Modality and Mood in Cognitive Linguistics and Construction Grammars

In this paper we argue that we can gain important insights on the evolution of language and cognition by integrating evolutionary linguistics and the framework of Cognitive Linguistics. In Cognitive Linguistics, language is seen as tightly integrated with cognition as a whole. Construction Grammar and usage-based approaches are closely related to the Cognitive-Linguistic paradigm. Construction Grammar proposes that knowledge of language can be defined as the knowledge of form-meaning pairings of different degrees of schematicity and complexity, whereas usage-based approaches stress that language acquisition and processing are based on instances of actual language usage. As we demonstrate in this paper, concepts from Cognitive Linguistics, construction grammar, and usage-based approaches can help in elucidating the cognitive and interactional factors involved in language evolution. The paper will focus on two main areas: In evolutionary linguistics, language is seen as a complex adaptive system whose structure emerges out of the interaction of three other complex adaptive systems at three different timescales: ontogeny, glossogeny, and phylogeny. Cognitive Linguistics can help in specifying common cognitive factors and processes that play a role on all three of these timescales. Secondly, a Cognitive-Linguistic and constructionist, usage-based perspective can shed light on the cognitive factors underlying the origin of the division of labour between contentful ("lexical") and procedural ("grammatical") constructions in language structure. In a Cognitive-Linguistic perspective, this development can be related to the trade-off between the cognitive factors of learnability and expressivity.

Within the framework of cognitive linguistics and construction grammar (as in Lakoff 1987; Langacker 2000; Goldberg 1995; and Fried and Östman 2004), it is claimed in this paper that the semantics of psuche (psyche) is motivated by cognitive, cultural, and constructional parameters of meaning. More specifically, it is argued that psyche, as the immaterial nature of a human being, and the seat of emotions and feelings in particular, is understood in terms of image-based metaphors, a cultural model of the self, and a cultural narrative of existence. It is also argued that the frequent occurrence of psyche in a number of collocations and idioms motivates and constrains constructional meaning. At the same time, constructions motivate extended senses of this word, thereby contributing to its polysemy and ultimately to semantic change. The evidence presented within this framework argues against a fixed borderline between lexical and constructional meaning. This view, long and tacitly adopted in lexicographic practice by necessity, is gaining further support within current research in the framework of lexicography (Fillmore 2008; Hanks 2008), corpus linguistics (Fellbaum 2007), lexical semantics (Taylor et al. 2003), language change (Bybee 2006a), and construction grammar (Boas 2008).

Essentials of construction grammar theories In chapter 9, we presented the argument for representing grammatical knowledge as constructions. In this chapter, we will examine the structure of constructions and their organization in the grammatical knowledge of a speaker. This section introduces fundamental concepts and descriptive terms for the analysis of the structure of a grammatical construction. The concepts in this section form the basis of any syntactic model, although they are combined in different ways in different syntactic theories. Any grammatical theory can be described as offering models of representation of the structure of an utterance, and models of organization of the relationship between utterance structures (presumably, in a speaker's mind). The latter are sometimes described in terms of levels of representation, linked by derivational rules. But construction grammar is a nonderivational model (like, for example, Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar), and so a more general description of this aspect of grammatical theory is ‘organization.’ Different versions of construction grammar will be briefly outlined in §10.2. We survey four variants of construction grammar found in cognitive linguistics – Construction Grammar (in capital letters; Kay and Fillmore 1999; Kay et al. in prep.), the construction grammar of Lakoff (1987) and Goldberg (1995), Cognitive Grammar (Langacker 1987, 1991) and Radical Construction Grammar (Croft 2001) – and focus on the distinctive characteristics of each theory.

Grounding Meaning in Everyday Experience in the World: An Embodied Construction Grammar Analysis of Italian Caused-Motion Constructions

In this special issue of Linguistica, a number of linguistic analyses are presented to the reader. Despite focusing on different phenomena in different languages, all of them share a common analytical approach: the usage-based one. In this electronic interview, Joan Bybee, distinguished professor at the University of New Mexico and one of the most prominent researchers on Usage-Based Linguistics, discusses the foundations of usage-based models, the arguments in favor of adopting them and their relation to other theories of language, mainly Cognitive Linguistics and Construction Grammar.

From a diachronic perspective, the evolution of the English modals has been described in terms of progressive subjectification, whereby they are claimed to have acquired the status of (highly grammaticalized) “grounding predications,” which, together with tense and person inflections, relate the complement to the speech situation (the ground). One of the main merits of a cognitive linguistic analysis of modality is its focus on semantics, which has resulted in a considerable number of fine-grained semantic (network) analyses of modal markers, both from a diachronic and a synchronic point of view. Moreover, Leonard Talmy's force dynamics has provided a schematic conceptual background, against which a number of different, but related, models of modal meaning have been developed. This article deals with modal verbs in cognitive linguistics and discusses polysemy versus monosemy, metaphor, metonymy, minimal shifts/partial sanctioning, root modality and epistemic modality, subjectification and “grounding predications,” and mood in cognitive linguistics.

This article introducesAgentive Cognitive Construction Grammar, an emerging field that seeks to connect the linguistic system with speaker-meaning. The stated purpose is thus to tackle a pervasive disconnect in both cognitive linguistics and construction grammar, whereby the linguistic system (langue) and speaker selections (parole) are separated in the belief that language is essentially a mental process associated with the brain, and hence, separated from bodily experience. I contend this view by introducing a triadic model of construction (based on the Peircean sign) in which form and function are inextricably bound up withagency. This is possible because language is tethered to senses of movement and balance that connect experiences with the physical world with the mental. A major insight of the paper is that argument structure constructions partake of both linguistic and non-linguistic signs, which provides speakers with a means to verbalize their thoughts and distribute agency in specific events.

N.C. Ellis, P. Robinson, An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, and Language Instruction. Section I: Cognitive Linguistics and Cognition. L. Talmy, Aspects of Attention in Language. J.R. Taylor, Prototypes in Cognitive Linguistics. R.W. Langacker, Cognitive Grammar as a Basis for Language Instruction. R. Hudson, Word Grammar, Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Learning and Teaching. K.R. Coventry, M. Guijarro-Fuentes, Spatial Language Learning and the Functional Geometric Framework. W. O'Grady, Language without Grammar. E. Lieven, M. Tomasello, Children's First Language Acquistion from a Usage-based Perspective. A.E. Goldberg, D. Casenhiser, Construction Learning and SLA. J. Bybee, Usage-based Grammar and SLA. Section II: Cognitive Linguistics, SLA and L2 Instruction. T. Cadierno, Learning to Talk about Motion in a Foreign Language. M. Gullberg, Gestures and SLA. T. Odlin, Conceptual Transfer and Meaning Extensions. B. MacWhinney, A Unified Model. N.C. Ellis, Usage-based and Form-focussed SLA: The Associative Learning of Constructions, Learned-attention and the Limited L2 Endstate. S.Th. Gries, Corpus-based Methods in Analyses of SLA Data. M. Achard, Teaching Construal: Cognitive Pedagogical Grammar. A. Tyler, Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Instruction. P. Robinson, N.C. Ellis, Conclusions: Cognitive Linguistics, SLA and L2 Instruction - Issues for Research.

This monograph studies cognitive operations on cognitive models across levels and domains of meaning construction. It explores in what way the same set of cognitive operations, either in isolation or in combination, account for meaning representation whether obtained on the basis of inferential activity or through constructional composition. As a consequence, it makes explicit links between constructional and figurative meaning. The pervasiveness of cognitive operations is explored across the levels of meaning construction (argument, implicational, illocutionary, and discourse structure) distinguished by the Lexical Constructional Model. This model is a usage-based approach to language that reconciles insights from functional and cognitive linguistics and offers a unified account of the principles and constraints that regulate both inferential activity and the constructional composition of meaning. This book is of value to scholars with an interest in linguistic evidence of cognitive activity in meaning construction. The contents relate to the fields of Cognitive Grammar, Cognitive Semantics, Construction Grammar, Functional Linguistics, and Inferential Pragmatics. Cognitive Modeling has been awarded the 2015 prize of the Spanish Association for Applied Linguistics (Asociación Española de Lingüística Aplicada, AESLA) for work by experienced researchers.

This article explores the semantics of English modal verbs through the lens of cognitive linguistics. It examines how these verbs express various meanings related to possibility, necessity, and permission, highlighting the cognitive processes underlying their use. The study investigates the role of context, conceptual metaphors, and mental spaces in shaping the interpretation of modal verbs. By integrating insights from cognitive linguistics, the article offers a comprehensive understanding of how speakers use modal verbs to communicate nuanced meanings in everyday language.

The General classifier 个 [ge] is normally located between a numeral and a noun. In a post-verbal position, ge is found to be used in some unusual positions, e.g. in compound verbs or between the verb and an adjective. Ge in this [V ge X] pattern has attracted much attention in Chinese linguistic research (Zhang, 2003; Lu, 1984; Biq, 2004). Most of the research focuses on the properties of ge, but the discussion about the [V ge X] pattern as a whole is limited. The main task of this research is to argue that the post-verbal ge and its context form a construction with a telic and bounded aspectual meaning within the framework of Construction Grammar. In addition, the omission of numeral - [yi] (one) in post-verbal NPs triggers the emergence of this construction.

This article provides an overview of the relationship between studies of syntactic variation in dialects of English and theoretical accounts of language structure. In the first section of the article, we provide a discussion of the place of syntactic variation within various subdisciplines of linguistic enquiry: we address issues such as I- and E-language, the place of Standard English in linguistic theory, and interfaces between traditional dialectology, variationist sociolinguistics, and theoretical linguistics. These interfaces suggest the need for a clarification of the nature and status of the (morpho)syntactic variable, which we provide in section 3; and in section 4, we examine the way in which (morpho)syntactic variation is treated within a number of theoretical models – for instance, Principles and Parameters theory, HPSG, OT, and cognitive linguistics (including Word Grammar and Construction Grammar) – all of which feature in the other articles in this special issue.

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the periphrases with the verb ir, in the third singular person, searching to describe the motivations for semantic change. Theoretical Framework: In this topic, the main concepts and theories that underpin the research are presented. Stand out the Usage-Centered Functional Linguistics - LFCU (Oliveira; Rosário, 2015; Furtado da Cunha, Bispo, Silva, 2016) which is based on Construction Grammar, Cognitive Linguistics (Goldberg, 1995; Traugott; Trousdale, 2021; Bybee, 2016), providing a solid basis for understanding the context ofthe investigation. Method: The methodology adopted for this research it is explanatory-descriptive and can be considered empirically based, focusing on the synchronic character, since the samples are extracted in a single temporal dimension Results and Discussion: The results obtained revealed that metaphorical and metonymic mechanisms are involved in the use of these constructions. In the discussion section, these results are contextualized in light of the theoretical framework, highlighting the implications and relationships identified. Possible discrepancies and limitations of the study are also considered in this section. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing insights into how the results can be applied or influence practices in the portuguese language teaching. These implications could encompass to other areas of study, such as cognition. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature when highlighting that there is a pattern in linguistic change. The relevance and value of this research are evidenced by describing the change at different levels and the impact on Portuguese language teaching.

Although the status of multiword units has been enhanced in recent years under the influence of corpus research, construction grammar, and cognitive linguistics, the role of idioms in foreign language acquisition remains a subject of debate within phraseodidactics. Idioms are regarded as a particularly difficult lexical area: as units of the secondary semiotic system, they are marked by semantic-pragmatic complexity, figurativeness, and underlying motivation, the evocation of mental imagery, and, at times, culture-specific peculiarities. These considerations are undeniably valid; however, the heterogeneity of the linguistic phenomena referred to as idioms is often overlooked, as are the numerous cross-linguistic parallels among European languages. Such parallels are didactically important and can significantly reduce these difficulties. This article aims to present an exemplary selection of idioms for Polish learners of German. The selection is based on plurilingual didactics and uses two criteria: (i) a frequency study of over 1,200 idiomatic multiword units in the corpora for spoken and written German, intended to empirically validate the communicative value of the selection; and (ii) a language-contrastive German-Polish study based on the assumption that the degree of difficulty of foreign idiom acquisition correlates closely with the interlingual convergence or divergence of the foreign and native phraseological lexis; that is, the amount of work required for idioms that are largely similar in the native and foreign language is considerably less than for zero-equivalent units. The linguistic contrastive study of 376 frequently used idiomatic multiword units serves in selecting and organizing the learning progression of these units according to the expected level of difficulty.

This research discusses the form of modality and the meaning of modality in English learning process using role play method. This research discusses the form of modality and the meaning of modality in English learning process using role play method. Objective to describe the form of modality and to explain the meaning of modality. The form of modality that is used in speaking is deontic modality with the modal verbs such as “must, has to atau have to, should, can/could” and the meanings of modality which are found, are order/necessity modality and permission modality. Descriptive qualitative with equal pragmatic methods. The data were taken from the conversation of role play which contained modal verbs. The sampling of the research were used randomly when the nursing students did role play of giving health education with diet program theme. firstly, the main form of modality in the conversation of role play using modal verb “can and will”. Secondly the meaning of modality which is often found in conversation of role play is deontic modality for asking permission. The nursing students are able to use English modal verbs correctly in role play learning process.