Chapter 8 - The EBNP Family: A Construction Grammar Analysis

Summary

Chapter 8 examines the findings from both Part I and Part II of this study from a CxG perspective. It begins with an introduction to CxG theory, constructional network models, and the most recent work on horizontal relationships in the network. I argue that the most interesting aspect of the CxG account is the network perspective on language change; this allows for speculation on how the language system might have influenced syntactic and semantic changes found. Furthermore, it is shown that both the allostruction model and multiple inheritance links are needed in order to explain the changes found in this grammaticalization path. In particular, the CxG analysis posits a link to the simple NP frame starting with the head-classifier, which would account for the internal changes that took place in the EBNP, evaluative modifier, and binominal intensifier. The persisting inheritance link between these constructions and the N+of-PP schema would offer a plausible explanation for the reappearance of the indefinite determiner in the EBNP. Competition between these two schemata, N+of-PP and simple NP, would explain the formal and functional changes found in the grammaticalization path.