Comparing constructicons

In the constructionist view, the grammar of a language is represented by constructions organized in taxonomic networks. This paper addresses the question of how one should account for the differences and similarities in the organization of such networks in different varieties of a language. In particular, a corpus-driven quantitative methodology is developed that can provide evidence for modelling the relevant constructional networks. The method is based on hierarchical cluster analysis applied to multivariable data, and several statistical criteria of cluster stability. These points are demonstrated by means of a corpus study of the Netherlandic and Belgian variants of the Dutch causative construction with doen “do”. The paper describes the national differences in the structure of the constructicon and interprets them from a usage-based historical perspective.