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Constructions in Contact 2: Language change, multilingual practices, and additional language acquisition
Edited by Hans C. Boas and Steffen Höder
[Constructional Approaches to Language 30] 2021
► pp. 17–53

Idioconstructions in conflict

Ad hoc generalization in multilingual speech processing

| Kiel University

On the basis of corpus data from Norwegian and Swedish as heritage languages in the United States of America, this article explores the role of potentially conflicting information in constructs that cannot be considered as stereotypical multilingual practices in classical approaches, such as Myers-Scotton’s Matrix Language Frame model or Muysken’s Code-Mixing model. Following the approach of Diasystematic Construction Grammar (DCxG), the article focuses on the differentiation between diaconstructions, i. e. language-unspecific elements the involved languages have in common, and idioconstructions, i. e. language-specific elements that distinguish them. From this perspective, typical multilingual practices can be analyzed as constructs comprising a combination of idioconstructions that carry conflicting pragmatic information. The article proposes that conflicts of this kind reflect a spontaneous generalization, i. e. pragmatic bleaching, of the involved idioconstructions.

Keywords: Construction Grammar, Diasystematic Construction Grammar, language contact, multilingualism, multilingual practices, multilingual speech processing, cognition, conceptual integration
Article outline
  • 1.Phenomena under investigation
  • 2.Traditional theories vs. usage-based CxG
    • 2.1Codeswitching and other multilingual practices
    • 2.2Speech processing in multilingual speakers – a matter of form or function?
    • 2.3Multilingual practices from a CxG perspective
  • 3.Multilingual speech processing in CxG
    • 3.1The basic concepts of Diasystematic CxG
    • 3.2The multilingual constructicon
    • 3.3Ad hoc generalization in two ways
      • 3.3.1Conceptual integration – a brief introduction
      • 3.3.2Ad hoc generalization relying on existing diaconstructions
      • 3.3.3Ad hoc generalization relying on ad hoc diaconstructions
    • 3.4Ad hoc generalization and schematicity
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Corpus
  • References
Published online: 3 June 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cal.30.02urb
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