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SoSe 22: S-Structure of English: Construction Grammar

Ferdinand von Mengden

Kommentar

Which is the basic unit of language? The sound? The word? The sentence? Different linguistic theories have had different preferences concerning this question – until in the 1990s a new idea came up: What combines all three levels listed above are patterns. Accordingly, the main idea of Construction Grammar is that language is made up of patterns or schemas (called Constructions) of different sizes and different degrees of complexity. This way, sounds are combined flexibly into words, words into utterances, etc. without viewing the traditional levels of analysis as forming a hierarchy. A Construction in this sense is any pattern of varying size – irrespective of how specific or abstract it is – which reoccurs in actual linguistic usage and which can be associated with a semantic contribution: kick the bucket; X VERB Y to Z; V-ing; the X-er, the Y-er; etc.

This idea responds to the fact that empirical observation of language attests to a greater flexibility in speakers’ behavior than the classical grammatical idea of lexicon (items) and rules (arrangement) suggest. It also allows for the social and historical variability of the way people communicate. Moreover, Construction Grammar ties in with assumptions about the relation between language and cognition, about the view of language as an evolving, dynamic system and it includes frequency effects as a main factor in the emergence of new structures. Construction Grammar also forms a new approach on viewing language acquisition: rather than learning single words and combining them, speakers associate meaningful patterns with each other and form networks of different, but related Constructions (a pair of glasses, a lot of fun, a pint of beer).

In this seminar we will study various types of linguistic phenomena in order to critically assess the idea of a ‘Construction’ as the main unit of human language. Most case studies will be from English, but examples from other languages will regularly be included for comparison.

Schein requirements are a term paper, an oral presentation in class and regular and active participation. The seminar starts in the first week of term. Students who are interested in the class but cannot come in the first week, are kindly asked to notify me via email before the start of the lecture period.

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