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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. 371–382

Cognitive reality of constructions as a theoretical and methodological challenge in historical linguistics

| University of Zurich

This squib discusses empirical challenges incurred by assuming cognitive reality as a defining feature of constructions and the constructional network, as done in most usage-based, cognitive construction grammar approaches. Specifically, it zooms in on the methodological challenges in identifying cognitively plausible constructions in historical data, in particular when taking a highly exploratory, bottom-up approach with very little pre-selection or pre-analysis. I illustrate this issue with the example of a current project on PPs in the history of English, and the various functions these have in combination with verbs (from prototypical adjuncts to complements). I argue that the constraints of historical data make it necessary to find different, new ways to determine which abstractions and distinctions are likely to have been represented in minds of historical language users, and to furthermore identify changes in constructional networks over time.

Keywords: diachronic construction grammar, historical linguistics, cognitive reality, prepositional phrases, adjuncts, complements
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Cognitive reality of constructions: Theory and method
    • 2.1Constructions and networks as cognitively real
    • 2.2Challenges and possible approaches to identifying constructions (and networks)
  • 3.Cognitive reality of constructions as a challenge for exploratory diachronic investigations: PPs in the history of English
    • 3.1PEAS: English prepositional phrases and their history
    • 3.2Challenges and approaches to identifying PP-constructions in the history of English
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 28 May 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/bjl.00060.zeh
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