Is But how? a Rhetorical Question?

The results indicate that corpus word frequency is closely related to native speakers' self-reported frequency of word use up to the 7000-word level, and that word frequency is related to word dispersion, with high dispersion rates observed ...

Of particular interest is the difficulty in understanding object relatives compared to other clause types such as subject relatives (Gibson, 1998; but cf. Hsiao & Gibson, 2003), their processing time course (Kutas & King, 1996; Penolazzi, De Vincenzi, Angrilli, & Job, 2005; Vos & Friederici, 2003), and the reasons for their reduction through omission of the complementizer that (Jaeger & Wasow, 2005; Temperley, 2003; Wasow et al., 2005). Because these clauses have played such a central role in language research, we investigated the frequency and usage of object relatives in particular detail.

But looking closely, we see that Ellis is discussing input frequency - the frequency with · which learners are exposed to language items in the classroom - rather than frequency in the language ... frequency as a factor steering the outcome, assuming that the ultimate goal of learning is to obtain a ... I found one other general textbook which gives more attention to this subject: van Els et al Applied

Conjunctions: typical errorsWe use and to connect words in a list and to connect phrases and clauses in a sentence: … ... Everyone, but everyone, will be there. ... She's but a young girl! ... ButBut is a conjunction. … · But as a linking wordWe use but to link items which are the same grammatical type (coordinating conjunction). But is used to connect ideas that contrast. … · But meaning ‘except’But means ‘except’ when it is used after words such as all, everything/nothing, everyone/no one, everybody/nobody: …

We use but to link items which are the same grammatical type (coordinating conjunction). But is used to connect ideas that contrast. The phrase but not is common: The room has been painted but not in the colour that I asked for.

'All right!' you'll say,/ 'But if we take the set away,/ What shall we do to entertain/ Our darling children? Please explain!'/ We'll answer this by asking you,/ 'What used the darling ones to do?/ How used they keep themselves contented/ Before this monster was invented?'" in Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.) Rhetorical question: the raising of a question to persuade the audience or make them reflect, while not actually expecting an answer.

The conjunction but means “on the contrary,” and is used to indicate contrast or opposition between elements in a sentence. How is but different from however, nevertheless, still, and yet? Find out on Thesaurus.com. See except 1. First recorded before 900; Middle English buten, Old English ...

Asyndeton is the removal of conjunctions like “or,” “and,” or “but” from your writing because the sentence flows better, or more poetically, without them. Example: This is a favorite technique of Cormac McCarthy, as seen in this passage from Out Dark: “A parson was laboring over the crest of the hill and coming toward them with one hand raised in blessing, greeting, fending flies.” · And like most of the enigmatic author’s preferred rhetoric, this asyndeton is almost intentionally confusing; whether the parson is blessing or greeting or swatting flies is never clarified.

Hyperbole is a word- or sentence-level rhetorical device in which the author exaggerates a particular point for dramatic effect. For example: ... Because the city was not literally left flat, this is an exaggeration, and therefore hyperbole. But it still helps express the author’s main point, which is that the city of Berlin was very severely damaged. Analogy is an important device in which the explains one thing by comparing it to another. At the sentence level, this might be as simple as saying “my cat’s fur is