@article{ART003282951},
author={Shin Sona},
title={Stressing Absence and Qualification: Existential There in Literary Discourse},
journal={The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea},
issn={1226-4822},
year={2025},
volume={33},
number={4},
pages={409-428}
TY - JOUR
AU - Shin Sona
TI - Stressing Absence and Qualification: Existential There in Literary Discourse
JO - The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea
PY - 2025
VL - 33
IS - 4
PB - The Sociolinguistic Society Of Korea
SP - 409
EP - 428
SN - 1226-4822
AB - This study investigates the pragmatic functions of ETC(Existential There Construction)s in Part 1 of Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty. Through a detailed corpus-based analysis of 85 existential there sentences, the research categorizes their uses into Negation/Absence, Quantification/Qualification, new information introduction, and other functions. The results reveal that Negation/Absence (29.4%) + Quantification/Qualification (20.0%) together comprise 49.4%—nearly equal to new information introduction (45.9%), underscoring these functions as central to the construction’s role in the text. This challenges the traditional view of existential there as merely introducing new entities and highlights its nuanced role in literary discourse to emphasize presence, and thematic elements. These findings enhance understanding of how ETCs contribute to meaning-making and information structure in English narratives, particularly within canonical literary texts.
KW - ETC;pragmatic functions;negation/absence and quantification/qualification;information structure;literary corpus analysis
DO -
UR -
ER -
Shin Sona. (2025). Stressing Absence and Qualification: Existential There in Literary Discourse. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea, 33(4), 409-428.
Shin Sona. 2025, "Stressing Absence and Qualification: Existential There in Literary Discourse", The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea, vol.33, no.4 pp.409-428.
Shin Sona "Stressing Absence and Qualification: Existential There in Literary Discourse" The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 33.4 pp.409-428 (2025) : 409.
Shin Sona. Stressing Absence and Qualification: Existential There in Literary Discourse. 2025; 33(4), 409-428.
Shin Sona. "Stressing Absence and Qualification: Existential There in Literary Discourse" The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 33, no.4 (2025) : 409-428.
Shin Sona. Stressing Absence and Qualification: Existential There in Literary Discourse. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea, 33(4), 409-428.
Shin Sona. Stressing Absence and Qualification: Existential There in Literary Discourse. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea. 2025; 33(4) 409-428.
Shin Sona. Stressing Absence and Qualification: Existential There in Literary Discourse. 2025; 33(4), 409-428.
Shin Sona. "Stressing Absence and Qualification: Existential There in Literary Discourse" The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 33, no.4 (2025) : 409-428.
