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Article published In:
Constructions and Frames
Vol. 9:1 (2017) ► pp.101–138

On the grammaticalization of Finnish colorative construction

| University of Helsinki

This paper concentrates on the diachronic development of the so-called Colorative Construction (CoC) in Finnish, a two-verb expression consisting of an A-infinitive and an ideophonically based descriptive (or ‘colorative’) finite verb, e.g. susi juos-ta jolkottele-e [wolf run-inf col-prs.3sg] ‘wolf runs trotting’. The paper combines variationist dialectal data, grammaticalization theory, and Construction Grammar formalization. The detailed diachronic description demonstrates that the development from proto-CoC to modern CoC is the epitome of constructionalization, i.e., a gradual process of grammatical changes whereby both the form and the function of an existing construction are altered, creating a new expression type. Major changes in the Balto-Finnic case system were the primary force behind this process. Constructionalization of the CoC itself included the first syntagmatic changes through reanalysis. This gradually created a new paradigmatic expression type, followed by paradigmatic extension through analogy, which widened the frame semantics of the newly coined type.

Keywords: Construction Grammar, constructionalization, infinitives, expressive verbs, corpus syntax, dialects, variation, diachronic syntax
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Overview of the Finnish Colorative Construction
    • 1.2Aims and organization
  • 2.Data
  • 3.Theoretical basis
  • 4.Grammaticalization of the CoC
    • 4.1Historical background: the proto-CoC
      • 4.1.1Previous research
      • 4.1.2Reconstruction of the proto-CoC
    • 4.2Constructionalization: from proto-CoC to the current CoC
      • 4.2.1Syntax → morphology
      • 4.2.2Morphology → morphophonemics (→ zero)
      • 4.2.3Analogy and semantic extensions
      • 4.2.4Crystallization of the CoC and a note on syntax → pragmatics
  • 5.Summary and discussion
  • Abbreviations and symbols
  • Notes
  • Data archives
  • References


This article is currently available as a sample article.

Published online: 20 October 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cf.9.1.04ham
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