Grand Meeting 2006 in Solf

Language variation and change in Construction Grammar

Mirjam Fried, Princeton University

This lecture gives an overview of the fundamental features that characterize Construction Grammar as a distinct model of language, which presupposes variation and change as inherent part of grammar. I will discuss the theory’s conceptual underpinnings, introduce the basics of its formalism, and demonstrate the ways in which a constructional analysis is generally carried out. Focus will be on issues relevant to representing synchronic variation and diachronic change in syntactic patterning, and illustrative material will be selected accordingly. The center of attention will be the notion ‘construction’ as a theoretical entity and the basic unit of analysis: constructions are defined as conventional pairings between form and function that represent generalizations about speakers’ linguistic knowledge. We will examine the ways in which constructions allow for both the Gestalt, holistic view of linguistic patterning (unlike formal theories of language) and for keeping track of the internal properties of larger patterns (like any other grammatical theory); both of these dimensions are necessary for capturing syntactic variation, including dialectal.

In working out the analytic and representational details, we will focus on the importance of (i) paying a close and systematic attention to the context in which a given syntactic element occurs and (ii) identifying properties of that context that may collectively shape a dialectal shift. In such an approach, we can formulate quite precisely the details of both the holistic dimension of change and the partial transitions that lead up to it through variation. Overall, the goal of the lecture is two-fold. One, to show in detail how new constructions arise through gradual conventionalization of a particular pattern of understanding, in which lexical meaning, syntactic function, and communicative intent form an integrated whole. And two, to explore the advantages of representing syntactic variation in the form of constructional maps, as networks of partially overlapping grammatical patterns.