Introduction – Adverbs and adverbials: Categorial issues

Abstract

The theory of parts-of-speech is both one of the most fundamental issues of any syntactic description or any syntactic theory, and one of the trickiest for anyone defending a cross-linguistic, comparative approach (Haspelmath 2001: 16538). A first major question, common to languagespecific and cross-linguistic research, is whether parts-of-speech are essentially word-classes or functional classes. Directly pertaining to this matter is the question of the polycategoriality and/or polyfunctionality of items that seem to belong to several classes. Depending on the positions adopted in this debate, the respective relevance of semantic, syntactic and morphological criteria needs to be considered differently. From a cross-linguistic perspective, syntactic and above all morphological tests are put into jeopardy even more directly. As a result the degree of languagespecific variation, the extent of flexibility required in classifications and the respective role of functional and formal criteria are still major issues for any theory of parts-of-speech.

Exploring Semanticity for Content and Function Word Distinction in Catalan

“…A key question in linguistic research is whether parts-of-speech primarily represent word classes or functional classes (Duplâtre and Modicom 2022). The concept of parts-ofspeech is a fundamental aspect in syntactic and semantic descriptions and theories, posing challenges for those advocating a cross-linguistic, comparative approach (Duplâtre and Modicom 2022;Haspelmath 2001).…”

“…A key question in linguistic research is whether parts-of-speech primarily represent word classes or functional classes (Duplâtre and Modicom 2022). The concept of parts-ofspeech is a fundamental aspect in syntactic and semantic descriptions and theories, posing challenges for those advocating a cross-linguistic, comparative approach (Duplâtre and Modicom 2022;Haspelmath 2001). Furthermore, in the ongoing debate on the classification of words, the necessity of lexico-semantic tests becomes apparent, shedding light on the intricate nature of parts-of-speech and enhancing our understanding of the interplay between semantic and lexical criteria.…”