There are 2153 instances of the word "anniversary" in the whole of the BNC.
In addition to the 5 instances of "year anniversary" mentioned by Lou
Bernard in a previous posting, I found three more instances with "Number +
year" tagged as adjective (AJ0):
<HRT:0189> To_TO0 mark_VVI the_AT0 *** 10-year_AJ0 anniversary_NN1 ***
,_PUN staff_NN0 and_CJC associates_NN2 were_VBD invited_VVN to_PRP a_AT0
buffet_NN1 lunch_NN1 aboard_AV0 's_VBZ historic_AJ0 sailing_AJ0_NN1
barge_NN1_VVB Ena_NP0 ,_PUN where_AVQ_CJS ,_PUN chief_AJ0 executive_NN0
of_PRF the_AT0 Ipswich_NP0 Port_NP0 Authority_NP0 ,_PUN presented_AJ0_VVD
Grain_NN1 Terminal_AJ0_NN1 chairman_NN1 ,_PUN with_PRP a_AT0
watercolour_NN1 painting_NN1_VVG to_TO0 commemorate_VVI the_AT0
occasion_NN1 ._PUN
<K2W:1587> The_AT0 Peace_NN1 People_NN0 now_AV0 have_VHB a_AT0 much_AV0
lower_AJC profile_NN1 than_CJS in_PRP the_AT0 early_AJ0 days_NN2 ,_PUN
and_CJC despite_PRP a_AT0 flurry_NN1 of_PRF newspaper_NN1 articles_NN2
at_PRP its_DPS *** 10-year_AJ0 anniversary_NN1 *** in_PRP 1986_CRD ,_PUN
it_PNP is_VBZ still_AV0 fairly_AV0 anonymous_AJ0 ._PUN
<EE6:299> It_PNP is_VBZ a_AT0 pity_NN1 they_PNP did_VDD not_XX0 emerge_VVI
from_PRP their_DPS hiding_NN1 place_NN1_VVB in_PRP time_NN1 for_PRP the_AT0
*** 40-year_AJ0 anniversary_NN1 *** reunions_NN2 of_PRF the_AT0
49/50/51_CRD groups_NN2 ,_PUN but_CJC they_PNP are_VBB partially_AV0
relevant_AJ0 to_PRP the_AT0 &bquo_PUQ 52s_CRD next_ORD year_NN1 ._PUN
All three instances are from written texts.
In any case, this doesn't change the general picture that it's a very rare
construction...
With regard to the simple unmodified form "anniversary" and it's
(redundant?) counterpart "first anniversary":
"First anniversary" occurs 76 times in the BNC. The combination "article +
anniversary" occurs 357 times. I only looked at a few of them, but it is
quite obvious that the meaning of the unmodified "anniversary" isn't
restricted to the meaning of "first anniversary". Actually, it appears that
the majority of the unmodified use refers to events that lie back more than
one year. Sentences such as the following two can quite easily be found:
<ABJ:0753> THIS weekend is "Quoc Han" for Vietnamese-Americans, or "black
April", on which they commemorate the *** anniversary *** of the fall of
Saigon.
<FU8:0747> Because she had spent much of that day watching her mother
supervise preparations for the traditional Gio ceremony observed by the
family on *** each anniversary *** of her great-grandfather 's death , Lan
knew the altar held all the favourite foods and beverages that the
high-ranking courtier had enjoyed during his lifetime .
Also, would this sentence not contain a tautology if "anniversary" indeed
only had the more restricted meaning?
<ABK:1731> A march through central London to mark the anniversary of last
year's poll-tax riot passed off peacefully.
"Article + anniversary + of" occurs 204 times in the BNC.
For those among you who like frequency lists, here's one of the word-tags
immediately preceding "anniversary":
AJ0: 58
AJ0_NN1: 80
AJ0_VVD: 1
AJ0_VVG: 1
AJS: 1
AT0: 357
AV0: 3
CJC: 12
CRD: 11
DPS: 38
DT0: 20
DTQ: 8
NN0: 1
NN1: 141
NN1_NP0: 9
NN1_VVB: 3
NN2: 2
NP0: 16
ORD: 1286
POS: 23
PRF: 6
PRP: 11
PUL: 2
PUN: 8
PUQ: 2
PUR: 2
UNC: 3
VBB: 1
Sebastian Hoffmann
/ Sebastian Hoffmann & Lilian Lee Hoffmann \
| e-Mail: sebhoff@es.unizh.ch | 2nd e-Mail: shoffman@nyx.net |
| Rotachstrasse 8 | CH-8003 Zurich/Switzerland |
\ Phone: (41 1) 451 30 81 | Fax: (41 1) 853 12 62 /