Why Construction Grammar is radical

2004 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 321-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Linguistic Analysis ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Traditional View ◽  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Radical Construction

This article reviews some of the foundational assumptions of Croft'sRadical Construction Grammar. While constructions have featured prominently in much recent work in cognitive linguistics, Croft adopts the ‘radical’ view that constructions are the primary objects of linguistic analysis, with lexical and syntactic categories being defined with respect to the constructions in which they occur. This approach reverses the traditional view, according to which complex expressions are compositionally assembled through syntactic rules operating over items selected from the lexicon. The ubiquity of idioms, especially so-called constructional idioms, provides compelling evidence for the essential correctness of the radical constructional view. The possibility of a radical constructional approach to phonology is also discussed.

scholarly journals On the place of turn and sequence in grammar

Pragmatics ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan K. Lindström
Keyword(s):  
Linguistic Analysis ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Surface Pattern ◽  
Syntactic Analysis ◽  
Sequential Organization ◽  
Attribute Value

This study elaborates the concept of a positionally sensitive grammar with respect to the sequentiality of turns and the turn constructional units in conversation. The linguistic object of the analysis is clausal constructions in Swedish that are initiated by the finite predicate verb: Polar questions, receipt questions (news receipts), conditional protases and pro-drop declaratives. These constructions share potentially the same syntactic surface pattern but are constrained by different sequential conditions of use. The study proposes an integrated interactional linguistic analysis which takes into account both syntactic and sequential aspects of turn construction. A grammatical attribute-value matrix, based on the framework of construction grammar (CxG), is introduced. The analysis shows that regularities of sequential organization may provide robust distinctive constructional features while a pure syntactic analysis remains less distinctive. The decisive constructional features are systematically captured by a notation designed for sequential and syntactic organization.

Modality and Mood in Cognitive Linguistics and Construction Grammars

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronny Boogaart ◽  
Egbert Fortuin
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Detailed Account ◽  
Cognitive Grammar ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Modal Verbs ◽  
Force Dynamics ◽  
Mental Spaces

From the start of cognitive linguistics, in the 1980s, researchers working within this framework have given ample attention to mood and modality. This is understandable since these categories crucially involve speaker attitude and perspective and cognitive linguistics has always concerned itself with the ways in which language users present a subjective construal of reality. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of how mood and modality are analyzed within different strands of cognitive linguistics, ranging from the models of force dynamics and Mental Spaces to Cognitive Grammar. Specific topics discussed include the polysemy of modal verbs, the analysis of tense as modality, and the highly detailed account of modal verbs offered by Langacker in terms of “grounding” and “subjectivity”. The emerging framework of construction grammar focuses on the linguistic contexts, that is constructions, in which modal forms are used, regarding these as constraints on polysemy.

scholarly journals KOTOWAZA DALAM KAJIAN LINGUISTIK KOGNITIF: PENERAPAN GAYA BAHASA SINEKDOK

IZUMI ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Adisthi Martha Yohani
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Linguistic Analysis ◽  
Lexical Meaning ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
Cognitive Linguistic

[Kotowaza in Cognitive Linguistic Analysis: The Use of Synecdoche]. This paper analyzes kotowaza using synecdoc through the study of cognitive linguistic. The background of this research is the difficulty of understanding relationships between the meanings of the kotowaza on foreign learners because of cultural differences and lack of dictionaries that support the process of understanding kotowaza deeply. The purpose of this research is to understand kotowaza deeply, determine the connection of these lexical-figurative meaning of Japanese proverbs using synecdoche based on the study of cognitive linguistics. The method used is a qualitative method in approach of cognitive linguistics. At the end of the study, it is concluded that synecdochecan be used to analyze the correlation between the lexical meaning and figurative meaning of kotowaza that contains a word or two which represents wider or smaller meaning such as kotowaza which related to the characteristics of an area or kotowaza that associated with number.

Rule and Construction: The Transitivity of Resultatives in English

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-130
Author(s):  
Yuzhi Shi
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Surface Structures ◽  
Semantic Relationship ◽  
Resultative Construction ◽  
Lexical Items

The resultative construction has been one of the focuses in exploring the interfaces between semantics and syntax. In the generativist tradition, constructions are regarded as the surface structures that are generated by a set of phrasal rules. In cognitive linguistics, especially the approach of construction grammar, constructions are viewed as the fixed pairings of forms and meanings that are regarded as symbolic like lexical items. This article argues that constructions are schemas determined by certain rules, and a set of subconstructions may be produced by a base construction. The article shows that the transitivity of the resultative construction is governed by the semantic relationship between the verb and the resultative phrase, which in turn determines concrete syntactic configurations. Grammar constructions consisting of two or more elements are essentially different from those atomic lexical items, a point distinguishing my analysis from construction grammar. Without the assumption of any underlying structures, unlike the generativist model, this article uncovers the surface rules that determine concrete constructions.

Beyond the sentence

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Frame Semantics ◽  
Cognitive Perspective ◽  
Pragmatic Markers ◽  
Grammatical Mood ◽  
Spoken Interaction ◽  
Interactive Experience ◽  
Grammatical Structures

Construction grammarians are still quite reluctant to extend their descriptions to units beyond the sentence. However, the theoretical premises of construction grammar and frame semantics are particularly suited to cover spoken interaction from a cognitive perspective. Furthermore, as construction grammar is anchored in the cognitive linguistics paradigm and as such subscribes to meaning being grounded in experience, it needs to consider interaction since grammatical structures may be grounded not only in sensory-motor, but also in social-interactive experience. The example of grounded language learning experiments demonstrates the anchoring of grammatical mood in interaction. Finally, phenomena peculiar to spoken dialogue, such as pragmatic markers, may be best accounted for as constructions, drawing on frame semantics. The two cognitive linguistic notions, frames and constructions, are therefore particularly useful to account for generalisation in spoken interaction.

Syntactic theories and syntactic methodology: a reply to Seuren

2004 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 637-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
WILLIAM CROFT
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Data ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Syntactic Theory ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
Radical Construction ◽  
Syntactic Theories

In his review of Radical Construction Grammar: syntactic theory in typological perspective (Croft 2001), Pieter Seuren argues that the theory of syntactic representation argued for in that book is fundamentally misguided. S also raises a number of general methodological and philosophical issues, as well as some empirical data, which he claims are problematic for RCG. I begin by dealing with the general critique, then turn to S's discussion of the specific major theses of RCG and his empirical data.

scholarly journals The importance of being modular

2004 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 593-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
PIETER A. M. SEUREN
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Large Majority ◽  
Syntactic Theory ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
The One ◽  
Radical Construction

William Croft,Radical Construction Grammar: syntactic theory in typological perspective. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Pp. xxviii+416.My reason for writing this review article is that I want to highlight a particular basic opposition in linguistic theory and methodology. On the one hand, we have what is usually called COGNITIVISM, represented in the book under review by the new theory of Radical Construction Grammar, henceforth RCG. On the other hand, there is a variety of schools, together forming a large majority in the field, whose theoretical overlap may be characterized by the term MODULARITY. I argue against cognitivism and in favour of the modularity view, and I am using the book under review as an opportunity to define the issue and put forward the arguments.

When tense meets constructional meaning

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-292
Author(s):  
Naoki Kiyama
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Data ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Great Emphasis ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Lexical Item ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract Construction Grammar, one of the major frameworks in Cognitive Linguistics, has been successful in providing accounts of a wide range of empirical data. The approach has recently placed great emphasis on low-level generalizations, and some studies have argued that a constructional meaning is often associated only with a specific lexical item. Therefore, by investigating in detail the form [copula be + Adj. + enough + to-infinitive], the present study proposes that the combinatorial potential of the intensifier enough and the derived constructional meanings are sensitive to tense, thus emphasizing the importance of ‘item- and tense-specific constructions’.

Translating a Poem, from a Linguistic Perspective

Target ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Tabakowska
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Linguistic Analysis ◽  
Mass Nouns ◽  
Verb Forms ◽  
Linguistic Conventions ◽  
Literature And Language

Abstract To bridge the unfortunate gap between "literature" and "language", literary critics, including critics of translation, should make use of what linguists have to say about language. Out of modern linguistic theories, Cognitive Linguistics seems particularly promising. On the basis of Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay " and one of its Polish translations, the author demonstrates how intuitive interpretations and assessments are corroborated by a strictly linguistic analysis, which is carried out in the cognitivist vein. In particular, the interplay of two grammatical oppositions—between perfective and imperfective verb forms and between countable and mass nouns—is shown to be a means of direct symbolisation of meaning. Translation losses are then discussed—some unavoidable in view of systematic discrepancies between linguistic conventions, others a compromise imposed by the demands of versification.

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