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In:At the Crossroads of Historical and Cognitive Linguistics
Edited by Anna Rogos-Hebda and Heli Tissari
[Figurative Thought and Language 21] 2026
► pp. 92–121

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Speech verbs, figuration and the English Caused-Motion construction in American English

 | University of Huelva
Published online: 29 January 2026
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ftl.21.05vaz
Abstract
This study extends the analysis of the English Caused-Motion construction by examining figuration, which has traditionally been overlooked in favor of spatial translational motion. Building on Peña Cervel (2011) and Ruiz de Mendoza and Pérez (2011), we analyze into/out of speech directionals in the Corpus of Historical American English (1820–2019). Despite their low frequency, the 29 verb types and 49 level-specific constructions found show relative stability across the period. The study points to the role of verb-schema extension (Diessel, 2019) in the group’s diachronic evolution. More importantly, it demonstrates that a considerable number of units exhibit varying degrees of mediating cognitive decision, which leads us to suggest that Goldberg’s constraint should be partially or fully disabled in the figurative domain.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical issues
  • 3.Methodology
  • 4.Findings: Looking backwards
  • 5.Looking forward (and back to the theory)
  • 6.Conclusions
  • References
References (35)
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