Toward an integrated view of structure, processing, and discourse
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Ronald W. Langacker
Abstract
Research in Cognitive Grammar divides into two broad phases. The first phase provided an integrated account of lexicon, morphology, and syntax as inherently meaningful structures; it offered a radical alternative to the generative paradigm based on modularity, constituency, and the autonomy of syntax. The current phase aims at a broader synthesis subsuming structure, processing, and discourse. Linguistic structures are never self-contained, but draw upon a substrate of indefinite extent, encompassing the speech situation, the context, background knowledge, and the ongoing discourse. The substrate includes the speaker-hearer interaction, which is part of an expression’s meaning even when left implicit. Recognition of the substrate allows a straightforward treatment of phenomena that are problematic when expressions are analyzed in isolation.
Abstract
Research in Cognitive Grammar divides into two broad phases. The first phase provided an integrated account of lexicon, morphology, and syntax as inherently meaningful structures; it offered a radical alternative to the generative paradigm based on modularity, constituency, and the autonomy of syntax. The current phase aims at a broader synthesis subsuming structure, processing, and discourse. Linguistic structures are never self-contained, but draw upon a substrate of indefinite extent, encompassing the speech situation, the context, background knowledge, and the ongoing discourse. The substrate includes the speaker-hearer interaction, which is part of an expression’s meaning even when left implicit. Recognition of the substrate allows a straightforward treatment of phenomena that are problematic when expressions are analyzed in isolation.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction 1
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Part I: Theoretical and methodological issues
- Toward an integrated view of structure, processing, and discourse 23
- Looking into introspection 55
- Virtual lexicogrammar 75
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Part II: The semantics and pragmatics of morphosyntactic constructions
- From the meaning of the concrete noun to its grammatical property and back 95
- What? You and me get together? The place of the Incredulity Response Construction in the lexicon-syntax continuum 121
- The binding hierarchy and infinitival complementation in English and in Polish 143
- The conceptual structure of reflexivity in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , Manuscript E 161
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Part III: Figuration and lexicogrammatical structure
- Lexical and grammatical dimensions of metaphor – a Cognitive Grammar perspective 175
- The interplay of metaphor and metonymy in English noun+noun compounds 193
- Towards an experientially-based classification of motion situations 211
- Space and time in medium-mediated expressions of distance 229
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Part IV: Morphological and phonological structure
- Headedness of coordinate compounds in Polish and English 243
- Word-specific phonology 261
- Name index 277
- Subject index 279
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: Theoretical and methodological issues
- Toward an integrated view of structure, processing, and discourse 23
- Looking into introspection 55
- Virtual lexicogrammar 75
-
Part II: The semantics and pragmatics of morphosyntactic constructions
- From the meaning of the concrete noun to its grammatical property and back 95
- What? You and me get together? The place of the Incredulity Response Construction in the lexicon-syntax continuum 121
- The binding hierarchy and infinitival complementation in English and in Polish 143
- The conceptual structure of reflexivity in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , Manuscript E 161
-
Part III: Figuration and lexicogrammatical structure
- Lexical and grammatical dimensions of metaphor – a Cognitive Grammar perspective 175
- The interplay of metaphor and metonymy in English noun+noun compounds 193
- Towards an experientially-based classification of motion situations 211
- Space and time in medium-mediated expressions of distance 229
-
Part IV: Morphological and phonological structure
- Headedness of coordinate compounds in Polish and English 243
- Word-specific phonology 261
- Name index 277
- Subject index 279
