A carry-coals-to-Newcastle exercise: The nature of phraseological units and their place in a constructicon of english
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Thomas Herbst
Abstract
In this article, we discuss a number of issues concerning the representation of phraseological units in a reference constructicon of the English language. While it lies in the very nature of constructionist approaches that such units must be accounted for in a comprehensive theory of language, it is by no means clear what form the description of phraseological units should take in a constructicon. In this contribution, we would like to discuss a few issues concerning the representation of phraseological units in the CASA ConstruCtiCon of English, taking into account the long lexicographical tradition in the description of idiomatic combinations as well as the results of analyses of present-day corpora of English. This involves the discussion of issues such as the balance between the linguistic creativity of individuals and established usage in connection with a sometimes rather sparse documentation of such uses in standard corpora. We will argue that a ligature view of such constructions can offer an explanation of these difficulties.
Abstract
In this article, we discuss a number of issues concerning the representation of phraseological units in a reference constructicon of the English language. While it lies in the very nature of constructionist approaches that such units must be accounted for in a comprehensive theory of language, it is by no means clear what form the description of phraseological units should take in a constructicon. In this contribution, we would like to discuss a few issues concerning the representation of phraseological units in the CASA ConstruCtiCon of English, taking into account the long lexicographical tradition in the description of idiomatic combinations as well as the results of analyses of present-day corpora of English. This involves the discussion of issues such as the balance between the linguistic creativity of individuals and established usage in connection with a sometimes rather sparse documentation of such uses in standard corpora. We will argue that a ligature view of such constructions can offer an explanation of these difficulties.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Patterns of meaning in lexicography and lexicology 1
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Section 1: Lexicographical issues: The phraseological dimension of language in learner’s lexicography and the PhraseBase project
- Introduction to the PhraseBase project 15
- A theory for a usage-based cognitive lexicography 19
- Exploring BERT’s contextualized word embeddings: a suitable method for a lexicography-oriented analysis of argument structures? 91
- Towards a phrase-based active dictionary 111
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Section 2: Theoretical issues
- Verb senses and argument semantics: From linguistic theory to lexicographic practice 119
- Valency vs. Patterns: What do corpora tell us about argument structure? 139
- Layer upon layer, mistake after mistake – a case for learner’s dictionaries? 159
- Patterns of meanings between syntax and lexicon. a lexicological and lexicographic overview of italian partially lexically specified constructions 181
- A carry-coals-to-Newcastle exercise: The nature of phraseological units and their place in a constructicon of english 207
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Section 3: Methodological issues
- Language awareness as a prerequisite for a successful use of lexicographic resources 239
- Regular polysemy in Spanish nouns: corpus analysis and some implications for lexicography 257
- No word is an island: The phraseological nature of lemma in interlingual comparison 277
- Analysing, compiling, and representing argument pattern structures: From form to meaning and back 297
- Index 317
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Patterns of meaning in lexicography and lexicology 1
-
Section 1: Lexicographical issues: The phraseological dimension of language in learner’s lexicography and the PhraseBase project
- Introduction to the PhraseBase project 15
- A theory for a usage-based cognitive lexicography 19
- Exploring BERT’s contextualized word embeddings: a suitable method for a lexicography-oriented analysis of argument structures? 91
- Towards a phrase-based active dictionary 111
-
Section 2: Theoretical issues
- Verb senses and argument semantics: From linguistic theory to lexicographic practice 119
- Valency vs. Patterns: What do corpora tell us about argument structure? 139
- Layer upon layer, mistake after mistake – a case for learner’s dictionaries? 159
- Patterns of meanings between syntax and lexicon. a lexicological and lexicographic overview of italian partially lexically specified constructions 181
- A carry-coals-to-Newcastle exercise: The nature of phraseological units and their place in a constructicon of english 207
-
Section 3: Methodological issues
- Language awareness as a prerequisite for a successful use of lexicographic resources 239
- Regular polysemy in Spanish nouns: corpus analysis and some implications for lexicography 257
- No word is an island: The phraseological nature of lemma in interlingual comparison 277
- Analysing, compiling, and representing argument pattern structures: From form to meaning and back 297
- Index 317
