Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Current pragmatic research shows that structures such as the periphrastic passive influence the interpretation of utterance meaning, yet none specifies how linguistic structure gives rise to a given pragmatic effect. The existing body of literature remains mainly theoretical and descriptive rather than methodological. This study thus offers a replicable double-layered annotation scheme linking observable linguistic cues such as verb type, lexical polarity, oblique complement, and discursive stakes to interpretive pragmatic categories of agentive attribution and content framing. Inter-annotator agreement reached at least substantial levels across all categories (κ ≥ .60). Applying the framework to a corpus of periphrastic passives from a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, we show that content framing most frequently foregrounds positive company actions, consistent with the use of the periphrastic passive as a potential resource for managing agent visibility to project a more benevolent image of the company.
Source: Research Square
Authors: Emeline Pierre, Romina Kowsari
Institution: University of Neuchâtel
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225145169