Cognitive Grammar and Dialogic Syntax

This paper relates the functional model of Dialogic Syntax and its key concept of resonance (Du Bois 2001 [2009]) to Cognitive Grammar (Langacker, 1987, 1991, 2001, 2008, 2009) with the aim of inquiring into the prospects, potential gains, and limitations of a Cognitive Grammar-inspired discourse analysis. First the two frameworks are compared from a theoretical point of view, focusing on how Du Bois’ account and Langacker’s Current Discourse Space Model (2001, 2008) deal with prior discourse as a resource for new usage events. In the subsequent case study, the theory is confronted with interactional data from Austrian parliamentary debates. Specific attention is paid to construal operations, more specifically viewpoint phenomena and subjectification, which are explored in relation to resonance activation. Drawing on detailed analyses that combine insights and concepts from Dialogic Syntax and Cognitive Grammar, strengths, shortcomings, and future challenges of Cognitive Grammar discourse studies are discussed.