Video Recordings

This talk gives an overview of the fundamental features that characterize Construction Grammar as a distinct approach to linguistic analysis, one that presupposes variation as an inherent feature of grammar. I will discuss the theory’s conceptual underpinnings and briefly demonstrate the ways in which constructional analysis is carried out. The center of attention is on the notion ‘construction’ as a theoretical entity and the basic unit of analysis, which allows for both a Gestalt view of linguistic patterning (unlike formal theories) and for keeping track of the internal properties of larger patterns (like any other linguistic theory). In the second half of the talk I will focus on the theory’s potential for capturing the dynamic nature of linguistic structure and the gradualness of grammatical change, using the functionally fluid ‘long’ present active participle in Old Czech (the type žádající ‘requesting’) as an example. By appealing to the notion of constructional analogy and the effect of recurring contextual settings, I will show how we can articulate the emergence of grammatical structure, including the problem of formal (ir)regularity.