|
Showing 1 - 3 of
3 matches in All Departments
This volume addresses the constructional variability with
transitive and causative verbs from the point of view of their
respective action and motion patterns. Drawing on the theoretical
advances registered in cognitive approaches to language (Cognitive
Grammar, Construction Grammar and space semantics), the papers
substantiate new interpretations and adduce empirical evidence from
various languages to refine or adjust existing analyses of
transitivity and causation. The different contributions all address
the crucial question of how concrete and abstract notions of human
behavior drive linguistic expressions. Cognitive linguists consider
that linguistic competence functions in terms of complex conceptual
units: the native speaker knows and manipulates conceptual blocks
without paying further attention to their constitutive parts or
their internal organization. However, as this volume illustrates,
the role of the constitutive parts and their internal organization
cannot simply be reduced to zero. A multidimensional approach to
construction schemas is at stake. That is, the speaker applies
proper embodied subroutines to build a coherent meaning, but the
construction schemas are also rooted in the linguistic patterns the
speaker and hearer are familiar with. The volume is primarily
intended for scholars working within cognitive-semantic research at
large. Given its theoretical and applied character (in the sense of
giving empirical evidence for specific problems in the grammar),
the volume will also be of great interest to anyone concerned with
syntactic processes, construction grammar or with the cognitive
structure of discourse. The descriptive and theoretical insights
indeed dwell on areas that are currently dealt with in modern
linguistics.
This volume presents a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the
Spanish evidential semi-auxiliaries parecer and resultar, the modal
constructions with amenazar and prometer, and the modal auxiliaries
poder, deber and tener que. These verbs have never been considered
together in a global approach that transcends the classical "verbal
periphrases" model. The book proposes a cognitive-functional
account of evidentiality and modality in Spanish with special
attention to subjectivity and grounding. The theoretical reflection
relies on empirical evidence of two sorts: synchronic and
diachronic corpus-analyses alternate with tests that measure the
semantic and pragmatic compatibility of the evidential and
epistemic constructions with specific sentences. Following the
assumption that linguistic forms are determined by their meaning,
the array of constructions that characterizes the different verbs
justifies their grouping in three pairs of (semi-)auxiliaries:
parecer vs resultar, amenazar vs prometer and poder vs deber/tener
que. The distributional differences observed in the corpus are
further shown to correlate with different degrees of
grammaticalization. Primarily intended for scholars working in the
field of Spanish functional linguistics, the monograph is also
relevant for grammaticalization studies and for cognitive-semantic
research at large. Given its combined theoretical and applied
character, the volume is also of interest to anyone concerned with
syntactic processes, lexical semantics or the wider area of
discourse analysis and pragmatics.
Subjectification is a widespread phenomenon and has emerged as a
most pervasive tendency in diachronic semantic change (Traugott)
and in synchronic semantic extension (Langacker). Its importance is
increasingly valued despite the fact that it is an area that has
been treated differently by different scholars. One of the book's
objectives is to generate a clearer understanding of the two major
models of subjectivity, to see where they can meet but also where
intrinsic differences present barriers to any integration. Another
objective is to speculate on whether the notions of subjectivity
and subjectification have reshaped our understanding of grammar.
The goals of the volume are the following: The volume brings
together contributions dealing with particular areas of grammar in
the framework of subjectivity and subjectification. Starting with
Stein and Wright's 1995 edition, publications on the specific
process have broadened the scope of this research. Indeed, the
question 'how far have we come?', addressed in the introduction,
has become central in reaching a clearer understanding of the above
framework and even expanding it. Individual papers explore not only
wider questions and implications on the theoretical status of
subjectivity and subjectification in language, but are empirically
supported by thorough and extensive data from different languages
(Asian languages, German, Spanish, Greek, Dutch, English). These
studies of particular areas of grammar (modals, adjectives) or of
levels of analysis (syntax) can help implement or adapt the
existing accounts of subjectivity made in the literature. The
challenge for every single paper is to show whether the two major
approaches (Langacker's and Traugott's) can possibly be integrated
or whether they are fundamentally different. The papers also
investigate into the questions whether we have a continuum from
highly subjective to more objective, whether subjective need be
opposed to objective, or whether subjective may also be understood
in contrast to neutral (which is often the case in Traugott's
examples of grammaticalization). Furthermore, the issue of
intersubjectivity, i.e., putting the addressee's perspective
onstage, is also discussed.
|
You may like...
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
|