Re: Copula

--- "David J. Peterson" <dedalvs@...> wrote:

>
> I think I may know the linguistic pressure that
> Jason is responding
> to.  I think I've brought up this example before on
> the list, but here
> it is again  Read the following:
>
> John has been a firefighter for twelve years.  His
> father is a
> firefighter, and his father, in turn, was a
> firefighter before him.
> There is a long and proud tradition of firefighting
> in his family.
> One day, John arrives at a fire too late, and
> doesn't manage to
> save a man who's trapped.  John is devastated, and
> thinks about
> quitting.  He goes to his father for advice.  "Son,"
> says his father,
> "I may never have told you this, but I've lost
> several people in
> my tenure as fire chief.  I remember every one.
> You'd be inhuman
> not to be affected by it.  But don't let it drive
> you away.  What
> you need to do is strengthen your resolve to be the
> best firefighter
> you can be, so that you never lose anyone ever
> again."  John is
> heartened by this speech, shakes his father's hand,
> and goes out
> and _____ the best firefighter he can be.
>
> In the blank, conjugate the verb "to be".  You may
> *not* use the
> verb "become", or change the sentence, or do
> anything at all to
> it.  Just conjugate the verb "to be".
>
> So, what do you think?  I put the word "bes" in
> there.  The word
> "is" just doesn't cut it.  The reason is, I think,
> that "be" *isn't*
> acting
> as a copula in this sentence.
Indeed. This is a different verb, it means 'to act
as', as such it's incomparable, I think, to the
copula, which is a semantically linker between two
words, which is what I think that Jason was talking
about (but, of course, I dont really know, as I am not
him). In the case of a copula, the difference between
the two nouns is not very clear cut, both nouns are
the same person/thing. In your 'act as' verb, one is
the 'actant' the other is the 'role' that the actant
takes on. So that, 'actant' and 'role' are two
separable entities.

This is also clear from your example

> E.g., with two kids discussing what  they're going
to be
> for halloween.  Imagine they're looking through a
> comic book,  and one says to the other, "Okay, you
be him, and
> I'll be him."
While, it is unclear if this is an imperative or a 2nd
person present, it IS clear that this is not a copula.
Again, the nouns are 'actant' and 'role' respectively,
as you have noted.

Is there evidence that you can show that demonstrates
the copula as a transitive verb in which both nouns
are fulfilling different roles?
 -Elliott.




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