Do we really need a Multimodal Construction Grammar?

AbstractA multimodal construction is said to be a conventional pairing of a complex form, comprising at least a verbal and a kinetic element, with a specific meaning or a specific function. Do we need a new constructional approach to account for such multimodal constructions? What are the challenges to account for multimodality? The aim of this contribution is to provide a precise notion ‘multimodal construction’ and, on this basis, to indicate possible pathways for future investigations. The paper opts for cautiously extending the scope of existing constructional approaches in order to include non-linguistic meaningful behavior. In particular, it is argued that even though Construction Grammar invites for treating multimodal on a par with linguistic constructions, there is a huge lack of substantial empirical support to arrive at a more detailed and data-based understanding of the nature of multimodal constructions.

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Raising Collocational Awareness with Humour

Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica ◽

10.2478/ausp-2020-0015 ◽

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.

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Singular Agreement in Special Partitive Constructions in Dutch

Journal of Germanic Linguistics ◽

10.1017/s1470542717000149 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 335-370

Author(s):

Lotte Hogeweg ◽

Stefanie Ramachers ◽

Helen de Hoop

Keyword(s):

Relative Clause ◽

Construction Grammar ◽

Specific Function ◽

Corpus Study ◽

Verb Agreement ◽

Dominant Pattern ◽

Syntactic Pattern ◽

The Subject

Dutch partitive constructions of the type one of the (few) X who Y show a striking pattern of singular subject-verb agreement in their relative clause. This paper presents a corpus study showing that the prescriptively “incorrect” singular agreement pattern is in fact the dominant pattern in Dutch. In order to explain this, we argue that this type of partitive construction often has a specific function in context, namely, to point out that the subject is special or extraordinary, usually for the reason presented by the relative clause. We apply a usage-based approach to this construction within the framework of Construction Grammar, arguing that the prevalent implicature of the subject’s specialness has become a conventionalized part of the meaning of the construction. This analysis then can be used to explain the syntactic pattern of singular agreement within the relative clause. A similar albeit less pronounced pattern can be found in German.*

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Brain Basis of Meaning, Words, Constructions, and Grammar

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195396683.013.0022 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Friedemann Pulvermüller ◽

Bert Cappelle ◽

Yury Shtyrov

Keyword(s):

Empirical Support ◽

Construction Grammar ◽

Linguistic Theory ◽

Theory Building ◽

Syntactic Structures ◽

Neuronal Circuitry

This chapter examines the neurophysiological plausibility of some of the claims of Construction Grammar with regard to syntactic structures. It suggests that evidence from neuroscience has highly important repercussions for linguistic theory building in general and argues that the constructionist enterprise receives considerable empirical support from neurolinguistic studies. The chapter examines views on the embodiment of grammar in neuronal circuitry and contends that neurological evidence indicates that it makes sense to postulate flexible constructional templates as distinct from lexical construction storage.

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Constructions and language change

Diachronica ◽

10.1075/dia.32.3.03nes ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 365-396 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tore Nesset ◽

Julia Kuznetsova

Keyword(s):

Language Change ◽

Empirical Support ◽

Construction Grammar ◽

Corpus Study ◽

Verb Semantics ◽

Number Of Factors ◽

Contemporary Standard

This article reports on a corpus study of ongoing language change in Russian, whereby genitive-governing verbs like bojat’sja “fear” combine with objects in the accusative in addition to the traditionally normative genitive. While the use of the accusative is still not very frequent in Contemporary Standard Russian, we demonstrate that it is increasing and that a number of factors such as individuation (animacy), grammatical voice, frequency and verb semantics (intensionality and directionality) promote the use of the accusative. Our analysis is couched in Construction Grammar, and we show that the shift from genitive to accusative objects in Russian provides empirical support for Construction Grammar as a theory applicable to language change.

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South Asian Stories: Firsthand Client Perspectives on Barriers to Accessing Speech-Language Pathology Services

Perspectives on Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations ◽

10.1044/cds19.1.29 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 29-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Nidhi Mahendra

Keyword(s):

South Asian ◽

Empirical Support ◽

Communication Disorders ◽

Speech Language Pathology ◽

Client Experiences ◽

Individual Interviews ◽

Timely Access ◽

Phenomenological Perspective ◽

Case Vignettes ◽

Language Pathology

This article details the experience of two South Asian individuals with family members who had communication disorders. I provide information on intrinsic and extrinsic barriers reported by these clients in responses to a survey and during individual ethnographic interviews. These data are part of a larger study and provide empirical support of cultural and linguistic barriers that may impede timely access to and utilization of speech-language pathology (SLP) services. The purpose of this article is to shed light on barriers and facilitators that influence South Asian clients' access to SLP services. I provide and briefly analyze two case vignettes to provide readers a phenomenological perspective on client experiences. Data about barriers limiting access to SLP services were obtained via client surveys and individual interviews. These two clients' data were extracted from a larger study (Mahendra, Scullion, Hamerschlag, Cooper, & La, 2011) in which 52 racially/ethnically diverse clients participated. Survey items and interview questions were designed to elicit information about client experiences when accessing SLP services. Results reveal specific intrinsic and extrinsic barriers that affected two South Asian clients' access to SLP services and have important implications for all providers.

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Capturing the Four-Phase Team Adaptation Process With Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS)

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759/a000503 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 336-347

Author(s):

Eleni Georganta ◽

Felix C. Brodbeck

Keyword(s):

Rating Scales ◽

Empirical Support ◽

Team Development ◽

Adaptation Process ◽

Adaptation Studies ◽

Team Processes ◽

Team Adaptation ◽

The Common ◽

Acceptable Reliability ◽

Adaptation Phase

Abstract. As a response to the lack of quantitative and reliable measures of the team adaptation process, the aim of the present study was to develop and validate an instrument for assessing the four phases of the team adaptation process as described by Rosen and colleagues (2011) . Two trained raters and two subject matter expert groups contributed to the development of four behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) that span across the spectrum of team processes involved in each team adaptation phase. To validate the four BARS, two different trained raters assessed independently the team adaptation phases of 66 four-person teams. The validation study provided empirical support for the BARS’ psychometric adequacy. The BARS measures overcame the common middle anchor problem, showed sensitivity in differentiating between teams and between the four phases, showed evidence for acceptable reliability, construct, and criterion validity, and supported the theoretical team adaptation process assumptions. The study contributes to research and praxis by enabling the direct assessment of the overall team adaptation process, thereby facilitating our understanding of this complex phenomenon. This allows the identification of behavioral strengths and weaknesses for targeted team development and comprehensive team adaptation studies.

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