Cover not available
Article published In:
The Wealth and Breadth of Construction-Based Research
Edited by Timothy Colleman, Frank Brisard, Astrid De Wit, Renata Enghels, Nikos Koutsoukos, Tanja Mortelmans and María Sol Sansiñena
[Belgian Journal of Linguistics 34] 2020
► pp. 225–234

Semantics and pragmatics in Construction Grammar

| University of Paris 8
This squib provides a theoretical discussion on the use of the terms semantics and pragmatics in Construction Grammar. In the literature, the difference between semantics and pragmatics is often conceptualized either in terms of conventionality or in terms of truth-conditionality (Huang 2014, 299). It will be shown that, even though constructionists claim that there is no semantics–pragmatics distinction, both these underlying concepts are central to the study of constructions. Therefore, the aim is twofold. First, in keeping with Cappelle (2017), it will be argued that constructionists should make more explicit the distinction between the two types of (encoded) meaning. Second, it will be shown that constructionists need to be more terminologically consistent and agree on how to use the terms semantics and pragmatics. Following Depraetere (2019), I will argue that the terms semantics and pragmatics are most explanatory when defined in truth-conditional terms. In this way, finer-grained understanding of the meaning of constructions can be achieved.
Keywords: semantics, pragmatics, conventions, truth-conditions, Construction Grammar
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Defining semantics and pragmatics
  • 3.Meaning in CxG
  • 4.Reintroducing semantics and pragmatics
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 28 May 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/bjl.00048.lec
References (33)
References
Brisard, Frank. 2006. “Exotisme en Spektakel in Construction Grammar [Exotism and spectacle in Construction Grammar].” In Tussen Semantiek en Pragmatiek: Aangeboden aan Theo Janssen bij zijn Afscheid als Hoogleraar Nederlandse Taalkunde en Taalbeheersing aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, ed. by Ronny Boogaart, Saskia Daalder, Jan Noordegraaf, and Esther Pascual, 135–147. Amsterdam: VU Amsterdam, Stichting Neerlandistiek.Google Scholar
Cappelle, Bert. 2017. “What’s Pragmatics Doing Outside Constructions?” In Semantics and Pragmatics: Drawing a Line, ed. by Ilse Depraetere, and Raphael Salkie, 115–151. Berlin: Springer International Publishing. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carston, Robyn. 2010. “Explicit Communication and ‘Free’ Pragmatic Enrichment.” In Explicit Communication: Robyn Carston’s Pragmatics, ed. by Belén Soria, and Esther Romero, 217–285. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Clark, Billy. 2013. Relevance Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Croft, William. 2009. “Toward a Social Cognitive Linguistics.” In New Directions in Cognitive Linguistics, ed. by Vyvyan Evans, and Stéphanie Pourcel, 395–420. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Croft, William, and Alan Cruse. 2004. Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Depraetere, Ilse. 2019. “Meaning in Context and Contextual Meaning: A Perspective on the Semantics–Pragmatics Interface Applied to Modal Verbs.” In Anglophonia. 281. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Desagulier, Guillaume. 2011. “Le programme sociopragmatique des grammaires de constructions: Bilan et perspectives.” Intellectica 56 (2): 99–123.Google Scholar
Finkbeiner, Rita. 2019. “Reflections on the Role of Pragmatics in Construction Grammar.” Constructions and Frames 11 (2): 171–192. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, Adele E. 1995. Constructions: A Construction Grammar Approach to Argument Structure. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
2004. “Pragmatics and Argument Structure.” In The Handbook of Pragmatics, ed. by Laurence R. Horn, and Gregory L. Ward, 427–441. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
2006. Constructions at Work: The Nature of Generalization in Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
2013. “Constructionist Approaches.” In The Oxford Handbook of Construction Grammar, ed. by Thomas Hoffmann, and Graeme Trousdale, 15–31. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Grice, Paul. 1989. Studies in the Way of Words. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Gutzmann, Daniel. 2013. “Expressives and Beyond: An Introduction to Varieties of Use-Conditional Meaning.” In Beyond Expressives: Explorations in Use-Conditional Meaning, ed. by Daniel Gutzmann, and Hans-Martin Gärtner, 1–58. Leiden: Brill. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2015. Use-Conditional Meaning: Studies in Multi-Dimensional Semantics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hilpert, Martin. 2019. Construction Grammar and its Application to English. (2nd Ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Hoffmann, Thomas, and Graeme Trousdale (eds). 2013. The Oxford Handbook of Construction Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Huang, Yan. 2014. Pragmatics. (2nd Ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kay, Paul. 2004. “Pragmatic Aspects of Grammatical Constructions.” In Handbook of Pragmatics, ed. by Laurence R. Horn, and Gregory Ward, 675–700. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Kay, Paul, and Charles J. Fillmore. 1999. “Grammatical Constructions and Linguistic Generalizations: The What’s X doing Y? Construction.” Language 751: 1–33. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kay, Paul, and Laura A. Michaelis. 2012. “Constructional Meaning and Compositionality.” In Semantics: An International Handbook of Natural Language Meaning (vol. 3), ed. by Claudia Maienborn, Klaus von Heusinger, and Paul Portner, 2271–2296. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter.Google Scholar
Langacker, Ronald W. 2008. Cognitive Grammar: A Basic Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Leclercq, Benoît. 2019. “On the Semantics–Pragmatics Interface: A Theoretical Bridge Between Construction Grammar and Relevance Theory.” PhD dissertation, University of Lille.Google Scholar
Leino, Jaakko. 2013. “Information Structure.” In The Oxford Handbook of Construction Grammar, ed. by Thomas Hoffmann, and Graeme Trousdale, 329–344. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
McNally, Louise. 2013. “Semantics and Pragmatics.” Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science 41: 285–297. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Michaelis, Laura A. 2012. “Making the Case for Construction Grammar.” In Sign-Based Construction Grammar, ed. by Hans C. Boas, and Ivan A. Sag, 31–68. Stanford: Center for the Study of Language and Information Publications.Google Scholar
Nikiforidou, Kiki. 2009. “Constructional Analysis.” In Grammar, Meaning and Pragmatics, ed. by Frank Brisard, Jan-Ola Östman, and Jef Verschueren, 16–32. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Radden, Günter, Klaus-Michael Köpcke, Thomas Berg, and Peter Siemund. 2007. “The Construction of Meaning in Language.” In Aspects of Meaning Construction, ed. by Günter Radden, Klaus-Michael Köpcke, Thomas Berg, and Peter Siemund, 1–15. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Recanati, François. 2010. Truth-Conditional Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stojanovic, Isidora. 2008. “The Semantics/Pragmatics Distinction.” Synthese 165 (3): 317–319. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
auf der Straße, Alexander. 2017. Constructions in Use. Düsseldorf: Düsseldorf University Press.Google Scholar
Wierzbicka, Anna. 1988. The Semantics of Grammar. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (7)

Cited by seven other publications

DESAGULIER, GUILLAUME & PHILIPPE MONNERET
2023. Cognitive Linguistics and a Usage‐Based Approach to the Study of Semantics and Pragmatics. In The Handbook of Usage‐Based Linguistics, ► pp. 31 ff. DOI logo
Foolen, Ad
2023. CONSTRUCTION PRAGMATICS IN A WIDER CONTEXT. AN ADDITION TO WEN (2022). Lege artis. Language yesterday, today, tomorrow ► pp. 21 ff. DOI logo
Ivanova, Svetlana V. & Svetlana N. Medvedeva
2023. Unveiling semantic complexity of the lexeme ‘reputation’: Corpus analysis. Russian Journal of Linguistics 27:3 ► pp. 615 ff. DOI logo
Ungerer, Tobias & Stefan Hartmann
2023. Constructionist Approaches, DOI logo
Leclercq, Benoît
2022. From modals to modal constructions. Constructions and Frames 14:2 ► pp. 226 ff. DOI logo
Leclercq, Benoît
2023. Ad hoc concepts and the relevance heuristics. Pragmatics. Quarterly Publication of the International Pragmatics Association (IPrA) 33:3 ► pp. 324 ff. DOI logo
Ivanova, Svetlana Viktorovna, Svetlana Nikolaevna Medvedeva, I. Klimova & M. Konurbaev
2021. Applying constructional approach to second language teaching and learning. SHS Web of Conferences 127 ► pp. 01016 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 4 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.