Semantic motivation of the English auxiliary

Langacker, Ronald W.

doi:10.1075/hcp.27.04lan

In:Motivation in Grammar and the Lexicon
Edited by Klaus-Uwe Panther and Günter Radden
[Human Cognitive Processing 27] 2011
► pp. 29–48

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Semantic motivation of the English auxiliary

Ronald W. Langacker | University of California, San Diego

Published online: 29 June 2011

https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.27.04lan

Motivation offers a viable middle ground to extreme positions that are clearly untenable. Here I consider the semantic motivation of grammar, as exemplified by the English auxiliary. Properly characterized in terms of systems of elements serving particular semantic functions, the auxiliary is seen as being efficient and highly motivated. Its apparent idiosyncrasies reflect the functions served and the meanings of the elements employed.

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2014. Chapter 2. Theoretical pre-requisites. In Cognitive Modeling [Human Cognitive Processing, 45], ► pp. 17 ff.

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2014. Chapter 6. Conclusions. In Cognitive Modeling [Human Cognitive Processing, 45], ► pp. 223 ff.

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2014. Name index. In Cognitive Modeling [Human Cognitive Processing, 45], ► pp. 245 ff.

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2014. Chapter 3. Cognitive models. In Cognitive Modeling [Human Cognitive Processing, 45], ► pp. 59 ff.

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2014. Chapter 4. Cognitive operations. In Cognitive Modeling [Human Cognitive Processing, 45], ► pp. 85 ff.

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2014. Chapter 1. Introduction. In Cognitive Modeling [Human Cognitive Processing, 45], ► pp. 1 ff.

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2014. References. In Cognitive Modeling [Human Cognitive Processing, 45], ► pp. 227 ff.

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2014. Subject index. In Cognitive Modeling [Human Cognitive Processing, 45], ► pp. 249 ff.

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