Article published in:
Construction Grammar across Borders
Edited by Tiago Timponi Torrent, Ely Edison da Silva Matos and Natália Sathler Sigiliano
[Constructions and Frames 12:1] 2020
► pp. 96–120

Intersubjectification in constructional change

From confrontation to solidarity in the sarcastic much? construction

| Université de Neuchâtel
| Université de Neuchâtel
This paper addresses constructional change in a dialogical construction that is illustrated by utterances such as sarcastic much?, which typically serve the purpose of an interactional challenge. Drawing on web-based corpus data, we argue that this construction is currently undergoing a process of change that expands its range of possible uses. Specifically, we observe the emergence of uses with a different intersubjective function, in which the writer does not aim for confrontation but is rather seeking the solidarity and alignment of the addressee. We offer an account of this development in terms of constructional change, and we use this case study to explore how intersubjectification and the dialogic nature of language can be accommodated more thoroughly in a constructional theory of language change.
Keywords: intersubjectification, constructional change, constructionalization, sarcasm, solidarity, alignment, GloWbE corpus
Published online: 29 July 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/cf.00036.hil
References

References

Aarts, B.
(2007) Syntactic gradience: The nature of grammatical indeterminacy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Adams, M.
(2014) Slang in new media. A case study. In J. Coleman (Ed.), Global English slang. Methodologies and perspectives (pp. 175–186). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Börjars, K., Vincent, N., & Walkden, G.
(2015) On constructing a theory of grammatical change. Transactions of the Philological Society, 113(3), 363–382. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Brisard, F.
(Ed.) (2002) Grounding. The epistemic footing of deixis and reference. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Brône, G., & Zima, E.
(2014) Towards a dialogic construction grammar. A corpus-based approach to ad hoc routines and resonance activation. Cognitive Linguistics, 25(3), 457–495. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bybee, J. L.
(2010) Language, usage, and cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Davies, M.
(2013) Corpus of global web-based English: 1.9 billion words from speakers in 20 countries (GloWbE). Available online at http://​corpus​.byu​.edu​/glowbe/
Deppermann, A.
(2011) Konstruktionsgrammatik und Interaktionale Linguistik: Affinitäten, Komplementaritäten und Diskrepanzen. In A. Lasch & A. Ziem (Eds.), Konstruktionsgrammatik III. Aktuelle Fragen und Lösungsansätze (pp. 205–238). Tübingen: Stauffenburg.Google Scholar
Diessel, H.
(2015) Usage-based construction grammar. In E. Dabrowska & D. Divjak (Eds.), Handbook of cognitivelinguistics (pp. 295–321). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Fillmore, C. J., Kay, P., & O’Connor, M. C.
(1988) Regularity and idiomaticity in grammatical constructions: The case of Let alone. Language, 64(3), 501–538. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, A.
(1995) Constructions: A construction grammar approach to argument structure. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
(2006) Constructions at work: The nature of generalization in language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gutzmann, D., & Henderson, R.
(2019) Expressive updates, much? Language, 95(1), 107–135. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiessen, C.
(2004) An introduction to functional grammar. 3rd ed. London: Hodder Arnold.Google Scholar
Hilpert, M.
(2013) Constructional change in English: Developments in allomorphy, word-formation, and syntax. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2017) Historical sociolinguistics and construction grammar: From mutual challenges to mutual benefits. In T. Säily, A. Nurmi, M. Palander-Collin, & A. Auer (Eds.), Exploring future paths for historical sociolinguistics (pp. 217–237). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2018) Three open questions in diachronic construction grammar. In E. Coussé, P. Andersson, & J. Olofsson (Eds.), Grammaticalization meets construction grammar (pp. 21–39). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2019) Construction grammar and its application to English. 2nd edition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Imo, W.
(2015) Interactional construction grammar. Linguistics Vanguard, 1(1), 69–78. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kristiansen, G.
(2008) Style-shifting and shifting styles: A socio-cognitive approach to lectal variation. In G. Kristiansen & R. Dirven (Eds.), Cognitive sociolinguistics. Language variation, cultural models, social systems (pp. 45–90). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kristiansen, G., & Geeraerts, D.
(2013) Contexts and usage in cognitive sociolinguistics. Journal of Pragmatics, 52, 1–4. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lakoff, G.
(1987) Women, fire, and dangerous things. What categories reveal about the mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Langacker, R. W.
(1987) Foundations of Cognitive Grammar: Theoretical prerequisites. Vol. 1. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Liberman, M.
(2010) X much. http://​languagelog​.ldc​.upenn​.edu​/nll​/?p​=2836, date of access: 8.3.2018]
Michaelis, L. A., & Feng, H.
(2015) What is this, sarcastic syntax? Constructions and Frames, 7, 148–180. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Tomasello, M.
(2003) Constructing a language: A usage-based theory of language acquisition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Traugott, E. Closs
(2010) Revisiting subjectification and intersubjectification. In K. Davidse, L. Vandelanotte, & H. Cuyckens (Eds.), Subjectification, intersubjectification, and grammaticalization (pp. 27–70). Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.Google Scholar
Traugott, E. Closs, & Trousdale, G.
(2010) Gradience, gradualness, and grammaticalization – how do they intersect? In E. Closs Traugott & G. Trousdale (Eds.), Gradience, gradualness, and grammaticalization (pp. 19–44). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2013) Constructionalization and constructional changes. Oxford: Oxford University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Zappavigna, M.
(2012) Discourse of Twitter and social media. London: Continuum International Publishing Group.Google Scholar
Ziem, A.
(2015) Probleme und Desiderata einer Social Construction Grammar. In A. Ziem & A. Lasch (Eds.), Konstruktionsgrammatik IV. Konstruktionenalssoziale Konventionen und kognitiveRoutinen (pp. 1–22). Tübingen: Stauffenburg.Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Gilquin, Gaëtanelle
2021. In search of constructions in writing process data. Belgian Journal of Linguistics 34 Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 12 may 2021. 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.