interdependency of clauses in a nexus.  Both examples given (237, 239) are of paratactic enhancement — temporal and cause— with no additive (extension) relation:


He had to take steroids for his injured hamstring
and then they introduced more sophisticated tests
1
x 2 (temporal)

On top of all that he won his race
and so had to be tested
1
x 2 (cause: result)