The Functions of Must-constructions in Spoken Corpus: A Constructionist Perspective

摘要

This study investigates must constructions in the Spoken British National Corpus 2014 (Spoken BNC2014). A constructionist perspective is taken to examine the structure and distribution of must constructions in the spoken corpus. Moreover, a conversational analysis is conducted to identify the functions of must constructions as they are used in communication. Adopting corpus analytical procedures, we identified two major must constructions, [must+be] and [must+'ve/have], whose central member [there+must+be+some] conducts the topic extending function while [she+must+'ve/have+been] is related to the speaker's evaluation of the condition of an individual identified as she. On the other hand, although [must+Verb] does not have a very high type frequency, its central member [I+must+admit+I] performs an important interpersonal function in minimizing possible negative impact brought about by the speaker's comment. The findings suggest that the central members of must constructions exhibit dynamic and interactive functions in daily conversations.