Article published in:
Subjects in Constructions – Canonical and Non-CanonicalEdited by Marja-Liisa Helasvuo and Tuomas Huumo
[Constructional Approaches to Language 16] 2015
► pp. 293–317
The role of non-canonical subjects in the overall grammar of a language
A case study of Russian
Laura A. Janda | University of Tromsø
Dagmar Divjak | University of Sheffield
We offer a model of Russian core syntax in terms of a radial category network
of constructions. The prototype corresponds to Langacker’s “canonical event
model”, namely a prototypical transitive event, and more peripheral constructions
are related to it via metaphor and metonymy. From this perspective we
focus on non-canonical subjects marked in the dative case, highlighting the
complex interaction of lexical items (verbs) with constructions, and building
on our previous work on case and infinitives. We hypothesize that a speaker’s
perception of cause may be influenced by the use of non-canonical subjects
(in Russian) rather than canonical subjects (in English) and present the results
of an experiment. We are unable to prove any conclusive effect, but show the
importance and need for further testing.
Published online: 14 January 2015
https://doi.org/10.1075/cal.16.11jan
https://doi.org/10.1075/cal.16.11jan
References
Apresjan, Jurij Derenikovič
Browne, Wayles
Butler, I.G
Croft, William
Croft, William, & Cruse, Alan D
Divjak, Dagmar, & Janda, Laura A
Eggermont, Carmen, & Melis, Ludo
Eynde, Karel van den
Feldman, Jerome A
Geeraerts, Dirk
Goldberg, Adele
Janda, Laura A
Langacker, Ronald W
Levin, Beth
Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk, Barbara
Schøsler, Lene, & Van Durme, Karen
Slobin, Dan I
Smith, Michael B
Cited by
Cited by 1 other publications
Endresen, Anna & Laura A. Janda
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