The metonymic basis of prepositional polysemy in Old English: A pragmatic approach

Abstract

This paper examines the semantics and pragmatics of the preposition “on” in Old English. I will show that deviations from its prototype were motivated by pragmatic inferences and world-knowledge. A striking feature of the deviation processes examined here is that they were triggered by metonymic operations. A salient element in the configuration of the spatial relations expressed by the prototype was modulated by several contextual factors modifying the primary relation and producing shifts in meaning. One of the main conclusions drawn from this work is that while the principles governing the distribution of the prepositions “in” and “on” in present-day English rely above all on geometric descriptions of the landmark, in Old English it was determined by pragmatic inferences and communicative constraints.