6 - Anaphoric reference in the nineteenth century: that/those + of constructions

Summary

Introduction

The anaphoric pronouns that/those in connection with a following of-phrase suggest a notable degree of formality to many native speakers of English. It has been observed that in relation to corresponding genitival constructions, the use of the of construction in general is thus also more common in those genres usually associated with a greater level of formality. This tendency has been seen in texts from earlier centuries (for instance, in seventeenth-century texts, see Altenberg 1982: 251–5). The comparatively even more formal nature of the combined that of/those of constructions is evident in the present day, and has been noted by several authors (e.g. Schibsbye 1970: 118; Perttunen 1986: 168; Biber et al. 1999: 307). Comparing expressions as regards their differing shades of formality, Perttunen (1986: 168) considers constructions with that of and those of ‘very formal’. In a similar vein, Biber et al. (1999: 307–8) argue that these constructions are ‘felt as overwhelmingly associated with careful expository writing and hence inappropriate to conversation’, and thus the notion of formality in this chapter is to be determined extralinguistically, i.e. depending on the situation of communication.

A typical instance of anaphoric that/those followed by an of-phrase can be seen in the following sentence, culled from CONCE (= A Corpus of Nineteenth-century English; see the Introduction to this volume):

(1) To the outward observer, Lawrence's situation was almost as difficult as that of his brother at Lucknow.

(History, Spencer Walpole, 1870–1900, p. VI, 310)