Preferred Argument Structure
Grammar as architecture for function
Editors
Preferred Argument Structure offers a profound insight into the relationship between language use and grammatical structure. In his original publication on Preferred Argument Structure, Du Bois (1987) demonstrated the power of this perspective by using it to explain the origins of ergativity and ergative marking systems. Since this work, the general applicability of Preferred Argument Structure has been demonstrated in studies of language after language. In this collection, the authors move beyond verifying Preferred Argument Structure as a property of a given language. They use the methodology to reveal more subtle aspects of the patterns, for example, to look across languages, diachronically or synchronically, to examine particular grammatical relations, and to examine special populations or particular genres. This volume will appeal to linguists interested in the relationship of pragmatics and grammar generally, in the typology of grammatical relations, and in explanations derived from data- and corpus-based approaches to analysis.
[Studies in Discourse and Grammar, 14] 2003. ix, 458 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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Preface | p. vii
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Abbreviations | p. ix
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IntroductionJohn W. Du Bois, Lorraine E. Kumpf and William J. Ashby | pp. 1–10
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Argument structure: Grammar in useJohn W. Du Bois | pp. 11–60
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Preferred Argument Structure across time and space: A comparative diachronic analysis of French and SpanishWilliam J. Ashby and Paola Bentivoglio | pp. 61–80
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The lexicon in interaction: Developmental origins of Preferred Argument Structure in KoreanPatricia M. Clancy | pp. 81–108
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Genre and Preferred Argument Structure: Sources of argument structure in classroom discourseLorraine E. Kumpf | pp. 109–130
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Issues in the comparative argument structure analysis in Mayan narrativesNora C. England and Laura Martin | pp. 131–157
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New light on information pressure: Information conduits, “escape valves”, and role alignment stretchingMark Durie | pp. 159–196
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Beyond Preferred Argument Structure: Sentences, pronouns, and given referents in NepaliCarol Genetti and Laura D. Crain | pp. 197–223
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Multiple constraints on reference form: Null, pronominal, and full reference in MapudungunJennifer E. Arnold | pp. 225–245
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Argument splits in Finnish grammar and discourseMarja-Liisa Helasvuo | pp. 247–272
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Core arguments and the inversion of the nominal hierarchy in RovianaSimon H. Corston-Oliver | pp. 273–300
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Preferred Argument Structure in early Inuktitut spontaneous speech dataShanley E.M. Allen and Heike Schröder | pp. 301–338
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The role of Preferred Argument Structure for understanding aphasic sentence planningSusan E. Kohn and Ana Cragnolino | pp. 339–351
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Nominal information flow in the talk of two boys with autismElizabeth G. Weber | pp. 353–383
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Tracking the deer: Nominal reference, parallelism and Preferred Argument Structure in Itzaj Maya narrative genresCharles Andrew Hofling | pp. 385–410
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Narrator virtuosity and the strategic exploitation of Preferred Argument Structure in Mocho: Repetition and constructed speech in Mocho narrativeLaura Martin | pp. 411–435
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Name index | pp. 447–448
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Language index | pp. 449–450
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Subject index | pp. 451–458
“This volume is an important contribution to the field of discourse-grammar interaction because it adopts a crosslinguistic approach that neglects neither the (potential) universals nor the language-particular differences. [...], it teaches us a lot about how grammar-relevant discourse tendencies can be studied. Those who want to understand the discourse basis of grammar will want to take this line of research as one of their starting points.”
Martin Haspelmath, Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology
Cited by
Cited by 26 other publications
Ariel, Mira
2009. Discourse, grammar, discourse. Discourse Studies 11:1 ► pp. 5 ff. 
Ariel, Mira, Elitzur Dattner, John W. Du Bois & Tal Linzen
Fonseca-Greber, Bonnie B.
2023. William J. Ashby – A pioneer in diachronic Spoken French corpus linguistics. In On Spoken French [Studies in Language Companion Series, 226], ► pp. 1 ff.
García-Miguel, José M.
2015. Variable coding and object alignment in Spanish: A corpus-based approach. Folia Linguistica 49:1
Green, Clarence
2015. An analysis of the relationship between cohesion and clause combination in English discourse employing NLP and data mining approaches. Digital Scholarship in the Humanities 30:3 ► pp. 326 ff.
Helasvuo, Marja-Liisa
2020. Chapter 4. The noun phrase as an emergent unit in Finnish. In The ‘Noun Phrase’ across Languages [Typological Studies in Language, 128], ► pp. 72 ff.
Hyams, Nina
2011. Missing Subjects in Early Child Language. In Handbook of Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition [Studies in Theoretical Psycholinguistics, 41], ► pp. 13 ff.
Hörberg, Thomas & T. Florian Jaeger
2021. A Rational Model of Incremental Argument Interpretation: The Comprehension of Swedish Transitive Clauses. Frontiers in Psychology 12
Jiang, Xiangyu & Liang Chen
2019. Preferred argument structure in the narratives of Chinese-English bilinguals and their monolingual peers. International Journal of Bilingualism 23:5 ► pp. 873 ff.
Jiang, Xiangyu, Fen Zhang, Ruixia Yan & Liang Chen
2022. Preferred argument structure in the oral narratives of adolescents with and without SLI. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics ► pp. 1 ff.
Khanina, Olesya & Andrey Shluinsky
Kurumada, Chigusa & Inbal Arnon
2014. introduction Language acquisition in interaction. In Language in Interaction [Trends in Language Acquisition Research, 12], ► pp. 1 ff.
Levshina, Natalia
2021. Communicative efficiency and differential case marking: a reverse-engineering approach. Linguistics Vanguard 7:s3
2022. Corpus-based typology: applications, challenges and some solutions. Linguistic Typology 26:1 ► pp. 129 ff.
Malyuga, Elena N., Alex Krouglov & Maria V. Ivanova
2020. Functional and Linguistic Features of Humour in Economic Discourse. In Functional Approach to Professional Discourse Exploration in Linguistics, ► pp. 95 ff.
Maschler, Yael
2015. Word Order in Time. In Temporality in Interaction [Studies in Language and Social Interaction, 27], ► pp. 201 ff.
Rodríguez Guerra, Alexandre
2022. Os suxeitos explícitos no galego medieval. Revista Galega de Filoloxía 23 ► pp. 144 ff.
Salazar-Orvig, Anne, Geneviève de Weck, Rouba Hassan & Annie Rialland
2021. Chapter 1. A dialogical approach to the acquisition and usage of referring expressions. In The Acquisition of Referring Expressions [Trends in Language Acquisition Research, 28],
2021. Chapter 1. A dialogical approach to the acquisition and usage of referring expressions. In The Acquisition of Referring Expressions [Trends in Language Acquisition Research, 28], ► pp. 2 ff.
SHIBASAKI, REIJIROU
2006. THE EVOLUTION OF PREFERRED ARGUMENT STRUCTURE IN ENGLISH. ENGLISH LINGUISTICS 23:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
Tersis, Nicole & Shirley Carter‐Thomas
2005. Integrating Syntax and Pragmatics: Word Order and Transitivity Variations in Tunumiisut. International Journal of American Linguistics 71:4 ► pp. 445 ff.
Torre, Enrico
2011. Grounding Meaning in Everyday Experience in the World: An Embodied Construction Grammar Analysis of Italian Caused-Motion Constructions. SSRN Electronic Journal
Tsunoda, Tasaku
Vihman, Virve-Anneli & Diane Nelson
2019. Effects of Animacy in Grammar and Cognition: Introduction to Special Issue. Open Linguistics 5:1 ► pp. 260 ff.
Wang, Luming, Matthias Schlesewsky, Balthasar Bickel & Ina Bornkessel-Schlesewsky
2009. Exploring the nature of the ‘subject’-preference: Evidence from the online comprehension of simple sentences in Mandarin Chinese. Language and Cognitive Processes 24:7-8 ► pp. 1180 ff.
[no author supplied]
2023. Editor’s note – Section 6. In On Spoken French [Studies in Language Companion Series, 226], ► pp. 366 ff.
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Subjects & Metadata
BIC Subject: CFK – Grammar, syntax
BISAC Subject: LAN009000 – LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General