Article published In: Journal of Historical Linguistics
Vol. 14:2 (2024) ► pp.304–334
Construct types in language change
Published online: 25 April 2023
https://doi.org/10.1075/jhl.22031.sch
https://doi.org/10.1075/jhl.22031.sch
Abstract
This article combines ideas and concepts deriving from grammaticalization studies, cognitive linguistics and
construction grammar. Specifically, it takes three important ideas developed within grammaticalization research, namely
untypical context, bridging or critical context and isolating or
switch context (Evans, Nicholas & David Wilkins. 2000. In
the Mind’s Ear: The Semantic Extensions of Perception Verbs in Australian
Languages. Language 76:3.546–592. , 2006; Heine, Bernd. 2002. On
the Role of Context in Grammaticalization. New Reflections on
Grammaticalization ed. by Ilse Wischer & Gabriele Diewald, 83–101. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. ), and remodels them with the concepts construct and
construction. This enables the definition of three salient construct types present in historical corpora that
are placed in the continuum between individual variation and language change: extensional constructs, ambiguous
constructs and adaptive constructs. Each construct type characterizes a specific phase in language
change. The data presented as illustration of the construct types stem from historical and contemporary corpora of written French,
Italian and Spanish.
Keywords: construct, construction, French, grammaticalization, Italian, Spanish
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Basic assumptions
- 3.Extensional constructs
- 4.Ambiguous constructs
- 5.Adaptive constructs
- 6.Accessibility and ‘novelty’ of constructions
- 7.Meroconstruct and holoconstruct
- 8.Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
Corpora and dictionaries References
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