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Construction Grammar across Borders
Edited by Tiago Timponi Torrent, Ely Edison da Silva Matos and Natália Sathler Sigiliano
[Benjamins Current Topics 122] 2022
► pp. 55–94

Constructions, generalizations, and the unpredictability of language

| Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Attempts at predicting syntactic behavior from semantic or other generalizations are often unsatisfactory. It is argued that the notion of competition as used by Goldberg (2019) can serve as an explanation for unpredictability in language because established formulations that are preferred over others automatically distort the collocational profiles of verbs in argument structure constructions. As a consequence of this, an approach of seeing items as items-in-constructions (and not as elements attracted to them) is argued for. It is then shown how this items-in-constructions view can be applied to designing models of reference constructicons and mental constructicons.

Keywords: construction grammar, ditransitive, generalization, itemrelatedness/item-specificity, pre-emption, unpredictability
Article outline
  • 1.Usage-based constructionist linguistics
  • 2.A note on the nature of item-specificity and generalization
  • 3.Factors determining the occurrence of items in constructions
    • 3.1The need to make sense
    • 3.2Semantics
    • 3.3Further criteria: phonology and etymology
    • 3.4Interim conclusion
  • 4.Pre-emption
    • 4.1Competition
    • 4.2Negative entrenchment
  • 5.Items in constructions
    • 5.1Collostructions
    • 5.2Items in the ditransitive construction
    • 5.3Two adjective constructions
      • 5.3.1The it is possible to do construction
      • 5.3.2The clear that construction
      • 5.3.3The possible to do construction and the clear that construction: semantics
      • 5.3.4Unpredictability
  • 6.Constructicographic applications
    • 6.1Constructicons
    • 6.2Representing constructions in a constructicon
    • 6.3Indication of frequency
  • 7.The representation of constructions in the brain
    • 7.1The mental constructicon
    • 7.2Slot fillers
  • 8.The role of competition and the unpredictability paradox
  • 9.The undemocratic nature of language: lack of choice
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 7 July 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/bct.122.03her
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