scholarly journals Funktionsverbgefüge - empirisch (am Beispiel von kommen)

2006 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Kamber

In grammars and textbooks used to teach German as a foreign language, the chapters devoted to the "Funktionsverbgefüge" (light verb constructions) are based on data that are mainly obtained by introspection. German dictionaries also often seem not to be based on empirical data. Through the example of kommen (to come), the present paper aims at showing a few new and decisive elements that empirical, strictly corpus-driven research, by means of the new digital corpora, makes it possible to highlight. The purpose is to achieve a description that is more precise and more faithful to the target language in foreign languages teaching. Keywords: Light verb construction - light verb - corpus linguistics - empirical research - digital corpora - COSMAS II - prototype semantics - syntax - valence - complementation - lexicology - grammar

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaëtanelle Gilquin

Abstract Light verb constructions (LVCs), that is, combinations like take a walk or make a choice, are often claimed to be problematic for non-native speakers of English. In this paper, spoken data from the Trinity Lancaster Corpus are used to explore the use of these constructions across different sections of the corpus, representing different proficiency levels (from lower intermediate to upper advanced) as well as different types of acquisitional contexts, namely English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL). The results of the study reveal a tendency towards an increased frequency of LVCs, as well as more complex and abstract uses, as we move from an intermediate to an advanced level and from an EFL to an ESL context. For the EFL speakers, this development corresponds to a better approximation to native English. For the ESL speakers, on the other hand, LVCs seem to have become ‘constructional teddy bears’, used more often than by the native speakers themselves.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Babak Sharif ◽  
Mohammad Amouzadeh

<p>Persian Light Verb Constructions (LVCs) have been studied by many scholars. Yet, little attention has been paid to the process of LVC formation. This paper aims to situate the components of Persian light verb constructions in contexts that can be justifiably invoked as a motivation for LVC formation. We will investigate the issue by arguing that Persian LVCs can be analyzed in terms of incorporation process. This process, explained from a cognitive viewpoint, involves LVCs originating from complete clauses, then passing through a <em>compositional path</em> (Langacker 1987, 2008) where a nonverbal and a verbal element are selected out of a kernel clause and end up in a complex predicate (CPr). The investigation will be primarily focused on the LVCs constructed with<em> </em>LV<em> kardan </em>‘do, make’, as the most frequently used light verb in Persian. The paper will also explore how different paths could be associated with certain particular ‘light’ meanings of<em> kardan. </em>The resulting LVCs may further yield <em>constructional schemas</em> upon which other LVCs formed with a given LV can be formed.</p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Light verb construction, Complex predicate, Incorporation, Persian</p>


2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-55
Author(s):  
EVA BERLAGE

Brinton & Traugott (2005) and Brinton (2008) have suggested that light verb constructions of the type take a look (at) are instances of grammaticalisation. This article shows that this is because the emphasis has been on the verb take. Exploring the light verb construction take prisoner, we see that one and the same construction involves both lexicalisation and grammaticalisation processes. For grammaticalisation, the focus will be on the semantic bleaching of take and the productivity of the pattern take + NP. For the lexicalisation of the construction, we will focus on the increasing fixedness of the collocation take prisoner, evident from the decreasing acceptability of the pattern make prisoner, and on the decategorialisation of the original NP prisoner, which is manifested in the loss of plural -s inflection in prisoner. The article further investigates the decategorialisation of prisoner, revealing that the word order of prisoner(s) relative to its complement NP (e.g. take the men prisoner(s) vs take prisoner(s) the men) has a considerable effect on the speed of plural s-deletion.


2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Sook Beng Ong ◽  
Hajar Abdul Rahim

Abstract This study investigated nativised structural patterns of light verb constructions (LVCs) in Malaysian English using a corpus-based, descriptive approach to analyse grammatical innovations. To facilitate the analysis, a 100-million-word general corpus comprising threads from Lowyat.Net, a popular Internet forum in Malaysia, was created, and the British National Corpus (BNC) was used as the reference corpus. Using the Sketch Engine corpus tool, the three most frequently occurring make LVCs in the Malaysian English corpus were identified. The data was analysed to reveal the differences between the structures of make LVC in Malaysian English and its prototypical structure. The findings show that besides the non-isomorphic deverbal noun form, make LVCs in Malaysian English prefer taking the basic constituents of an LVC. Nativised LVCs are essentially those with zero articles and isomorphic deverbal nouns taking definite articles, determiners, and descriptive adjectives in their modifier slots. The zero article LVC is the most common nativised structure pattern due to the influence of substrate languages in Malaysian English.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-144
Author(s):  
Łukasz Piątkowski

The aim of the study is to show the possibilities of using corpus analyses for theintroduction of light verb constructions in German during foreign language lessons. The corpus analyses of three selected light verb constructions Maßnahmen ergreifen, einen Beschluss fassen and Bericht erstatten show the co-occurrence of these units and enable the creation of syntagmatic patterns and the allocation of individual light verb constructions to thematic areas. The results of the analysis confirm the thesis that syntagmatic patterns are an aid to learners of German, as they present their use in a sentence and show the partner words with their syntactic function. This method can present the context of use and the thematic area of the light verb constructions. The results of the analyses are also a guideline to placing the syntagmatic patterns in German-Polish dictionaries to help learners to use them and communicate with them correctly


Author(s):  
Atsushi Fujita ◽  
Kentaro Furihata ◽  
Kentaro Inui ◽  
Yuji Matsumoto ◽  
Koichi Takeuchi

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (28) ◽  
pp. 282
Author(s):  
Laurent-Fidèle Sossouvi

Many researchers have considered comics as an excellent educational resource, pointing out to its advantages and its great educational potential. As a result, few authors have investigated the attitudes of students towards comics and they are rarely used as a teaching material in Benin in the learning of foreign languages. In this study, we aim to examine the attitudes of Beninese students of Spanish as a Foreign Language towards comic, as well as offer a reflection on some of the possibilities that can bring this teaching resource. In doing this, we analyze data from 25 participants which was obtained from a questionnaire, interviews, and tasks around the comic. Conclusions show that: (a) most participants showed a positive attitude towards comics and are highly motivated; (b) the use of comics contributed to improving their linguistic and intercultural communicative competences, as well as revitalized the learning of the target language. Finally, the paper concludes by pointing out the study’s implications and limitations, and offering suggestions for future research opportunities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-68
Author(s):  
Václava Kettnerová ◽  
Markéta Lopatková

Abstract In this paper, we draw attention to reciprocity in Czech light verb constructions – a language phenomenon, which has not been discussed yet. Reciprocity is contributed to light verb constructions by predictive nouns, as they are the nouns that represent the semantic core of these constructions. Here we focus on reciprocal light verb constructions derived by the syntactic operation of reciprocalization. We show that the complex mapping of semantic participants onto valency complementations, characteristic of reciprocalization, is reflected in reciprocal light verb constructions in the same way as in reciprocal nominal constructions. The main difference between reciprocal nominal constructions and reciprocal light verb constructions lies in the morphosyntactic expression of reciprocalized participants. We demonstrate that surface syntactic changes in reciprocal light verb constructions are regular enough to be described on the rule basis: the rule based generation of reciprocal light verb constructions requires a cooperation of two sets of rules – rules for deep and surface syntactic structure formation of light verb constructions and rules for capturing reciprocity.


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