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Ten Lectures on a Diachronic Constructionalist Approach to Discourse Structuring Markers
To date little work has been done on pragmatics within cognitive linguistics, especially from a historical perspective. The lectures presented in this volume give the first systematic account of how pragmatics can be incorporated into cognitive linguistics using a Diachronic Construction Grammar perspective. The author combines detailed study of the historical development of Discourse Structuring Markers like all the same, after all and by the way and propose ways in which to model them. A number of topics are addressed including what a usage based approach to language change is, differences between innovation and change, how to think about analogy and networks, how combinations of Discourse Structuring Markers like now then became a unit, and whether clause-initial and -final positions are constructions. Refinements of Diachronic Construction Grammar are proposed and tested.
Applied Construction Grammar
Current research within the framework of Construction Grammar (CxG) has mainly adopted a theoretical or descriptive approach, neglecting the more applied perspective and especially the question of how language acquisition and pedagogy can benefit from a CxG-based approach. The present volume explores various aspects of “Applied Construction Grammar” through a collection of studies that apply CxG and CxG-inspired approaches to relevant issues in L2 acquisition and teaching. Relying on empirical data and covering a wide range of constructions and languages, the chapters show how the cross-fertilization of CxG and L2 acquisition/teaching can improve the description of learners’ use of constructions, provide theoretical insights into the processes underlying their acquisition (e.g. with reference to inheritance links or transfer from the L1), or lead to novel teaching practices and resources aimed to help learners make the generalizations that native speakers make naturally from the input they receive.
Linguistic Knowledge and Language Use
This pioneering book is the first to bring together insights from two usage based approaches, Construction Grammar and Relevance Theory.
Dynamics at the Lexicon-Syntax Interface
Both word-formation (WF) and the coinage of multi-word expressions (MWE) can be characterised in terms of creativity and routine. Routine in word-formation and multi-word expressions is traditionally described in terms of morphological, lexical, syntactic, and pragmatic rules, but ‘creativity’ is defined in different ways, with definitions ranging from seeing creativity at the heart of human (linguistic) cognition to seeing creativity as precisely beyond ‘regular’ routines, e.g. as an attention-seeking tool or wordplay. In this latter sense, ‘creativity’ is usually sharply distinguished from ‘productivity’, i.e. rule-governed behaviour. Despite these categorisations, the question on what basis patterns are to be defined as ‘creative’ still remains subject to debate. Futhermore, creativity and routine are often studied independently of each other, by different research communities. The volume aims to bring together these different research communities to discuss empirical evidence on the role of creativity and routinization in WF and MWEs.
Individuality in Language Change
Linguists have typically studied language change at the aggregate level of speech communities, yet key mechanisms of change such as analogy and automation operate within the minds of individual language users. Drawing on lifespan data from 50 authors and the intriguing case of the special passives in the history of English, this study addresses three fundamental issues relating to individuality in language change: (i) how variation and change at the individual level interact with change at the community level; (ii) how much innovation and change is possible across the adult lifespan; (iii) and to what extent related linguistic patterns are associated in individual cognition. As one of the first large-scale empirical studies to systematically link individual- and community-based perspectives in language change, this volume breaks new ground in our understanding of language as a complex adaptive system.
Intra-individual Variation in Language
This volume offers several empirical, methodological, and theoretical approaches to the study of observable variation within individuals on various linguistic levels. With a focus on German varieties, the chapters provide answers on the following questions (inter alia): Which linguistic and extra-linguistic factors explain intra-individual variation? Is there observable intra-individual variation that cannot be explained by linguistic and extra-linguistic factors? Can group-level results be generalised to individual language usage and vice versa? Is intra-individual variation indicative of actual patterns of language change? How can intra-individual variation be examined in historical data? ...
