Funny you should say that

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-159
Author(s):  
Gunther Kaltenböck
Keyword(s):  
Functional Properties ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
Functional Profile ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Corpus Data

Abstract This paper investigates the formal and functional properties of so-called semi-insubordination (SIS), i.e. complex sentences with an ‘incomplete’ matrix clause (e.g. Funny that you should say that), on the basis of corpus data. It is shown that SIS differs in its function from the structurally related constructions it-extraposition and exclamatives, exhibiting its own functional profile: viz. expressing a subjectivizing speaker evaluation which is non-exclamative, deictically anchored, and relates to a non-presupposed proposition. Given these functional idiosyncrasies it is argued that SIS is best analysed as a construction in its own right (in terms of Construction Grammar) rather than simply an incomplete elliptical structure.

scholarly journals The Cognitive-Functional Properties of English WH-dialogic Constructions in Discourse

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guocai ZENG
Keyword(s):  
Functional Properties ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Objective World ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Event Based

Within the theoretical frameworks of cognitive linguistics and cognitive construction grammar, this papertakes the pair of a WH-question and one of its answers in contemporary spoken English as the research object and regards such pairs as WH-dialogic constructions. In this study we construct an Event-based Schema-Instance Cognitive Model (ESI model) to analyze the cognitive-functional properties of this category of dialogic constructions. The discoursal expansion and textual cohesion in discourse achieved through the application of such dialogic constructions indicate that the usage of WH-dialogic constructions is one of the basic cognitive strategies for human beings to construe the objective world. 

Data in Construction Grammar

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Th. Gries
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Experimental Data ◽  
Computational Linguistic ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Learning Methods ◽  
Machine Learning Methods ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Corpus Data

This chapter examines the types of data used in constructionist approaches and the parameters along which data types can be classified. It discusses different kinds of quantitative observational/corpus data (frequencies, probabilities, association measures) and their statistical analysis. In addition, it provides a survey of a variety of different experimental data (novel word/construction learning, priming, sorting, etc.). Finally, the chapter discusses computational-linguistic/machine-learning methods as well as new directions for the development of new data and methods in Construction Grammar.

Chinese as satellite-framed

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Fong
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Cognitive Grammar ◽  
Clause Structure ◽  
Cognitive Perspective ◽  
Complex Sentences

This article defends the position taken by Talmy that Mandarin Chinese is satellite-framed, and thus argues against Slobin and Chen and Guo that Mandarin is ‘equipollently-framed’. The approach we take is constructional and cognitive in that we draw insights from Construction Grammar and Cognitive Grammar, though it is not restricted to either of them. A more unconventional view of the clause structure in Chinese is first presented, examining the so-called ‘complex sentences’ from a cognitive perspective. The consequence of this view is that the notion of ‘equipollent-framed language’ for Chinese can be abandoned and thus tidying up Talmy’s original typology. It is further argued that the constructional-cognitive view of Chinese captures the structural intuitions more appropriately than a traditional generative account, and that the motion-directional structure in Chinese has been constructionalized to the extent that individual verbs in the construction merge but produce a structure with more than their total properties.

Mapping meaning with distributional methods

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 272-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gard B. Jenset
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Methods ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Statistical Techniques ◽  
Distributional Semantics ◽  
Multivariate Statistical Techniques ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Semantic Maps ◽  
Original Meaning ◽  
Corpus Data ◽  
Computational Semantic

The semantics of existential there is discussed in a diachronic, corpus-based perspective. While previous studies of there have been qualitative or relied on interpreting relative frequencies directly, the present study combines multivariate statistical techniques with linguistic theory through distributional semantics. It is argued that existential uses of there in earlier stages of English were not semantically empty, and that the original meaning was primarily deictic rather than locative. This analysis combines key insights from previous studies of existential there with a Construction Grammar perspective, and discusses some methodological concerns regarding statistical methods for creating computational semantic maps from diachronic corpus data.

scholarly journals Variety, Idiosyncracy, and Complexity in Language and Language Technologies

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori Levin
Keyword(s):  
Error Analysis ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Long Tail ◽  
Transformational Grammar ◽  
Language Typology ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Computer Scientists ◽  
Language Technologies

This paper addresses three issues in language technologies. For each issue, the paper recommends an area of linguistics that is easily accessible to computer scientists and provides some examples that may be thought-provoking. The first issue is linguistic diversity, which is addressed by language typology. Typology provides an insightful view of the syntax and semantics of word order, as presented in Section 2.2. The second issue is the long tail of sparse phenomena. Section 3.3 uses Construction Grammar as a framework for addressing the details of definiteness and modality. Finally, Section 4 addresses how to make error analysis fun. It moves beyond monoclausal sentences and revives some rules from 1970s style transformational grammar as a fun way to analyze complex sentences.

Distinguishing causative and permissive readings of the Swedish verb låta

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gudrun Rawoens ◽  
Thomas Egan
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
Semantic Categories ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Corpus Data ◽  
Construction Type ◽  
The Relationship

In this paper an account is given of the semantics of the Present-day Swedish verb låta ‘let’ in constructions with an infinitival complement. It is generally assumed that the verb låta in this construction type can encode either causation or permission. From a synchronic perspective, the relationship between the two meanings has been described by some scholars as inclusive, whereas others have adduced possible criteria for distinguishing between them. Using corpus data, it is shown that the two semantic categories can be disentangled by means of a number of syntactic and semantic criteria, the most important of which relates to the semantic features of the central arguments in the sequence. Other criteria have to do with the occurrence of an object in the matrix clause, the Aktionsart of the complement predicate and the various degrees of autonomy of the object. The outcome of the empirical study reveals that the two constructions constitute comparably substantial categories in Present-day Swedish.

scholarly journals Three Types of Old English Adjectival Postposition: A Corpus-Based Construction Grammar Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-198
Author(s):  
Maciej Grabski
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Old English ◽  
Dynamic Network ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Corpus Data ◽  
Mutual Relations

The present article looks at different patterns of adjectival postmodification in Old English. A detailed corpus analysis is performed, whose results are interpreted within the framework of Construction Grammar. This study contributes to previous research on the subject by using a large set of corpus data which pave the way for adopting a usage-based approach. The results indicate that the patterns analyzed fulfilled different functions, which in the framework adopted is grounds enough for assigning them to different conceptual categories, i.e., “constructions.” Further, I investigate the mutual relations between these constructions as well as the internal dynamics of their functions and development. The findings support the basic constructionist notion that language is most effectively described as a complex and dynamic network of interrelated constructions.

English what with absolute constructions: a Construction Grammar perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 637-666
Author(s):  
JONG-BOK KIM ◽  
MARK DAVIES
Keyword(s):  
American English ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Corpus Data

There are several types of absolute constructions (acs) in English. Among these, this article investigates the so-called what-with ac, which has not received much attention in the study of English grammar. This article considers the grammatical properties of the construction from a synchronic as well as a diachronic perspective, using much more representative and robust corpora than previous studies. Based on corpus data drawn from historical corpora such as COHA (Corpus of Historical American English, 400 million words), the article addresses questions about changes in the construction's syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties. In addition, the article provides a Construction Grammar perspective, which supports previous research in arguing that the construction is undergoing the processes of grammatical constructionalization.

scholarly journals Anaphora resolution in near-native speakers of Italian

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonella Sorace ◽  
Francesca Filiaci
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Subordinate Clause ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
Null Subject ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Processing Strategies ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Subject Pronoun

This study presents data from an experiment on the interpretation of intrasentential anaphora in Italian by native Italian speakers and by English speakers who have learned Italian as adults and have reached a near-native level of proficiency in this language. The two groups of speakers were presented with complex sentences consisting of a main clause and a subordinate clause, in which the subordinate clause had either an overt pronoun or a null subject pronoun. In half of the sentences the main clause preceded the subordinate clause (forward anaphora) and in the other half the subordinate clause preceded the main clause (backward anaphora). Participants performed in a picture verification task in which they had to indicate the picture(s) that corresponded to the meaning of the subordinate clause, thus identifying the possible antecedents of the null or overt subject pronouns. The patterns of responses of the two groups were very similar with respect to the null subject pronouns in both the forward and backward anaphora conditions. Compared to native monolingual speakers, however, the near-natives had a significantly higher preference for the subject of the matrix clause as a possible antecedent of overt subject pronouns, particularly in the backward anaphora condition. The results indicate that near-native speakers have acquired the syntactic constraints on pronominal subjects in Italian, but may have residual indeterminacy in the interface processing strategies they employ in interpreting pronominal forms.

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