On English modals, modal meaning and argument structure

English Today ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Sergio Torres–Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Interesting Paper ◽  
Cognitive Construction Grammar

In an interesting paper, Fong (2020) raises objections to my approach to English modals (and modality in general) which he views as too general and not fully compliant with the postulates of Construction Grammar. In this response paper, I intend to explain in some depth the benefits of my approach, as well as the reasons why Construction Grammar, in particular Cognitive Construction Grammar (Goldberg, 1995, 2006, 2019), needs to be interrogated and adapted as a conceptual framework to explain language learning and processing.

scholarly journals Working out multiword verbs within an Applied Cognitive Construction Grammar framework

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-86
Author(s):  
Sergio Torres-Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Focus On Form ◽  
Working Out ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Cognitive Construction Grammar

AbstractThis article presents a constructionist approach to the teaching of multiword verbs. To that end, I outline a pedagogical model, Applied Cognitive Construction Grammar (ACCxG), which is deemed to provide insight into a novel classification of multiword verbs as constructions (form-function pairings). The ACCxG framework integrates four cognitively-driven rationales, namely Focus on Form, Task-based Language Teaching, Data-driven Learning, and Paper-based Data-Driven Learning. It is argued that the syntax-semantics of multiword verbs can be better understood through recourse to their relation with syntactic constructions (Argument Structure Constructions). Endorsing this rationale entails, among other things, the recognition that the same general cognitive mechanisms intervening in the construction of our experience of the world are at play during the construction of linguistic knowledge.

The role of semiotics in the unification of langue and parole: an Agentive Cognitive Construction Grammar approach to English modals

Semiotica ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Torres-Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Linguistic System ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Cognitive Construction Grammar

Abstract This article introduces Agentive Cognitive Construction Grammar, an emerging field that seeks to connect the linguistic system with speaker-meaning. The stated purpose is thus to tackle a pervasive disconnect in both cognitive linguistics and construction grammar, whereby the linguistic system (langue) and speaker selections (parole) are separated in the belief that language is essentially a mental process associated with the brain, and hence, separated from bodily experience. I contend this view by introducing a triadic model of construction (based on the Peircean sign) in which form and function are inextricably bound up with agency. This is possible because language is tethered to senses of movement and balance that connect experiences with the physical world with the mental. A major insight of the paper is that argument structure constructions partake of both linguistic and non-linguistic signs, which provides speakers with a means to verbalize their thoughts and distribute agency in specific events.

Constructions as Triads of Form, Function, and Agency: An Agentive Cognitive Construction Grammar Study of English Modals

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Torres-Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
American English ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Corpus Study ◽  
Objective Truth ◽  
Form Function ◽  
Mental Schemas ◽  
Cognitive Construction Grammar

The present article introduces anagentive cognitive construction grammarapproach to the analysis of English central modals. One of the premises of the new theory is that speaker meaning cannot be captured by looking at form-function relations only but through the integration of additional conceptual layers such as agency, embodiment, and argument structure construction. This theoretical turn is supported empirically by a corpus study aimed at identifying specific modal constructions in the 520 million wordCorpus of Contemporary American English. The results show that(i) English modals are reliably identifiable as constructions at a clausal level, and(ii) that, depending on the type of agency (motional or stative), modal constructions can be divided into two main categories, namelymodal agentive constructionsandmodal referential constructions. The results also support the idea that modal constructions are triadic, that is, that they display symbolic form-function relations based on iconic-indexical, and speaker-driven processes (all of which are possible thanks to the conceptualizer’s possession of the concept of objective truth). These constructions provide conceptualizers with the mental schemas necessary to construe meaning across mental spaces.

Multimodal constructions in children

Gesture ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mats Andrén
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Developmental Progression ◽  
Traditional Sense ◽  
Theoretical Question

Swedish children’s use of the headshake from 18 to 30 months shows a developmental progression from rote-learned and formulaic coordination with speech to increasingly more flexible and productive coordination with speech. To deal with these observations, I make use of the concept of multimodal constructions, to extend usage-based approaches to language learning and construction grammar by inclusion of the kinetic domain. These ideas have consequences for the (meta‑)theoretical question of whether gesture can be said to be part of language or not. I suggest that some speech-coordinated gestures, including the headshake, can be considered part of language, also in the traditional sense of language as a conventionalized system.

Language Learning Environments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phil Benson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Do So

This book is the first in-depth examination of the application of theories of space to issues of second language learning. The author outlines a new conceptual framework for researching SLA that centres on the idea of 'language learning environments' and demonstrates that where people learn languages is equally as important as how they do so.

scholarly journals Raising Collocational Awareness with Humour

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-113
Author(s):  
Tünde Nagy
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Easy Task ◽  
Specific Meaning ◽  
Linguistic Structures

AbstractDespite the increased interest that collocations have received in EFL methodology lately, making language learners aware of these multiword constructions continues to represent a challenge for teachers. While there may be different ways of teaching collocations, finding activities that raise collocational awareness efficiently is no easy task. Collocational awareness can be defined as the ability of language learners (and users) to use and acknowledge word combinations in their entirety. Humour can be useful in this regard as it not only ensures a more relaxed atmosphere in the classroom but can also help students to acknowledge and remember specific linguistic structures (among them, also collocations) more easily. In line with Construction Grammar (Goldberg 1995, 1997, 2006), it is believed that collocations are to be treated as constructions, pairings of form with a specific meaning and varying degrees of predictability – teaching them as such can contribute to a better understanding and acquisition of these constructions. After offering a brief overview of the characteristics of collocations and reflecting on the possible advantages of using humour in class, the paper shows possible ways of teaching collocations with humour. The exercises and activities suggested focus on both the productive and receptive competence of language learners and also incorporate the necessary skills required in the language learning process: listening, reading, writing, and speaking.

scholarly journals The Bilingual Mental Lexicon and Lemmatic Transfer in Second Language Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. p43
Author(s):  
Longxing Wei
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Mental Lexicon ◽  
Language Transfer ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Abstract Approach ◽  
Lexical Structure ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure

There have been numerous studies of first Language (L1) transfer in second Language (L2) learning. Various models have been proposed to explore the sources of language transfer and have also caused many controversies over the nature of language transfer and its effects on interlanguage. Different from most previous studies remaining at a surface level of observation, this study proposes an abstract approach, which is abstract because it goes beyond any superficial observation and description by exploring the nature and activity of the bilingual mental lexicon in L2 learning. This approach adopts the Bilingual Lemma Activation Model (BLAM) (Wei, 2006a, 2006b) and tests its crucial assumptions and claims: The bilingual mental lexicon does not simply contain lexemes but abstract entries, called “lemmas”, about them; lemmas in the bilingual mental lexicon are language-specific; language-specific lemmas in the bilingual mental lexicon are in contact in L2 learning, lemmas underlying L1 abstract lexical structure may replace those underlying L2 abstract lexical structure. Lemmas in the bilingual mental lexicon are about three levels of abstract lexical structure: lexical-conceptual structure, predicate-argument structure, and morphological realization patterns. The typical instances of L1 lemma transfer in L2 learning are discussed and explained in support of the BLAM.

A construction grammar analysis of the transitivebeperfect in present-day Canadian English

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
YURI YERASTOV
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Syntactic Analysis ◽  
Underlying Structure ◽  
Canadian English ◽  
Syntactic Theory ◽  
Fixed Material ◽  
Grammar Analysis ◽  
Generative Approach ◽  
Surface Realization

This article offers a syntactic analysis of the construction [be doneNP], e.g.I am done dinner, I am finished my homework, as found in Canadian English and some US dialects. After situating this construction in the context of a productive transitivebeperfect in Scots/English dialects, [be doneNP] will be distinguished from a set of its conceptual and structural relatives, and ultimately be shown not to be reducible to a surface realization of another underlying structure. From the perspective of syntactic theory, the article problematizes the parsimony of the mainstream generative approach (most recently in MacFadden & Alexiadou 2010) in accounting for the facts of [be doneNP] on strictly compositional grounds, as well as the mainstream view of lexical items as projecting theta grids and subcategorization frames (as e.g. in Grimshaw 1979; Emonds 2000). Following Fillmoreet al.(1988), Goldberg (1995, 2005) and others, what will be suggested instead is a construction grammar approach to [be doneNP], under which a construction holistically licenses its argument structure. Along these lines [be doneNP] will be characterized as an abstract construction with some fixed material.

Argument structure satisfaction via unselected adjuncts

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiko Fujii ◽  
Russell Lee-Goldman
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Semantic Approach ◽  
The Core ◽  
Frame Element

Abstract This paper presents a frame-based constructional approach to argument structure satisfaction via unselected adjuncts, by focusing on one such case in Japanese. It points out an intriguing constructional phenomenon whereby causal adjunct clauses marked with node ‘because’, as used with main-clause predicates that evoke communication frames (such as Telling and Warning), serve to satisfy main-clause argument structure. The node clause precedes the main-clause speech act of telling/warning, and can be interpreted as a speech-act causal (Sweetser 1990). The node clause at the same time conveys the content of informing or warning, i.e., the core Frame Element message, which is absent as a main-clause complement. This analysis of argument structure satisfaction via unselected adjuncts provides evidence for a Frame Semantic approach to argument structure that incorporates Construction Grammar.

The Role of Language Teacher Beliefs in an Increasingly Digitalized Communicative World

2018 ◽  
pp. 140-160
Author(s):  
Geoff Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Technology Integration ◽  
Teacher Beliefs ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Teacher Resistance

This chapter discusses the role of the language teacher and their beliefs in realizing the potential that rapidly evolving technology-mediated tools offer second/additional language learning (L2) in an increasingly digitalized world. The promise and pressures of technology integration are first discussed highlighting the need for new approaches to pedagogy in technology-mediated L2 teaching. Factors contributing to teacher resistance are then reviewed including the unique qualities of educational resistance to technology. Research identifying the nature of teacher beliefs from a range of studies is examined along with a conceptual framework illustrating the interconnected factors shaping L2 teacher beliefs and behaviour towards educational technology. Recommendations for effective approaches to technology-directed language teacher education and areas of needed research conclude the chapter.

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