Cognitive-functional Approach Research Articles

A cognitive-functional approach to utterance pairs: A critical review of dialogic construction grammar

The combination of construction grammar and dialogic syntax in cognitive linguistics facilitates a novel cognitive-functional approach to investigating dialogues, which highlights the engagement of interlocutors and aims to examine the cognitive motivation and mechanism underlying the resonances and temporary constructions in utterance pairs. Nevertheless, studies on dialogic construction grammar are scarce and unsystematic, some of which concern theoretical explanation instead of practical application with sufficient data. As a result, it is demanding to testify its explanatory force in diverse types of utterance pairs in natural language. Basically grounded on the monograph Dialogic Construction Grammar: A Theoretical Framework and Its Application, this review sorts out the development of dialogic construction grammar, and manages to presents how the Event domain-based Schema-Instance model is constructed to explore the cognitive mechanism of common types of utterance pairs, particulary, wh-question and answer pairs, namely wh-dialogues, with the intention to explain how dialogic construction grammar theory is applied to investigate the cognitive-functional properties of common utterance pairs in linguistic communication, at the same time pointing out the future work that might be done in the studies on construction grammar.

The Evolution of Parliamentary Debates in Light of the Evolution of Evidentials: Al Parecer and Por lo Visto in 40 Years of Parliamentary Proceedings from Spain

Previous works [like Cornillie (Epistemic modality and evidentiality in Spanish (semi)auxiliaries. A cognitive-functional approach, Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin, 2007)] suggest that Spanish political discourse could be studied on the basis of the description of the different evidential and modal types. The present study extends this synchronic hypothesis and addresses the evolution of the Spanish evidential discourse markers *al parecer* and *por lo visto* in a specific political genre, namely parliamentary debates, to shed some light on the evolution of parliamentary debate itself. To do so, a corpus analysis has been carried out of Spanish parliament debates from the last 39 years (1979–2018). The results show how the use of evidential markers has decreased and the pragmatic functions attached to these markers have progressively specialised in expressing negative/criticism pragmatic functions. The decrease in frequency and their specialisation in criticisms are presented, among other factors, as consequences of the evolution of parliamentary debates in Spain.

A cognitive-functional approach to the order of adjectives in the English noun phrase

AbstractIn this article we identify and motivate the main word order patterns of adjectives in the English NP. Theoretically, we situate ourselves within the tradition of semiotically-based, cognitive-functional construction grammars as developed by such linguists as Halliday, Langacker and McGregor. In this tradition, the lexicogrammar is assumed to exist to symbolize semantic functions. We argue that the various semantic functions of adjectives in the English NP are coded by different modification relations, which differ in terms of where and how they fit into the structural assembly of the whole NP. We hold that function motivates structure, and that order is an epiphenomenon of structure. Therefore, we first set out our model of the functions that can be fulfilled by adjectives in the English NP. This model is innovative in a number of ways. Theoretically, it extends the distinction between representational and interpersonal modifiers. Descriptively, we elucidate the traditionally recognized representational functions of classifier and epithet as well as the interpersonal functions of noun-intensifier and secondary determiner. To this set, we add the hitherto barely recognized interpersonal functions of focus marker and metadesignative. We also systematically investigate the possibility for coordination and subordination between adjectives fulfilling the same function. In a second step, we then correlate this functional-structural model with the general ordering tendencies of the functions realized by adjectives. We specify the general left-to-right ordering of the six functions, pointing out possible and impossible orders of the functions relative to each other. We interpret the distinction between representational and interpersonal modifiers with regard to their different ordering potential. Finally, we look at the main ordering options available for multiple adjectives realizing the same function.

Discourse functions of always progressives: Beyond complaining

AbstractIt is widely assumed that the frequency adverbalwayscombined with the progressive aspect is typically used in negative evaluations expressing irritation, i.e., complaints. Adopting a cognitive-functional approach, I test this claim across six genres of Present Day English.Alwaysprogressives were coded according to their functions: Describe (neutral), Complain (negative), Lament (negative), or Praise (positive). Neutral, rather than negative, functions predominated in all genres, although negative functions outnumbered positive functions. I relate the former finding to the propensity ofalwaysprogressives to act similarly to the simple aspect and the latter to a cognitive phenomenon called the negativity bias.

Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar, Sign-Based Construction Grammar, and Fluid Construction Grammar

AbstractVan Trijp (2013,2014) claims that Sign-Based Construction Grammar (SBCG) and Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG) are fundamentally different from Fluid Construction Grammar (FCG). He claims that the former approaches are generative ones while the latter is a cognitive-functional one. I argue that it is not legitimate to draw these distinctions on the basis of what is done in FCG. Van Trijp claims that there are differences in the scientific model, the linguistic approach, formalization, the way constructions are seen, and in terms of processing. This paper discusses all these alleged differences. Van Trijp also claims that his cognitive-functional approach is superior in terms of completeness, explanatory adequacy, and theoretical parsimony. In order to facilitate a discussion and comparison, I introduce the reader to basic assumptions made in FCG and the analyses suggested by Van Trijp: I first deal with the representations that are used in FCG, talk about argument structure constructions, the combination operations fusion and merging that are used in FCG, I than discuss the analysis of nonlocal dependencies and show that the suggested FCG analysis is not explanatorily adequate since it is not descriptively adequate and that a full formalization of approaches with discontinuous constituents is not more parsimonious than existing HPSG analyses either. After the discussion of specific analyses, I then provide a detailed comparison of FCG and SBCG/HPSG and discuss questions like the competence/performance distinction, mathematical formalization vs. computer implementation, fuzziness and fluidity in grammars, and permissiveness of theories. I conclude that HPSG, SBCG, and FCG belong to the same family of theories and that all claims to the contrary are unjustified.

Graus de esquematicidade das construções verbo-nominais com o verbo “deixar” no português brasileiro

O objetivo do artigo é investigar, com base na abordagem construcional de Traugott e Trousdale (2013) e na abordagem cognitivo-funcional de Bybee (2010), as construções verbo-nominais (VNs) com o verbo “deixar” no Português brasileiro, que resultam da associação de um verbo semanticamente leve com um sintagma nominal. A hipótese defendida aqui é a de que as construções VNs com este verbo exibem diferentes graus de esquematicidade, incluindo construções totalmente esquemáticas (abertas, em que os slots podem ser preenchidos por quaisquer elementos, como em: Vsuporte+SN) até aquelas as construções fechadas (de natureza substantiva, sem possibilidade de slots para preenchimento, como em: Deixar a peteca cair), passando pelas construções semiabertas (de natureza parcialmente esquemática, em que apenas alguns slots podem ser preenchidos lexicalmente, como em: Deixou uma imagem ruim). Essas configurações apontam, segundo Vieira (2014), para a existência de três tipos de construções VNs: (i) não-lexicalizadas; (ii) semilexicalizadas; (iii) lexicalizadas. Em vista do exposto, examinaremos as ocorrências dessas construções coletadas no Corpus do Português (DAVIS; FERREIRA, 2006), considerando a produtividade, em termos de frequência (BYBEE, 2003; 2010), e sua composicionalidade, para que, assim, possamos verificar a hipótese de que essas construções são decorrentes de dois processos distintos de construcionalização: a construcionalização gramatical e a construcionalização lexical.

A expressão de finalidade na construção de movimento com propósito em português

Neste artigo, discutimos a relação de finalidade na Construção de Movimento com Propósito, que é formada pela sequência, contígua ou não, de dois verbos, sendo que o primeiro é sempre um verbo de movimento orientado e o segundo apresenta-se sempre na forma não finita. Adotamos um modelo cognitivo-funcional, em que são priorizadas as noções de construção, segundo o paradigma da gramática das construções (GOLDBERG, 1995), metáfora conceptual (LAKOFF; JOHNSON, 1980; LAKOFF, 1992), gramaticalização (HOPPER; TRAUGOTT, 2003) e tipologia de combinações de cláusulas (LEHMANN, 1988; CRISTOFARO, 2005) para analisar a relação dessa construção com a oração adverbial final dentro de um continuum de integração de cláusulas complexas.

The New Development of the Study of Discourse Anaphora ------Review of Discourse Anaphora: A Cognitive-Functional Approach

The English word anaphora is derived from the Greek word ἀναφορά , meaning carrying back . For a long time anaphora has been the object of research in a wide range of disciplines, such as rhetoric, philosophy, theoretical linguistics and so on. A great number of remarkable achievements have been made in these fields. In the 1970’s there was a “discourse turn” in the domain of the humanities and the social sciences, which marked the birth and flourishing of such cross-disciplines as psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, cognitive linguistics, corpus linguistics, discourse studies and so on, and which also paved the way for the turn of the study of anaphora from focusing on intrasentential anaphora to intersentential anaphora. Intrasentential anaphora refers to the relationship between a pronoun and its antecedent being contained within one sentence, while intersentential anaphora can also be called discourse anaphora, which refers to “the relationship between a pronoun and its antecedent earlier in the discourse” (Clark & Parikh, 2006, p. 1). From the late 20 th century on, discourse anaphora has become one of the hot topics in several fields such as psychology, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, etc. Many fruitful research results (i.e. Huang, 2002; Clark & Parikh, 2006, etc.) have been obtained. Ming-Ming Pu’s monograph Discourse Anaphora: A Cognitive-Functional Approach , published by LINCOM GmbH in Muenchen, Germany in 2011 is another important work of the study of discourse anaphora. In this book, the author first proposes a cognitive-functional model to account for how the construction of mental structures determines the use and resolution of discourse anaphora. Afterwards he does a comparative quantitative study of both English and Chinese empirical and text data, which demonstrates that on the one hand the occurrence and distribution of discourse anaphora is more universal in nature than language-specific, and on the other hand that the proposed model is adequate, feasible and workable. This book suits such readers as university teachers, graduate students and researchers who are interested in the study of anaphora, cross-linguistic studies, discourse analysis, and language teaching and learning. In the following I shall review each chapter and then offer my evaluation.

Conceptual and discursive hybridization in the Western-Islamic Academic genre of finance. A case study on ‘Riba’

The present study starts from the observation that there are Islamic concepts of Finance, such as ‘Riba’ which is to be explored here, that are totally inaccessible to Western students of Finance. Furthermore, they are also unavailable to them. Yet, in a globalized world, such concepts need to be understood, so as to make them accessible and then acceptable. Thus it is necessary to hybridize them with parallel Western concepts. The study, which is part of a wider research-in-progress, introduces a cognitive-functional approach (Halliday 1985) to the analysis of three selected mini-corpora of academic texts on Finance in English, respectively identified as ‘Corpus A’, ‘Corpus B’ and ‘Corpus C’. ‘Corpus A’ is made up of texts from original Islamic sources in their official translation into English. Texts from Corpus A represent the Islamic Finance perspective as reflected in both their specialized conceptualisation and their culture-based textualisation, as they are marked by the influence of the religious culture of Islam upon economic transactions. ‘Corpus B’, instead, is made up of texts from a Western/US perspective reflected in (a) the specialized concepts and (b) the Western ‘standards of textuality’ (de Beaugrande and Dressler 1981) that characterise them. Finally, ‘Corpus C’ is made up of Islamic texts that are here defined as ‘hybrid Islamic-Western texts’, representing an emerging academic genre that displays specific features in terms of both novel semantic and textual structures. Analysis of this Corpus C is aimed to highlight the varying degree(s) of discourse hybridization, this implying, as it will be shown in the ‘analysis’ section, a focus on acceptable concepts and textual structures for the prospective Western readers of the texts.

Ein biopsychosoziales Modell zum Beckengürtelschmerz: aktuelle evidenzbasierte Sichtweise

Pelvic girdle pain (PGP) is now used as an umbrella term for musculoskeletal disorders in pain in the region of the pelvis and are associated with disability. For the majority of subjects there is no readily identifiable pathological process underlying PGP, and approaching these disorders from a biomedical standpoint is one of the factors that has resulted in poor outcomes for many subjects with PGP. Contemporary understanding of chronic pain as multidimensional biopsychosocial disorders is consistent with how PGP disorders present. Biopsychosocial factors may interact in a complex top-down/bottom-up manner to drive pain and pain behaviours. Thorough assessment based on this biopsychosocial model allows for diagnosis and classification of subjects with PGP disorders. This process will inform a cognitive-functional approach to management that specifically targets the underlying mechanisms driving the disorder.

Crítica de Cornillie (2007): Evidentiality and epistemic modality in Spanish (semi-)auxiliaries. A cognitive-functional approach

Crítica de Cornillie (2007): Evidentiality and epistemic modality in Spanish (semi-)auxiliaries. A cognitive-functional approach

Review of Cornillie (2007): Evidentiality and Epistemic Modality in Spanish (Semi-)Auxiliaries: A Cognitive-Functional Approach

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Evidentiality and Epistemic Modality in Spanish (Semi-)Auxiliaries: A Cognitive-Functional Approach

Evidentiality and Epistemic Modality in Spanish (Semi-)Auxiliaries: A Cognitive-Functional Approach

A Cognitive-Semantic Account for English Particles

Although it seems to be intuitively plausible that there is some degree of productive formation of some verb-particle combinations, it is not easy to predict which particle combines with which verb to create a new phrasal verb. This study aims to present a cognitive model for the relationship between the meanings and high frequency of verb-particle combinations in English, and to demonstrate why a particular set of particles (i.e., out, up, down, back, away, etc.) is frequently used to combine with a particular verb. It is suggested that the high frequency of a limited set of particles in verb-particle constructions is motivated by the conceptual features based on a human cognitive system: the verb-particle combination can be best understood given a cognitive or conceptual characterization with respect to the meanings of the attached particle. Based on a cognitive-functional approach, this study also proposes that the verb-particle combinations are likely to be created on the basis of the human conceptual system that serves to organize categories. Finally, it is suggested that the frequent use of a limited set of particles is closely related to their cognitively-semantically salient properties.