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Project

Form, meaning and information structure. A systematic construction-based analysis of copular constructions in French.

The aim of this research project is to offer a systematic, multidimensional and usage-based analysis of copular constructions in contemporary French, focusing on the so-called "non-predicational" sentences. Copular constructions are constructions with a non-verbal predicate (adj.; NP, ...), called predicative complement (= PC), that are linked to the subject with a copula (ĂȘtre) or a semi-copula (e.g. devenir). This particular type of predication and, more specifically, its relation with the different sentence types in which it appears (as illustrated in section 2.), does not only pose serious descriptive challenges, but it also raises fundamental theoretical questions on the nature of (sentence) grammar. We will argue that an account based on a comprehensive hierarchical network of constructions linked to prototype effects within the framework of Construction Grammar (henceforth CxG) is the most workable solution.
Date:1 Oct 2009 →  30 Sep 2011
Keywords:Construction grammar, Information structure, Prototypes, Semantics, Syntax, Specificational, Copular constructions
Disciplines:Language studies, Literary studies