A constructional network in appositive space

Abstract

The concept of apposition remains an obscure notion despite the fact that it has figured prominently in the history of grammar. Modern grammatical frameworks have done very little if anything to clarify it, and, with very few exceptions, they continue to merely invoke it in passing when dealing with grey areas in the study of other phenomena. Characteristically, one starts studying NPs or reduced relatives, and when the grey areas become visible the words “apposition” or “appositive” come to the rescue. In fact, such rescuing is none other than an admission of defeat. Here I defend the view that so-called appositions inhabit a conceptual space that is best understood in reference to the notions of family resemblance, prototype, and construction. A crucial characteristic of this conceptual region is the fact that its lack of strong formal codification leaves it at the mercy of frequent, palliative, pragmatic construal.