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In:The Evolution of Englishes: The Dynamic Model and beyond
Edited by Sarah Buschfeld, Thomas Hoffmann, Magnus Huber and Alexander Kautzsch
[Varieties of English Around the World G49] 2014
► pp. 160–180

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The cognitive evolution of Englishes

The role of constructions in the dynamic model

Published online: 12 September 2014
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https://doi.org/10.1075/veaw.g49.10hof
Schneider’s Dynamic Model (2007) predicts that it is the lexicon-syntax interface that exhibits first traces of the emergence of characteristic structural innovations during the phase of Nativization. In this paper, I will show how a Construction Grammar approach provides a cognitive explanation for this phenomenon. I will then illustrate the advantages of a Construction Grammar analysis by focussing on Comparative Correlative (CC) constructions (e.g. The higher the price is, the more interesting the product is.; cf. Fillmore et al. 1988; Sag 2010). As the statistical analysis of data from various corpora from the International Corpus of English project show, all varieties exhibit similar processing effects, but differ greatly with respect to their reliance on partly substantive, partly schematic meso-constructions.
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