Corpus, Cognition and Causative Constructions

Corpus, Cognition and Causative Constructions PDF Author: Gaëtanelle Gilquin
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027223130
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
English causative constructions with "cause," "get," " have "and "make" are often mistakenly presented as (quasi-)synonymous and more or less interchangeable. This book demonstrates the value of corpus linguistics in identifying the syntactic, semantic, lexical and stylistic features that are distinctive for each of these constructions. It also underlines the usefulness of providing corpus studies with a solid theoretical foundation by showing how corpus linguistics can be fruitfully combined with cognitive linguistics, which is used both as a starting point for the analysis (top-down approach) and as a framework within which to interpret the corpus results (bottom-up approach). From a methodological point of view, the study illustrates the complementarity of corpus and elicitation data, and offers tools and methods that could be used to investigate other syntactic structures. Finally, the book also has a pedagogical dimension in that it examines how the research findings can be applied to foreign language teaching.

Corpus, Cognition and Causative Constructions

Corpus, Cognition and Causative Constructions PDF Author: Gaëtanelle Gilquin
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027223130
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 347

Get Book

Book Description
English causative constructions with "cause," "get," " have "and "make" are often mistakenly presented as (quasi-)synonymous and more or less interchangeable. This book demonstrates the value of corpus linguistics in identifying the syntactic, semantic, lexical and stylistic features that are distinctive for each of these constructions. It also underlines the usefulness of providing corpus studies with a solid theoretical foundation by showing how corpus linguistics can be fruitfully combined with cognitive linguistics, which is used both as a starting point for the analysis (top-down approach) and as a framework within which to interpret the corpus results (bottom-up approach). From a methodological point of view, the study illustrates the complementarity of corpus and elicitation data, and offers tools and methods that could be used to investigate other syntactic structures. Finally, the book also has a pedagogical dimension in that it examines how the research findings can be applied to foreign language teaching.

Corpora in Cognitive Linguistics

Corpora in Cognitive Linguistics PDF Author: Stefan Th. Gries
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110197707
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
Cognitive Linguistics, the branch of linguistics that tries to "make one's account of human language accord with what is generally known about the mind and the brain," has become one of the most flourishing fields of contemporary linguistics. The chapters address many classic topics of Cognitive Linguistics. These topics include studies on the semantics of specific words (including polysemy and synonymy) as well as semantic characteristics of particular syntactic patterns / constructions (including constructional synonymy and the schematicity of constructions), the analysis of causatives, transitivity, and image-schematic aspects of posture verbs. The key characteristic of this volume is that all papers adopt the methodological perspective of Corpus Linguistics, the rapidly evolving branch of linguistics based on the computerized analysis of language used in authentic settings. Thus, the contributions do not only all provide various new insights in their respective fields, they also introduce new data as well as new corpus-based and quantitative methods of analysis. On the basis of their findings, the authors discuss both theoretical implications going well beyond the singular topics of the studies and show how the discipline of Cognitive Linguistics can benefit from the rigorous analysis of naturally-occurring language. The languages which are investigated are English, German, Dutch, and Russian, and the data come from a variety of different corpora. As such, the present volume will be of interest to a wide range of scholars with many different foci and interests and should pave the way for further integration of usage-based techniques of analysis within this exciting paradigm.

Corpus-based Approaches to Construction Grammar

Corpus-based Approaches to Construction Grammar PDF Author: Jiyoung Yoon
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027266603
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
This volume brings together empirical Construction Grammar studies to (i) promote cross-fertilization between researchers interested in constructional approaches on various languages, and (ii) further the growing trend towards empirically rigorous research that takes seriously a commitment not only to usage-based theories, but also to usage-based methodologies. Accordingly, the chapters in this volume comprise a range of studies not based on synchronic contemporary English but include Dutch, old English, Italian, and Spanish. This volume also features studies from a wider range of statistical sophistication: some chapters use more traditional frequency- and attestation-based approaches, some chapters use inferential statistical techniques to explore lexically specific preferences and patterns in constructional slots, and some chapters use multifactorial hypothesis-testing techniques or multivariate exploratory tools to discover patterns in corpus data that a mere eye-balling or simple statistical tools would not uncover.

Lexical Perspectives on Transitivity and Ergativity

Lexical Perspectives on Transitivity and Ergativity PDF Author: Maarten Lemmens
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027275661
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Fusing insights from cognitive grammar, systemic-functional grammar and Government & Binding, the present work elaborates and refines Davidse’s view that the English grammar of lexical causatives is governed by the transitive and ergative paradigms, two distinct models of causation (Davidse 1991, 1992). However, on the basis of extensive synchronic and diachronic data on verbs of killing (e.g. kill, execute, choke or drown), it is shown that ‘transitivity’ and ‘ergativity’ are not absolute but prototypical characteristics of verbs which may be overruled by the semantics of the construal in which they occur. The variable transitive or ergative character of the verbs reveals the complex interaction between the semantics of the construction and that of the verb. The diachronic analyses further illustrate how in the course of time verbs may change their paradigmatic properties, either temporarily (e.g. the ergativization of strangle, throttle and smother) or permanently (e.g. the ‘causativization’ of starve or the partial transitivization of abort). The analyses show that these changes are semantically well-motivated and further illustrate the cognitive reality of the two causative models. The work explores the experiential basis of the prototypical paradigmatic behaviour of verbs (e.g. the ergative predilection of the SUFFOCATE verbs). In addition, it attempts to shed more light on the semantics and restrictions of certain constructions, such as the medio-passive, the derivation of adjectives in –able, or the derivation of agentive nominals in –er.

Give Constructions across Languages

Give Constructions across Languages PDF Author: Myriam Bouveret
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 902726015X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
This cognitive contrastive study of ten languages (Chinese, Dalabon, English, French, Spanish, Romanian, Kurdish, Khmer, Polish, Tibetan) focuses on the concept of giving from six main points of view, namely argument structure, lexical semantics and event structure, role marking in the three argument construction and in other constructions, lexicalization, grammaticalization and constructionalization of the verb from a cognitive construction grammar point of view, and central and extended meanings. It is proposed that a continuum approach to grammar and lexicon is needed in order to describe the typological and historical facts. The volume argues for a concrete and abstract transfer ‘cluster model’ involving coverage of lexical and grammatical extension or bleaching phenomena and that the semantic extensions (metaphorical and otherwise) exploit various portions of this schema. The volume is deeply anchored in the Cognitive Construction Grammar theoretical movement, and proposes analyses of constructional phenomena to illustrate a grammar to lexicon continuum, in synchrony and diachrony: language change, grammaticalization chains, constructionalization analysis, and an invariant hypothesis of giving as a basic activity in human cognition.

Corpora, Constructions, New Englishes

Corpora, Constructions, New Englishes PDF Author: Samantha Laporte
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027260087
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 419

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Book Description
This book takes an integrated approach to the fields of Corpus Linguistics, Construction Grammar, and World Englishes through a thorough constructional and corpus-based examination of the patterning of the versatile high-frequency verb make in British English and New Englishes. It contributes to Construction Grammar theory by adopting a verb-based, rather than construction-based, perspective on argument structure. This allows the probing of the interface between verb-independent generalizations and item-specificity from an underexplored angle that offers new insights into the shape of the constructicon. From a variationist perspective, it seeks to (i) identify features of New Englishes and gauge whether these features exhibit traces of conventionalization, and (ii) assess whether the degree of institutionalization of the New Englishes correlates with linguistic behavior, both from a social and cognitive perspective, thereby contributing to the budding effort to integrate the cognitive and social dimensions into the modeling of linguistic variation in World Englishes.

Data Analytics in Cognitive Linguistics

Data Analytics in Cognitive Linguistics PDF Author: Dennis Tay
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110687275
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Contemporary data analytics involves extracting insights from data and translating them into action. With its turn towards empirical methods and convergent data sources, cognitive linguistics is a fertile context for data analytics. There are key differences between data analytics and statistical analysis as typically conceived. Though the former requires the latter, it emphasizes the role of domain-specific knowledge. Statistical analysis also tends to be associated with preconceived hypotheses and controlled data. Data analytics, on the other hand, can help explore unstructured datasets and inspire emergent questions. This volume addresses two key aspects in data analytics for cognitive linguistic work. Firstly, it elaborates the bottom-up guiding role of data analytics in the research trajectory, and how it helps to formulate and refine questions. Secondly, it shows how data analytics can suggest concrete courses of research-based action, which is crucial for cognitive linguistics to be truly applied. The papers in this volume impart various data analytic methods and report empirical studies across different areas of research and application. They aim to benefit new and experienced researchers alike.

Applied Construction Grammar

Applied Construction Grammar PDF Author: Sabine De Knop
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110456184
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
Current research within the framework of Construction Grammar (CxG) has mainly adopted a theoretical or descriptive approach, neglecting the more applied perspective and especially the question of how language acquisition and pedagogy can benefit from a CxG-based approach. The present volume explores various aspects of “Applied Construction Grammar” through a collection of studies that apply CxG and CxG-inspired approaches to relevant issues in L2 acquisition and teaching. Relying on empirical data and covering a wide range of constructions and languages, the chapters show how the cross-fertilization of CxG and L2 acquisition/teaching can improve the description of learners’ use of constructions, provide theoretical insights into the processes underlying their acquisition (e.g. with reference to inheritance links or transfer from the L1), or lead to novel teaching practices and resources aimed to help learners make the generalizations that native speakers make naturally from the input they receive.

The Syntax of Causative Constructions

The Syntax of Causative Constructions PDF Author: Judith Aissen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description


Empirical Approaches to Cognitive Linguistics

Empirical Approaches to Cognitive Linguistics PDF Author: Milla Luodonpää-Manni
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 144389222X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
This collection takes a cognitive linguistic view on analyzing language and presents innovative contemporary Finnish research to the international audience. The volume brings together nine chapters presenting empirical case studies that rely on various kinds of corpus data and experimental data or combine both types of empirical evidence. The topics vary from semantics to grammatical description, from terminological choices to language acquisition, and they study language from perspectives as diverse as psycholinguistics, comparative linguistics, and translation studies. A multi-methodological approach to linguistic research is promoted in this book. The idea is that language in all its diversity can best be studied by using the entire spectrum of modern quantitative and qualitative methods. It will appeal to academic readers, students, and established researchers, interested in the study of authentic linguistic material especially from the cognitive perspective.