Disjunct (linguistics)
Encyclopedia
In linguistics
, a disjunct is a type of adverbial
adjunct
that expresses information that is not considered essential to the sentence it appears in, but which is considered to be the speaker's or writer's attitude towards, or descriptive statement of, the proposition
al content of the sentence. Here are some examples (note: the disjuncts that follow are also termed 'sentence adverbs'):
Sometimes, the same word or phrase can be interpreted either as a disjunct or as a simple adjunct:
More generally, the term disjunct can be used to refer to any sentence element that is not fully integrated into the clausal structure of the sentence. Such elements usually appear peripherally (at the beginning or end of the sentence) and are set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma (in writing) and a pause (in speech).
A specific type of disjunct is the (or sentence adverbial), which modifies a sentence
, or a clause
within a sentence, to convey the mood, attitude or sentiments of the speaker, rather than an adverb
modifying a verb
, an adjective
or another adverb within a sentence.
An example of a sentence adverb modifying a sentence is: Unfortunately, when I got to the supermarket it had run out of the vegetable I like. An example of a sentence adverb modifying a clause within a sentence is: I liked the red car in the forecourt, but unfortunately, when I got to the dealer it was already sold.
"Unfortunately" thus communicates the regret or disappointment the speaker experiences and so manifests as a sentence adverb the sentiments of the speaker.
"Unfortunately," however, is only one of many sentence adverbs that can modify a speaker's attitude. Others include "mercifully," "gratefully," "oddly," "admittedly," etc.
One of the reasons the sentence adverb usage seems more acceptable these days is that its semantics are reminiscent of the German hoffentlich ("it is to be hoped that") which implies (in the context of the first example) that the speaker hopes the sun will shine. Furthermore, it is because of their conciseness, avoiding the need to put into several words what can be said in one, that the use of sentence adverbs is establishing itself more and more in colloquial speech.
Merriam-Webster
gives a usage note on its entry for "hopefully" in which the editors point out that the disjunct sense of the word dates to the early 18th century and had been in fairly widespread use since at least the 1930s. Objection to this sense of the word, they state, only became widespread in the 1960s. The editors maintain that this usage is "entirely standard." The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
warns that "writers who use hopefully as a sentence adverb should be aware that the usage is unacceptable to many critics, include a large majority [73%] of the Usage Panel". This is up from 56% in 1969.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, a disjunct is a type of adverbial
Adverbial
In grammar an adverbial is a word or a group of words that modifies or tells us something about the sentence or the verb. The word adverbial is also used as an adjective, meaning 'having the same function as an adverb'...
adjunct
Adjunct (grammar)
In linguistics, an adjunct is an optional, or structurally dispensable, part of a sentence that, when removed, will not affect the remainder of the sentence except to discard from it some auxiliary information...
that expresses information that is not considered essential to the sentence it appears in, but which is considered to be the speaker's or writer's attitude towards, or descriptive statement of, the proposition
Proposition
In logic and philosophy, the term proposition refers to either the "content" or "meaning" of a meaningful declarative sentence or the pattern of symbols, marks, or sounds that make up a meaningful declarative sentence...
al content of the sentence. Here are some examples (note: the disjuncts that follow are also termed 'sentence adverbs'):
- Honestly, I didn't do it. (Meaning "I'm honest when I say I didn't do it" rather than *"I didn't do it in an honest way.")
- Fortunately for you, I have it right here.
- In my opinion, the green one is better.
- Frankly, this whole paragraph needs work.
- Interestingly, the comment made for a great topic of its own.
- Luckily, the amount of sugar the recipe called for, was in stock in the pantry.
- Clearly, the mail did not come today due to it being a national holiday.
- Unfortunately, by the time she reached the bus stop, the bus had already left.
Sometimes, the same word or phrase can be interpreted either as a disjunct or as a simple adjunct:
- They seriously worked in an underground diamond mine run by Barbara.
- Disjunct meaning: I'm serious when I say that they worked in an underground diamond mine ...
- Adjunct meaning: They worked with seriousness...
More generally, the term disjunct can be used to refer to any sentence element that is not fully integrated into the clausal structure of the sentence. Such elements usually appear peripherally (at the beginning or end of the sentence) and are set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma (in writing) and a pause (in speech).
A specific type of disjunct is the (or sentence adverbial), which modifies a sentence
Sentence (linguistics)
In the field of linguistics, a sentence is an expression in natural language, and often defined to indicate a grammatical unit consisting of one or more words that generally bear minimal syntactic relation to the words that precede or follow it...
, or a clause
Clause
In grammar, a clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition. In some languages it may be a pair or group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate, although in other languages in certain clauses the subject may not appear explicitly as a noun phrase,...
within a sentence, to convey the mood, attitude or sentiments of the speaker, rather than an adverb
Adverb
An adverb is a part of speech that modifies verbs or any part of speech other than a noun . Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives , clauses, sentences, and other adverbs....
modifying a verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
, an adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
or another adverb within a sentence.
An example of a sentence adverb modifying a sentence is: Unfortunately, when I got to the supermarket it had run out of the vegetable I like. An example of a sentence adverb modifying a clause within a sentence is: I liked the red car in the forecourt, but unfortunately, when I got to the dealer it was already sold.
"Unfortunately" thus communicates the regret or disappointment the speaker experiences and so manifests as a sentence adverb the sentiments of the speaker.
"Unfortunately," however, is only one of many sentence adverbs that can modify a speaker's attitude. Others include "mercifully," "gratefully," "oddly," "admittedly," etc.
Hopefully
In the last forty years or so, a controversy has arisen over the proper usage of the adverb hopefully. Some grammarians began to object when they first encountered constructions like: "Hopefully, the sun will be shining tomorrow." Their complaint stems from the fact that the term "hopefully" dangles, and is intended to describe the speaker's state of mind, rather than the (grammatically more pure) manner in which the sun will shine.One of the reasons the sentence adverb usage seems more acceptable these days is that its semantics are reminiscent of the German hoffentlich ("it is to be hoped that") which implies (in the context of the first example) that the speaker hopes the sun will shine. Furthermore, it is because of their conciseness, avoiding the need to put into several words what can be said in one, that the use of sentence adverbs is establishing itself more and more in colloquial speech.
Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster
Merriam–Webster, which was originally the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language .Merriam-Webster Inc. has been a...
gives a usage note on its entry for "hopefully" in which the editors point out that the disjunct sense of the word dates to the early 18th century and had been in fairly widespread use since at least the 1930s. Objection to this sense of the word, they state, only became widespread in the 1960s. The editors maintain that this usage is "entirely standard." The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language is an American dictionary of the English language published by Boston publisher Houghton Mifflin, the first edition of which appeared in 1969...
warns that "writers who use hopefully as a sentence adverb should be aware that the usage is unacceptable to many critics, include a large majority [73%] of the Usage Panel". This is up from 56% in 1969.