SECTION:
Transcultural Stereotypes in Works of Art and Literature
Alina Fesenko (Tambov, Russia)
The choice of the prepositions used in the construal of emotionA construction which has provided formal grammarians with some kind of a challenge is the combination "adjective+preposition" that is used by the English speakers in expressing emotions. For example:
1). He is worried about his nephew.
2). Anna is irritated by almost everything here.
3).You must be ashamed of your previous action.
4). Dogs are usually devoted to people.
5). The teacher was upset over my answer.
We'll consider these five prepositions commonly used in these combinations. The main problem both English learners and descriptive grammarians deal with is that not all emotion terms can be used with all prepositions. The five prepositions represent five ways of constructing a situation in which an emotion is related to its appraised object. In the conditions under which combinations of emotions are used, the prepositions are not structural but predictable and conceptual.
Here is a summary of the conditions each preposition requires:
About this nominal preposition simply represents a situation. It can be proceeded by any emotion term, apart from those which require an identified focus.
By the nominal preposition must be conceptualized through events or processes.
Of the emotion term here is the critical element. It involves the theoretical projection of the experiencer .
To this term must include the idea of positive intentions flowing from the experiencer to the following nominee.
Over is conceptualized as the culmination of an involving situation.
The emotion term represents the experiencer's emotional state in viewing the situation from its final point.
|
INST |