Chapter Two
40
conceptualizations of the real world objects described, but only specific
ones are selected as Figure/Ground in the surface structures. It is therefore
interesting to consider how SmPCs and PILs differ in the selection of
Figure and Ground and their linguistic realization. As numerous studies on
the topic have shown (Verhagen 2007: 2ff.) the Figure/Ground distinction
is more particularly reflected in lexical and grammatical distinctions as
illustrated in the following sections.
Prepositions
The use of prepositions is a typical example of how the Figure/Ground
distinction is lexically reflected as shown by examples (14) and (15).
(14) The use of Telmisartan Teva Pharma in children and adolescents up to
the age of 18 years is not recommended
(15) The safety and efficacy of Telmisartan Teva Pharma in children and
adolescents aged below 18 years have not been established.Both expressions denote the same (metaphorical) spatial configuration
in time, but they are semantically distinct because different participants are
selected for representing the respective Figure and Ground. In (14) the
preposition up to expresses an (metaphorical) upstream movement,
profiling the reified drug use as Figure (use of Telmisartan Teva Pharma),
which is profiled against a timespan running from childhood to adulthood.
In (15), by contrast, the preposition below expresses a downstream
movement: the Ground is a timespan unfolding from a specific point in a
temporal matrix (18 years) running in an opposite direction from
adulthood to childhood; this timespan represents the Ground with respect
to which the Figure (i.e. the drug’s characteristics safety and efficacy) is
located.
It is noteworthy that in both text types there also are examples of the
‘prototypical’ or central schema of prepositions such as over, which core
meaning is “unfolding in time” is rendered by the examples (16) and (17):
(16) For treatment of high blood pressure the usual dose [...] is 40 mg once
a day to control your blood pressure over the 24-hour period.
(17) The antihypertensive effect persists constantly over 24 hours after
dosing.In both examples the preposition introduces the time period (24-hour
period, over 24 hours after dosing) that functions as Ground against which
the drug respectively its effect is profiled as Figure. The duration aspect is