Caused-motion Construction Research Articles

Anaphora and Depictives Do Not Rule Out Small Clause Approaches to Argument Structure: A Reply to Bruening 2018

Abstract Bruening (2018) uses the facts of anaphora and depictive modification to justify non-small-clause analyses of resultative constructions, caused-motion constructions, verb-particle constructions, and double object constructions: these constructions behave differently from canonical small clause constructions in terms of anaphora and depictive modification. In this reply, we argue against treating these tests as reliable diagnostics of small clauses. For one thing, we show that small clauses may have two different kinds of interpretations: they can be either semantically complete or incomplete. For another, Bruening’s (2018) arguments rely on some particular assumptions about anaphora and depictive modification which, we argue, are not without problems. If we adopt another set of reasonable assumptions, those facts of anaphora and depictive modification can be accounted for via the two kinds of interpretations for small clauses and thus do not argue in favor of non-small-clause analyses of the relevant constructions.

Syntactic constructions drive cortical tracking in the absence of lexical content: an electrophysiological investigation of sentence processing during reading

ABSTRACT Previous work has established that neural oscillations can temporally synchronise with the occurrence of multi-unit linguistic representations but that neural synchrony to phrase boundaries is reduced in the absence of lexical content . In this study, we extend these findings to test whether reducing parsing ambiguity eliminates the reduction in phrase tracking associated with a lack of lexical content. Building on previous work, we reduced word-level parsing ambiguity by visually presenting sentences, and we reduced phrase-level parsing ambiguities by using the caused-motion construction for all sentences. Results indicated no difference in word or phrase-level tracking when comparing English and jabberwocky stimuli. We interpret this finding as indicating that tracking phrase structure can take place in the absence of content words if parsing ambiguities are sufficiently reduced.

From Syntax to Phraseology

This article presents the main grammatical characteristics of English constructions generally referred to as complex transitive constructions (Quirk et al., 1985), causative resultatives (Goldberg and Jackendoff, 2004) and caused-motion constructions (Goldberg, 1995, 2006, 2018). It is claimed, in light of some empirical corpus-based studies (Hampe, 2010; Rosa, 2020; Xia, 2017) that low-level phraseological constructions such ‘talk some sense into somebody’ play a crucial role in motivating the entrenchment and use of highly schematic caused motions such as ‘Frank sneezed the foam off the cappuccino’. In order to support this view with empirical data, we present the analysis of 1284 caused-motion utterances extracted from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), out of which we were able to identify 12 fixed expressions and 9 statistically attested phraseologisms. At last, we discuss the implications that such relationship between grammar and phraseology may present in the understanding of schematic structures such as the caused motion.

The Processing of English caused-motion construction by EFL learners

This article investigates the processing of English caused-motion constructions by Brazilian EFL learners. Drawing on corpus data on the production of such constructions by Brazilian learners, this study experimentally tests the four following constructional domains of caused motions discussed in Rosa (2020): (1) literal caused motions with instantiating verbs (e.g., put the toys into the box); (2) figurative caused motions with instantiating verbs (e.g., get yourself in trouble); (3) literal caused motions with modifying verbs (e.g., they laughed him out of the office); and (4) figurative caused motions with modifying verbs (e.g., she talked me into stupor). An acceptability judgment task with 120 EFL Brazilian learners at two levels of proficiency (B2 and C1) was devised so as to investigate the development of caused motions by testing two aspects and their effect on the comprehension of the structure: (1) level of proficiency, and (2) the degree of linguistic complexity of the structures in question. The results of the experimental study showed that learners’ proficiency level does affect their comprehension of the structures. However, the linguistic complexity of the structures seems to play an even greater role in that learners exhibit a descending level of comprehension of caused motions that is proportional with the ascending level of semantic and syntactic complexity of the structures.

Image-schema-based-instruction enhanced L2 construction learning with the optimal balance between attention to form and meaning

Abstract This study investigated the effectiveness of L2 instruction on the learning of English caused-motion constructions (e.g., Jane put the balls into the box, Harry swam Peter to the beach). Korean EFL high school students (N = 156) were randomly assigned to three instructional conditions and one control group. While the metalanguage group relied on explicit uses of grammar jargon, the input flood group read narrative stories in which the instances of a prototypical verb were presented with higher frequency than other verbs. The image-schema group, which adopted a balanced approach to form and meaning attention, studied the core meaning of the target construction. Mixed-effects logistic regressions on Korean-to-English translation tests revealed that the image-schema group was most effective in terms of learnability and generalizability. The benefits of image-schema-based instruction were attributed to simultaneous attention to form and meaning, which might lead to deeper processing. Image-schema-based-instruction is discussed as a viable alternative for L2 construction learning.

Transfer Phenomena in Bilingual Language Acquisition: The Case of Caused-Motion Constructions

Usage-based approaches suggest that children gradually build abstract syntactic patterns, called constructions, through processes of abstraction and schematization from the input they receive. Bilingual children have the challenge of learning two sets of non-equivalent constructions when they build their constructicon. This can result in deviations from monolinguals, which are commonly referred to as transfer. Targeting the expression of the caused-motion construction, the present study focuses on idiosyncratic utterances, those that do not correspond to monolingual adult language use, in three different age groups (4, 6, and 8 years old) of German–French bilingual children in comparison to monolingual control groups. The quantitative analysis showed that idiosyncrasies could be found in both groups, but with significantly higher rates in bilinguals at all ages. In a qualitative analysis, idiosyncratic utterances were clustered into three different types: syntactic patterns, use of verbs, and directional phrases. Regarding the analysis of these types, the influence of French could be shown. In order to classify this linguistic phenomenon in a usage-based approach, we propose to consider transfer as a form of overgeneralization within the bilingual constructicon.

The effects of extensive reading on young Korean students’ construction development

AbstractThis study explores how input-focused implicit learning through extensive reading (ER) facilitates construction development in Korean-speaking young EFL students. Twenty-four EFL students, 10–13 years old, participated in ER as an after-school activity for four weeks (ER group). Their construction development in writing was assessed using seven argument structure constructions. The ER group’s performance preceding and following ER activities was compared to 24 young EFL students who did not engage in ER (baseline group). The results showed that the ER group improved their production of ditransitive and caused-motion constructions. Compared to the baseline group, the ER group not only produced a greater number of these constructions, but also used a wider variety of verbs not observed prior to the ER experiences, indicating an expansion of their linguistic knowledge with the target constructions. We conclude by addressing the pedagogical implications for using ER with young EFL students.

The effects of extensive reading on young Korean students’ construction development

AbstractThis study explores how input-focused implicit learning through extensive reading (ER) facilitates construction development in Korean-speaking young EFL students. Twenty-four EFL students, 10–13 years old, participated in ER as an after-school activity for four weeks (ER group). Their construction development in writing was assessed using seven argument structure constructions. The ER group’s performance preceding and following ER activities was compared to 24 young EFL students who did not engage in ER (baseline group). The results showed that the ER group improved their production of ditransitive and caused-motion constructions. Compared to the baseline group, the ER group not only produced a greater number of these constructions, but also used a wider variety of verbs not observed prior to the ER experiences, indicating an expansion of their linguistic knowledge with the target constructions. We conclude by addressing the pedagogical implications for using ER with young EFL students.

Caused-Motion and Caused-Position

Abstract According to Goldberg (1995), placement verbs (such as put) are instantiated in the Caused-Motion Construction. Rohde (2001), however, argued that placement verbs in fact occur in a different construction, which she names the Caused-Position Construction, whose semantic value is not ‘cause to move’ but rather ‘cause to be positioned’. The present paper redefines and justifies the postulation of Caused-Position Construction. The Caused-Position Construction is compatible with not only placement verbs but also a variety of other verbs, such as verbs of creation (write or build) or certain stative verbs (want or need), many of which also occur in the Locative Inversion construction. Further, a similar distinction between Caused-Motion and Caused-Position can be attested in Mandarin as well, which suggests that the distinction between two patterns of spatial causation may not be idiosyncratically confined to the English language but motivated by the general patterns of human cognition.

Caused-Motion Constructions in Chinese: A constructional-cognitive analysis

This paper adopts the tenets of Cognitive Construction Grammar [1,2] and Cognitive Grammar [3,4] and applies them to the Caused-Motion Constructions in English and Chinese, which has not been effectively studied in the field. This comparative study attempts to fill the research gap. Simultaneously, this paper also challenges the traditional assumption that the Construction in Chinese is a verbal compound, and argues that it involves a Catenative structure and that it signals subordinate event structure. As such, this article considers the advantages of this approach by examining its major theses and principles.

A Complex Predicate Approach to the Caused-Motion Construction in English

It is generally assumed within the tradition of Construction Grammar that the oblique grammatical function for the English caused-motion construction directly corresponds to a prepositional phrase (PP), such as in the jar in put the spoons in the jar. Opposed to the assumption, this paper argues that the oblique function actually narrowly corresponds to the noun phrase (NP) complement of the head preposition. On the other hand, the transitive preposition is an integral part of the predicate that it forms with a lexical verb, what we shall term a complex predicate. It is thus in phrasal syntax that the preposition, together with the oblique NP, forms or corresponds to the PP. This argument is supported by the class of phrasal verb constructions with so-called unpredicated particles, such as off in wipe off the table and wipe the table off (≠*The table is off). The paper also advances an alternative analysis of the construction with theoretical advantages.

From caused-motion to spatial configuration

AbstractThis study re-examines Mandarin Placement verbs from a lexical-constructional perspective and redefines the class with semantic-to-syntactic properties pertaining to lexicalization patterns in Mandarin. It aims to show that Placement verbs lexicalize a cognitively salient causal chain that extends from an agentive motion to locational change and to resultant spatial configuration. The event chain serves as the conceptual basis for linking motion-triggered events and states that are syntactically distinct in profiling the three contingent stages: caused to move → caused to be → spatially grounded. Although English Placement verbs (put, hang, etc.) are typically taken to be exemplars of the caused-motion construction, this study shows that Placement verbs may be distinguished syntactically and semantically from pure Caused-Motion verbs and posture-based Spatial Configuration verbs. While the three classes of verbs may be viewed as demonstrating respectively the individuated stages of the proposed event chain, Placement verbs are the only class that encompasses all three event types in their meanings and are associated with a wide range of semantically compatible constructions. The three stages are discussed with graphical representations and collocational distinctions. Further sub-classifications of the Mandarin Placement verbs are provided with different semantic profiles for each subclass. Crucial to the analysis is the fact that location-profiled uses of Placement verbs outnumber path-profiled uses in Mandarin, indicating a categorical shift from motional to locational predication. By teasing out the language-specific and class-specific lexicalization patterns that are collo-constructionally definable, the study demonstrates the usefulness of a lexical-constructional approach in fine-tuning verbal semantic distinctions for cross-linguistic and cross-categorial comparisons.

Korean EFL Learners’ Processing of English Caused-Motion Construction

This study explores how Korean English learners process English caused-motion constructions (CMC) through online and offline experiments. The focus was on how Korean learners’ processing of English CMC is affected by the typological difference between English and Korean. Of the 77 volunteer participants recruited, 17 were native English speakers and 60 were Korean EFL learners. The experiments included a sentence completion task (SCT) as an online experiment, and an acceptability jugment task (AJT) and a translation (correction) task as offline experiments. The results showed that in the SCT, the Korean learners showed difficulty in combining process and result events with intransitive manner verbs. In the AJT, they rarely accepted the CMCs with intransitive manner verbs, but easily accepted the ‘causative verb + byphrase’ structures with the same type of verbs. When the sentences were employed in the AJT were asked to be translated into Korean, the low-intermediate Korean learners were likely to drop the result meaning and interpret the preposition phrase as a locative rather than a goal. In sum, Korean learners showed similar patterns to native English speakers in processing path verbs and transitive manner verbs, but different pattern in processing intransitive manner verbs. These findings demonstrate that Korean learners' processing of English CMC is heavily influenced by their L1 when the construction accompanied intransitive manner verbs.

Korean EFL Learners’ Processing of English Caused-Motion Construction

Korean EFL Learners’ Processing of English Caused-Motion Construction

Transitive phrasal verbs in acquisition and use: A view from construction grammar

Author/s
 Beate HampeErfurt University, Germany
 
 ABSTRACT
 This paper surveys a number of aspects involved in viewing transitive phrasal verbs as verb-particle constructions in the construction-grammar sense of the term. The two word-order templates Verb-Object-Particle and Verb-Particle-Object, as fully schematic and semantically and pragmatically distinct constructions (Gries 2003), are discussed as members of different construction networks, viz. transitive vs. caused-motion constructions, with a focus on the latter. Moreover, the word-order constructions are distinguished from specific phrasal verbs as “formal idioms”. It is argued that the notion of “allostruction” (Cappelle 2006) can be fruitfully applied only at the intermediate level of the latter.The first results of a corpus study using data from CHILDES (parts of Manchester, Fletcher), the ICE-GB and parts of the BNC are reported to support the claim that early instances of transitive phrasal verbs exhibiting the word-order Verb-Object-Particle function as precursors (Diessel 2004) to full-blown, lexically and syntactically more complex realisations of the caused-motion construction. In a more explorative and thus also preliminary way, three hierarchical configurational frequency analyses are employed to trace the constellations of selected features of transitive phrasal verbs across different age groups.

Depictive Secondary Predicates and Small Clause Approaches to Argument Structure

Some syntactic approaches to argument structure posit small clause constituents to represent what they take to be the semantics of the constructions being analyzed. For example, this approach would analyze a resultative construction like Martha hammered the metal flat as containing a small clause [the metal flat]. In the small clause analysis, the NP the metal is only an argument of the result state denoted by the small clause, and its referent is not part of the causal hammering event. Depictive secondary predicates show that this analysis is incorrect; the NP referent must be part of the verbal causing event. I show this for several constructions that have been analyzed as small clauses: resultatives, caused-motion constructions, verb-particle constructions, and double object constructions, among others. I also revisit arguments that have been presented in favor of small clause analyses (e.g., the argument from adverbial modification) and show that they do not actually favor small clause analyses. Domains of anaphora, in contrast, converge with depictives as a reliable diagnostic for small clauses, as actual small clauses always constitute opaque domains for anaphora.

Zur idiomatischen Komponente auffälliger kausativer Konstruktionen im Deutschen

This paper aims to analyze German caused-motion constructions such as jn aus dem Bett klingeln from both a phraseological and constructional perspective. Section 1 shows how the traditional definition of phraseologisms is nowadays challenged by new developments in construction grammar, especially within Goldberg’s framework. Section 2 focuses on the various possibilities existing in German to express causativity and proposes a continuum from mere morphological signs to the constructions under consideration here. Section 3 exemplifies the cognitive inscription of these causative constructions through the underlying frame semantic level. In section 4 we finally argue that several aspects of these structures, such as lexical constraint, figuration, and productivity suggest that some kinds of constructions should be integrated, at least peripherally, into the phraseological system of the given language.

Verb Class-Specific Caused-Motion Constructions

AbstractIn a constructional approach, the caused-motion construction is productive enough to attract verbs of different types into the construction; however, the distinct senses derived from actual instances indicate it is necessary to posit the caused-motion construction at lower levels because more novel uses present meanings closer to those lower constructions. The present analysis of the corpus data of English motion verbs shows that the senses of manner of caused-motion, manner of causing motion, and accompanied motion arise from their occurrences in the caused-motion construction. From a usage-based perspective, the entrenched use would yield verb class-specific constructions that are productive as well. The lower level of construction, together with the most schematic one, is stored in our memory as part of conceptual representation. The research indicates that creative use of motion verbs in the caused-motion construction is better interpreted with verb class-specific constructions.

On “Dative Idioms” in English

Appeals to idiom data have played an important role in arguments about the relation between English prepositional datives ( Mary gave a present to John) and double object forms ( Mary gave John a present).The claimed existence of idioms in both types has led researchers to conclude that the two constructions are independent, with no derivational relation between them. This article shows that the factual claims are mistaken: no English dative idioms exist in either type. Forms like give ~ the creeps/ show ~ the ropes are not double object idioms because they are not idioms—they are fully compositional. Forms like throw ~ to the wolves/ send ~ to the showers are not dative idioms because they are not datives—they are caused-motion constructions. The former misanalysis arises from a confusion of idioms with collocations. The latter misanalysis arises from a simplistic view about the syntax-semantics mapping, namely, that oblique datives univocally express caused motion. Given that English dative idioms do not exist, arguments about the derivational relatedness of dative forms in English must appeal to other data.

Enhancing a Role and Reference Grammar approach to English motion constructions in a Natural Language Processing environment

This paper puts forward a finer-grained computational treatment of the English caused-motion construction (e.g. He kicked the ball into the net) within a knowledge base for natural language processing systems called FunGramKB. This computational project is largely based on Role and Reference Grammar (RRG), which is a functional projectionist theory of language. We argue that the RRG-based characterization of the caused-motion construction in FunGramKB is insufficient to account for the semantic and syntactic complexity of realizations such as He walked the dog to the park, I will show you out, or Mac flew Continental to Bush International Airport. Thus, drawing on insights from Constructions Grammars, three minimally distinct transitive motion sub-constructions are formalized within FunGramKB. It is through the inclusion of additional constructional schemas that the machine will be able to capture the various ways in which verbs and constructions interact to yield different input texts.