허사적 부정의 역사적 변천

Historical Change of Expletive Negation

This study explores the diachronic development of expletive negation (EN) from Old English to Early Modern English. The EN examined in this paper involves a matrix verb with the meaning prohibit , deny/refuse or doubt/fear governing a subordinate clause with a negative marker whose meaning is allegedly empty. It is argued that EN is not a case of long-distance negative concord, but it is a genuine negative clause, as evidenced by the existence of emphatic negative markers. The use of EN is explained from a cognitive perspective as a speaker s frequent (mis-)interpretation of counterfactual contexts, which is compatible with the use of the subjunctive mood.