Selected Papers from the Fourteenth International ... - STIBA Malang

186 Amanda Pounder
(7) shows the zero adverb as a modifier of an adverb; this is the context in which
eighteenth- and nineteenth-century grammarians urge the avoidance of two lyadverbs
in sequence (e.g., Sedger 1798: 71; Lennie 1815 3 : 76), as here the potential
hugely nobly, remarking on the negative aesthetics of the repeated affix:
(7) … the Captain would by all means have me up to his cabin; and there treated me
huge nobly, giving me a barrel of pickled oysters (Pepys diary 4/21–22/1660)
In (8), on the other hand, the sequence of two ly-adverbs, as in shockingly badly, is
avoided in the choosing of a zero adverb for the second one.
(8) … he came and drew my tooth, but shockingly bad indeed, he broke away a great
piece of my gum (Woodforde 1775)
Finally, we find the zero adverb in coordinate constructions, where two adverbs or
adverb phrases are conjoined. The various possibilities are shown in (9).
(9) a. And I confess it is very highly and basely done of him.
(Pepys diary Vol III: 249, 11/4/1662)
b. … and I fell to writing of it very neatly, and it was very handsome and
concisely done. 2 (Pepys diary Vol. III: 138, 7/16/1662)
c. … that they behave themselves dutifully and obedient (J. Evelyn 1704)
d. … talked exceedingly civil and obliging (Woodforde 1777)
In (9a), we see the coordinate structure which at all times throughout Early Modern
English, Late Modern English, and Present-day English is by far the best represented,
the others all being very rarely encountered: two ly-suffixed adverbs, which
we may generalize as the type X-ly and Y-ly. 3 (9b) shows, by the same writer,
what appears to be the next most frequently-occurring pattern, 4 namely one in
which the adverb in the first conjunct is the product of a conversion process, while
the adverb in the second conjunct is the product of ly-suffixation, the type here
2. It is conceivable, though in my opinion unlikely, based on the context, that the diarist intended
[it is handsome] and [it is concisely done]. I have endeavoured in this paper to select
examples in which ambiguity of this sort is minimal.
. Note that AND stands for any conjunction, in principle; most examples here in fact use and,
but but and or also occur.
4. No attempt to calculate statistical frequencies was made in this investigation. Ly-adverbs
so vastly outnumber zero adverbs in coordination contexts as to make statistical comparison
meaningless; most writers do not use zero adverbs at all in this context, and if they do use
them, the frequency will still be extremely low. Given the rarity of zero adverbs in coordination
contexts, it is not meaningful to use statistics to compare the minority patterns. I have found no
example where one writer uses more than one minority pattern in a given type. Therefore, references
to frequency in this paper are impressionistic. It is to be hoped that more attestations will
be found, so that a meaningful statistical description can be made.