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A Comparative Study of Causals and Conditionals Based on Iconicity

Author(s)

Quan Hu1, Qiaoyun Liao2,*

Affiliation(s)

1Faculty of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, China 2Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China *Corresponding Author.

Abstract

Based on the iconicity of sequence and iconicity of markedness, this study makes a comparative study of causals (causal complex sentences) and conditionals (conditional complex sentences) through corpus analysis. The results show that the iconicity of sequence outweighs the iconicity of markedness in conditionals, whereas the iconicity of markedness is more prevalent in causals. Logical causals and evidential causals frequently employ sequential or marked iconic expressions, while logical conditionals and evidential conditionals often utilize the iconicity of sequence. These results suggest that both causals and conditionals can convey the iconicity of sequence and iconicity of markedness. Conditionals typically convey hypothetical, uncertain, possible, or counterfactual meanings that necessitate the consideration of the conditional clause as a cognitive framework. Furthermore, due to their contrastive nature, conditional clause tends to exhibit a preference for prepositions. Therefore, the conditional clause usually precedes the main clause, exhibiting iconicity of sequence. However, causals usually express the causal relationships between actual events and their causality without explicit contrasts or hypothetical conditions. As a result, the causal clause can be positioned either before or after the main clause, exhibiting iconicity of sequence and iconicity of markedness.

Keywords

Causals; Conditionals; Iconicity of Sequence; Iconicity of Markedness

References

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