For the linguists among us: I like loud singing vs I like singing loudly

Can you explain why using "loud" as either an adjective or an adverb changes the meaning of the sentence. Is it just an English convention, or is there something deeper going on?

I like loud singing = I like turning the volume up on my stereo

I like singing loudly = I break wine glasses when I sing in the shower

Solution 1:

Oh, I think I figured it out. :-)

I like singing loudly

Singing is a verb, and as we know, an adverb (loudly) modifies a verb.

I like loud singing

Singing is a gerund (verb functioning as a noun), modified by the adjective, loud.

And there's the kernel of your answer:

I like walking.

I like dancing.

Etc., these are things that I like doing. Here's another example of the same phenomenon. Compare:

I like guitar playing.

I like playing guitar.

...playing as a verb vs. playing as a gerund.