In:Figurativity and Human Ecology
Edited by Alexandra Bagasheva, Bozhil Hristov and Nelly Tincheva
[Figurative Thought and Language 17] 2022
► pp. 107–122
On syntactic categories and metaphors
Published online: 10 November 2022
https://doi.org/10.1075/ftl.17.05pop
https://doi.org/10.1075/ftl.17.05pop
Abstract
This paper aims at studying some syntactic
categories in Spanish, namely, atypical subjects and emphatic
constructions, in the context of relevant developments in the
conceptualization of grammaticalization. The analysis is carried out
on the basis of multifaceted and holistic approaches with regard to
the dynamic interplay between formal, semantic and pragmatic aspects
of Spanish utterances. Attention is drawn to some diachronic and
cross-linguistic aspects of the addressed problems. Metaphor and
metonymy are regarded as basic ways of grammaticalization.
Keywords: syntactic categories, pragmatics, grammaticalization, subjectification, metaphor, metonymy
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Linguistic evolution and syntactic categories
- 2.1Major trends in linguistic evolution
- 2.2Pragmatics and cognitive linguistics
- 2.3Syntactic categories, metaphors and metonymies
- 3.On some syntactic categories in Spanish
- 3.1Atypical, “bad” subjects in Spanish
- 3.1.1The subjects of affective and unaccusative predicates
- 3.1.2Some parallels with ergative languages and ‘become-languages’
- 3.1.3Grammaticalization and ontological metaphors
- 3.1.4“Dativo redundante”
- 3.1Atypical, “bad” subjects in Spanish
- 4.The emphatic (cleft) construction (la estructura ecuacional)
- 5.Conclusion
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