Evaluative Meanings and Disciplinary Values - eTheses Repository ...

6.2.2. The NERVOUSNESS group
While the NERVOUSNESS group in the current study is similar to the NERVOUS group in Francis
et al. (1998, p. 415), some adjectives not listed in the NERVOUS group in Francis et al. (1998)
are also listed in my NERVOUSNESS group (i.e. uncomfortable and uneasy), hence the slight
change of nomenclature. This group indicates whether or not people feel nervous, anxious or
cautious about a particular thing, a possible situation, an idea or an action for some reasons.
Table 6.9 below summarizes adjectives of this group in the pattern A DJ about N in ALC and
BC.
Order ALC Freq. BC Freq.
1 cautious 4 cautious 7
2 worried 4 worried 4
3 apprehensive 3 anxious 2
4 anxious 1 apprehensive 2
5 nervous 1 uncomfortable 1
6 uncomfortable 1 uneasy 1
Total 14 17
Prop. 45% 55%
Table 6.9. The NERVOUSNESS group in A DJ about N
Concordance analyses of each of the LSPs in this semantic group show that this
pattern tends to be used to structure relations between cause and effect, by being often
preceded by a reason or followed by a countermeasure. The following examples illustrate
examples of cause and effect via anxious/cautious about N.
This decline made investors anxious about the new strategy, and they pressured management to
back off of their seemingly risky direction. (BC: Strategy2002_6)
Because this lack of a difference is in fact a null effect, we should be cautious about interpreting
these data. (ALC: Cognitive2005_21)
It is well documented that companies face reputational penalties for reducing dividends and are
therefore cautious about adjusting dividends. (BC: Management2003_10)
The first example illustrates the semantic flow through this LSP: cause (or reason) anxious
about something action (or countermeasure). More precisely, the decline is the cause
triggering investors anxiety, then triggering the action against the negative situation by
pressuring management to retreat from a risky direction. It is naturally understood that there is
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