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SUMMARY:Constructions as the Basis of Syntactic Explanation - Laura Michae
 lis-Cummings\, University of Colorado at Boulder\, USA
DTSTART:20091110T160000Z
DTEND:20091110T173000Z
UID:TALK21255@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Chris Cummins
DESCRIPTION:According to Construction Grammar (CxG)\, what we know as nati
 ve speakers of a language is both more concrete and more elaborate than wh
 at is implied by the prevailing model of grammar as a highly general symbo
 l-concatenating device (Goldberg 1995\, 2006\, Lambrecht & Michaelis 1996\
 , Kay & Fillmore 1999\, Croft 2001).  CxG sees grammar as an inventory of 
 grammatical patterns of varying grains - from the most open (e.g.\, the he
 ad-complement construction) to the least open (e.g.\, the VP idiom _fall o
 ff the wagon_).  In this talk\, I will argue that\, despite the controvers
 ies surrounding construction-based analysis\, there is no sensible concept
 ion of meaning composition without constructions.  I will then briefly des
 cribe the conceptual foundations and architecture of a formal version of C
 xG called Sign-Based Construction Grammar (SBCG)\, using the SBCG treatmen
 t of verbal argument structure as an illustration.  I will then discuss si
 x phenomena that seem to substantiate a construction-based view of languag
 e:\n* Productive idiomatic patterns (Fillmore & Kay 1999\, Kay 2002\, Culi
 cover 1999)\n* Paradigmatic effects in morphosyntax (Ackerman 2003\, Birne
 r\, Kaplan & Ward 2007)\n* Failures of transconstructional filters (Zwicky
  & Pullum 1991\, Van Valin & LaPolla 2000\, Croft 2001)\n* Head-phrase mis
 match (Zwicky 1995\, Michaelis & Lambrecht 1996)\n* Product-oriented gener
 alizations (Barlow & Kemmer 2000\, Bybee 1995\, 2001)\n* Coercion (Jackend
 off 1997\, De Swart 1998\, Michaelis 2004\, Lauwers 2008).\n\nIn concludin
 g\, I will suggest that CxG might ultimately deliver on the unfulfilled pr
 omise of generative syntax: to provide a model of human creative potential
  as manifested in language.
LOCATION:GR-06/07\, English Faculty Building
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