Constructions as cross-linguistic generalizations over instances
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Jan-Ola Östman
Abstract
The study takes the position that constructions (as form–meaning–function constellations) are not by definition language specific. This position is supported and illustrated with a case where different types of passive constructions in one language come in contact with ways of expressing comparable meanings and functions in another language. The functions of the constructions in the languages are in many respects similar, albeit that the languages express these functions differently in form. This opens up the very question of what is to be counted as “the same form” in two different languages, which leads to an approach where semantic and pragmatic features are given a more central place in the constructional analysis.
The two languages and their contact features investigated are Finnish and Swedish, and in particular the Solv dialect of Swedish, i.e., languages that are both typologically and genetically very different from each other. Actives and passives are seen as constituting different patterns that speakers orient to and use; patterns are not constructions in the traditional sense of form–meaning pairs, but constructions as meaning–function constellations. The study suggests that what we may interpret as Swedish dialects having borrowed features from Finnish in their passive constructions is rather the result of a long-standing cultural give-and-take situation between Finnish and Swedish in the Solf community.
Abstract
The study takes the position that constructions (as form–meaning–function constellations) are not by definition language specific. This position is supported and illustrated with a case where different types of passive constructions in one language come in contact with ways of expressing comparable meanings and functions in another language. The functions of the constructions in the languages are in many respects similar, albeit that the languages express these functions differently in form. This opens up the very question of what is to be counted as “the same form” in two different languages, which leads to an approach where semantic and pragmatic features are given a more central place in the constructional analysis.
The two languages and their contact features investigated are Finnish and Swedish, and in particular the Solv dialect of Swedish, i.e., languages that are both typologically and genetically very different from each other. Actives and passives are seen as constituting different patterns that speakers orient to and use; patterns are not constructions in the traditional sense of form–meaning pairs, but constructions as meaning–function constellations. The study suggests that what we may interpret as Swedish dialects having borrowed features from Finnish in their passive constructions is rather the result of a long-standing cultural give-and-take situation between Finnish and Swedish in the Solf community.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface 1
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Part I. Constructions in contact
- Construction Grammar and language contact 5
- Grammar is community-specific 37
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Part II. Constructional variation and change in contact
- Towards a constructional analysis of the progressive aspect in Texas German 73
- Tense and aspect marking in (Low) German perfect constructions based on variety contact 115
- Distributional assimilation in constructional semantics 143
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Part III. Item-based patterns and constructional generalizations in contact
- Constructions as cross-linguistic generalizations over instances 181
- Texas German and English word order constructions in contact 211
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Part IV. Semantic frames in contact
- A constructional account of the modal particle ‘ja’ in Texas German 253
- Frames change in language contact environments 277
- Author index 311
- Index of constructions 313
- Subject index 315
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface 1
-
Part I. Constructions in contact
- Construction Grammar and language contact 5
- Grammar is community-specific 37
-
Part II. Constructional variation and change in contact
- Towards a constructional analysis of the progressive aspect in Texas German 73
- Tense and aspect marking in (Low) German perfect constructions based on variety contact 115
- Distributional assimilation in constructional semantics 143
-
Part III. Item-based patterns and constructional generalizations in contact
- Constructions as cross-linguistic generalizations over instances 181
- Texas German and English word order constructions in contact 211
-
Part IV. Semantic frames in contact
- A constructional account of the modal particle ‘ja’ in Texas German 253
- Frames change in language contact environments 277
- Author index 311
- Index of constructions 313
- Subject index 315
