ENGLISH

Subjects in Constructions – Canonical and Non-Canonical : Canonical and Non-Canonical

By Marja-Liisa Helasvuo; Tuomas Huumo

Book information

Publisher
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Year
2015
ISBN
9789027269188, 9789027204387
LCC
P163.5 -- .S83 2015eb
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
3 MB (2773847 bytes)
Series
Constructional Approaches to Language
Edition
1
Pages
332\332
Time added
2023-08-07 15:01:43
Comparative and general -- Coordinate constructionComparative and general -- Syntax. ; ConstructionComparative and general -- Topic and comment. ; GrGrammar

Description

We offer a model of Russian core syntax in terms of a radial category network of constructions. The prototype corresponds to Langacker’s “canonical event model”, namely a prototypical transitive event, and more peripheral constructions are related to it via metaphor and metonymy. From this perspective we focus on non-canonical subjects marked in the dative case, highlighting the complex interaction of lexical items (verbs) with constructions, and building on our previous work on case and infinitives. We hypothesize that a speaker’s perception of cause may be influenced by the use of non-canonical subjects (in Russian) rather than canonical subjects (in English) and present the results of an experiment. We are unable to prove any conclusive effect, but show the importance and need for further testing.

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