Chapter 5
From idioms to semi-schematic constructions and vice
versa
The case of [a un paso
de X]
Taking as a starting point the spatial
construction [SUB Vestar a
un
X{unit_of_measurement} de-PP{place_a}]:
‘the distance to PLACE A is exactly
X{unit_of_measurement}’ and its metaphorical
extensions within the so-called family of proximity constructions,
the present corpus-based study aims to demonstrate the continuum
between partially lexically fixed and fully lexically specified
constructions (idioms) by highlighting the interaction between units
of both kinds on the basis of horizontal and vertical links. Another
important aim of this research is to explain the relationship
between the spatial, temporal, modal-conditional and epistemic
modality meanings observed in the proximity constructions.
In contrast to the traditional phraseological theory, Construction
Grammar represents an ideal framework for explaining the creative
potential of idioms and for describing the different degrees of
schematicity and entrenchment of constructions along the
lexicon-grammar continuum.
Article outline
- 1.Object of study
- 2.Corpus data extraction
- 3.The family of proximity constructions
- 3.1Spatial meaning
- 3.2Temporal meaning
- 3.3Modal-conditional meaning
- 3.3.1The emergent micro-construction estar a
un clic(k) ‘to be one click away’
- 3.3.2Emergence of new semi-schematic constructions on
the basis of micro-constructions
- 3.4The epistemic modality construction and the
micro-construction estar a un paso ‘to be one
step away’ (‘to be about to’)
- 4.Conclusions
-
Notes
-
References
-
Consulted corpora
References (65)
References
Beßler, J., Eberwein, P., Marín Martínez, M. T., Torrent, A., & Uría Fernández, L. (2012). Rapidez y emociones en las locuciones
adverbiales españolas: un estudio traductológico, pragmático
y fraseográfico
español-alemán. In P. Eberwein, A. Torrent, & L. Uría Fernández (Eds.), Kontrastive Emotionsforschung
Spanisch-Deutsch (pp. 49–78). Aachen: Shaker.
Boas, H. C. (2013). Cognitive
Construction
Grammar. In Th. Hoffmann, & G. Trousdale (Eds.), The
Oxford Handbook of Construction
Grammar (pp. 233–252). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bybee, J. (1998). The emergent lexicon. CLS, 34, 421–435.
Bybee, J. (2007). Frequency
of Use and the Organization of
Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bybee, J. (2010). Language,
Usage and
Cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bybee, J. (2013). Usage-based
Theory and Exemplar Representations of
Constructions. In Th. Hoffmann, & G. Trousdale (Eds.), The
Oxford Handbook of Construction
Grammar (p.49–69). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cappelle, B. (2014). Conventional
Combinations in Pockets of Productivity: English
Resultatives and Dutch Ditransitives Expressing
Excess. In R. Boogaart, T. Colleman, & G. Rutten (Eds.), Extending
the Scope of Construction
Grammar (pp. 251–282). Berlin/New York: De Gruyter.
Company Company, C., & Flores Dávila, R. (2014). La preposición
a. In C. Company Company (Dir.), Sintaxis histórica de la lengua española.
Tercera parte: Adverbios, preposiciones y conjunciones.
Relaciones
interoracionales (pp. 1195–1340). Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Croft, W., & Cruse, A. (2004). Cognitive
Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Diessel, H. (2019). The Grammar Network. How Linguistic Structure is shaped by Language Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dobrovol’skij, D. (2008). Idiom-Modifikationen aus kognitiver
Perspektive. In H. Kämper, & L. M. Eichinger (Eds.), Sprache – Kognition – Kultur. Sprache zwischen
mentaler Struktur und kultureller
Prägung (pp. 302–322). Berlin/New York: De Gruyter.
DRAE = REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA: Diccionario de la lengua española, 23.ª ed., [v. 23.6 online], [URL] [March 2020].
Fillmore, Ch. J., Kay, P., & O’Connor, M. C. (1988), Regularity
and Idiomaticity in Grammatical Constructions: The Case of
Let
Alone. Language, 64(3), 501–538.
García Miguel, J. M. (2006). Los complementos
locativos. In C. Company Company (Dir.), Sintaxis histórica de la lengua española.
Primera parte: La Frase
Verbal (pp. 1251–1336). Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Goldberg, A. E. (1995). Constructions:
A Construction Grammar Approach to Argument
Structure. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press.
Goldberg, A. E. (2003). Constructions:
A new theoretical approach to
language. Trends in Cognitive
Sciences, 7, 219–224.
Goldberg, A. E. (2006). Constructions
at Work: The Nature of Generalizations in
Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Goldberg, A. E. (2019). Explain
me this: Creativity, Competition and the Partial
Productivity of
Constructions. Princeton/Oxford: Princeton University Press.
Heine, B. (2004). Grammaticalization. In B. Joseph, & R. Janda (Eds.), The
Handbook of Historical
Linguistics (pp. 575–601). Oxford: Blackwell.
Heine, B., Claudi, U., & Hünnemeyer, F. (1991). Grammaticalization:
A conceptual
framework. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hoffmann, Th., & Trousdale, G. (2011). Variation,
change and constructions in
English. Cognitive
Linguistics, 22(1), 1–23.
Ivorra Ordines, P., & Mellado Blanco, C. (2021). Más tontos que el novio de la
Chelo. La intensificación de la estulticia en
foros y chats por medio de comparaciones creativas: una
aproximación desde la Gramática de
Construcciones. Estudios
Románicos, 30(2021), 39–58.
Kay, P., & Fillmore, Ch. J. (1999). Grammatical
Constructions and Linguistic Generalizations: The
What’s X Doing Y?
Construction. Language, 75(1), 1–33.
Langacker, R. W. (1987). Foundations
of Cognitive Grammar, Volume I: Theoretical
Prerequisites. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Lauwers, P., & Willens, D. (2011). Coercion:
Definition and challenges, current approaches, and new
trends. Linguistics, 49(6), 1219–1235.
Leino, J., & Östman, J. -O. (2005). Constructions
and
variability. In M. Fried & H. Boas (Eds.) Grammatical
constructions. Back to the
roots (pp. 191–213). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
López Meirama, B. & Mellado Blanco, C. (2019). Entre miradas de asombro: aportaciones de la Lingüística de Corpus al estudio de una construcción con la preposición entre. In M. Blanco, H. Olbertz, & V. Vázquez Rozas (Eds.), Corpus y construcciones. Perspectivas hispánicas, 81–119 (Verba, anexo 79).
López Meirama, B., & Iglesias Iglesias, N. M. (in
this volume): The
construction [a todo NOUNsing]
in
Spanish. In I. Hennecke, & E. Wiesinger (Eds.), Constructions
in Spanish. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Martí Solano, R. (2013). From
Idiom Variants to Open-Slot Idioms: Close-Ended and
Open-Ended Variational
Paradigms. J. Szerszunowicz, B. Nowowiejski, K. Yagi, & T. Kanzaki (Eds.). Research on
Phraseology across Continents, Vol.
II (pp. 167–180). Białystok: University of Białystok Publishing House.
Mellado Blanco, C. (2013). Tipología de la motivación fraseológica en un
corpus onomasiológico
alemán-español. In P. Mogorrón Huerta, D. Gallego Hernández, P. Masseau, & M. Tolosa Igualada (Eds.), Fraseología, Opacidad y
Traducción (pp. 39–65). Frankfurt a. M.: Lang.
Mellado Blanco, C. (2014). Die WEG-Metaphorik in der deutschen
Phraseologie: ein
Typologisierungsversuch. In M. Dalmas, & E. Piirainen (Eds.), Figurative Sprache – Figurative Language –
Langage figure. Festgabe zum 60. Geburtstag von Dmitrij
Dobrovol’skij (pp. 59–77). Tübingen: Stauffenburg.
Mellado Blanco, C. (2018). Wenn modifizierte Sprichwörter zu Mustern
werden. Eine korpusbasierte Studie am Beispiel von
Reden ist Silber, Schweigen ist
Gold. In M. Nicklaus, N. Wirtz, M. Costa, K. Ewert-Kling, & W. Vogt (Eds.), Lexeme, Phraseme, Konstruktionen: Aktuelle
Beiträge zu Lexikologie und
Phraseologie (pp. 183–203). Frankfurt a. M.: Lang.
Mellado Blanco, C. (2020): (No) me importa un comino y
sus variantes diatópicas: estudio de corpus desde la
Gramática de Construcciones. Estudios de Lingüística. Universidad de
Alicante
(ELUA), VII/2020, 87–109.
Mellado Blanco, C. (2022): Phraseology,
patterns and Construction Grammar. An
introduction. In C. Mellado Blanco (Ed.), Productive
Patterns in Phraseology and Construction Grammar. A
Multilingual Approach (pp. 1–25). Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter.
Mellado Blanco, C., Corpas, G., & Berty, K. (2021). El hablar y el discurso repetido: la
fraseología. In Ó. Loureda, & A. Schrott (Eds.), Manual de lingüística del
hablar (pp. 519–540). Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter.
Michaelis, L. A. (2019). Constructions
are patterns and so are fixed
expressions. In B. Busse, & R. Moehlig-Falke (Eds.), Patterns
in language and
linguistics (pp. 193–220). Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter.
Mollica, F. (2018). Über das Sprichwort Keine Antwort ist auch
eine Antwort und die Phrasem-Konstruktion [Kein(e)
N1 ist auch ein(e) N1]: formale
und semantisch-pragmatische
Eigenschaften. In M. Nicklaus, N. Wirtz, M. Costa, K. Ewert-Kling, & W. Vogt (Eds.), Lexeme, Phraseme, Konstruktionen: Aktuelle
Beiträge zur Lexikologie und
Phraseologie (pp. 205–222). Frankfurt a. M.: Lang.
Mollica, F., & Schafroth, E. (2018). Der Ausdruck der Intensivierung in
komparativen Phrasem-Konstruktionen im Deutschen und im
Italienischen: eine konstruktionsgrammatische
Untersuchung. In K. Steyer (Ed.), Sprachliche Verfestigung. Wortverbindungen,
Muster,
Phrasem-Konstruktionen (pp. 103–136). Tübingen: Narr.
Petrova, O. (2011). Of
Pearls and Pigs. A Conceptual-Semantic Tiernet Approach to
Formal Representation of Structure and Variation of
Phraseological
Units. Åbo: Åbo Akademi University Press.
Pullum, G. K. (2004). Snowclones:
lexicographical dating to the
second. Language
Log, [URL] [20/12/2022].
Rasulic, K. (2010). Long
Time, No Buzz: Fixed Expressions as
Constructional
Frames. CogniTextes, 5, [URL] [20/12/2022].
Reynoso Noverón, J. (2005). Procesos de gramaticalización por
subjetivización: El uso del diminutivo en el
español. In D. Eddington (Ed.), Selected
Proceedings of the 7th Hispanic Linguistics
Symposium (pp. 79–86). Somerville: Cascadilla Proceedings.
Rostila, J. (2006). Storage as a way to
grammaticalization. Constructions, 1, [URL] [20/12/2022].
Schafroth, E. (2015). Italian
phrasemes as constructions: How to understand and use
them. Journal of Social
Sciences, 11(3), 317–337.
Schmid, H. -J. (2007). Entrenchment,
salience, and basic
levels. In D. Geeraerts, & H. Cuyckens (Eds.), The
Oxford Handbook of Cognitive
Linguistics (pp. 117–138). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Seco, M., Andrés, O., & Ramos, G. (2004). Diccionario fraseológico documentado del
español actual: locuciones y modismos
españoles. Madrid: Aguilar.
Taylor, J. R. (2016): Cognitive
Linguistics. In K. Allan (Ed.), The
Routledge Handbook of
Linguistics (pp. 455–469). London/New York: Routledge.
Traugott, E. C. (1995). Subjectification
in
Grammaticalization. In: D. Stein, & S. Wright (Eds.), Subjectivity
and Subjectivisation: Linguistic
Perspectives (pp. 31–54). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Traugott, E. C. (2018). Modeling
language change with constructional
networks. In S. Pons Bordería, & Ó. Loureda Lamas (Eds.): Beyond
grammaticalization and discourse
markers (pp. 17–50). Leiden: Brill.
Traugott, E. C., & Trousdale, G. (2013). Constructionalization
and constructional changes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ungerer, F., & Schmid, H. -J. (1997). An
introduction to cognitive
linguistics. London/New York: Longman.
Van de Velde, F. (2014). Degeneracy:
the maintenance of constructional
networks. In R. Boogaart, T. Colleman, & G. Rutten (Eds.). Extending
the scope of Construction
Grammar (pp. 141–180). Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.
Van Lancker Sidtis, D., Kougentakis, K. M., Cameron, K., Falconer, C., & Sidtis, J. J. (2012): Down
with_: The linguistic schema as intermediary between
formulaic and novel
expressions. YOP, 3(1), 87–108.
Vater, H. (³1994). Einführung in die
Zeit-Linguistik. Hurth: Gabel.
Welke, K. (2020). Konstruktionsgrammatik: Konstruktionen ohne
Grammatik? Zeitschrift für Germanistische
Linguistik, 48(2), 389–423.
Zeschel, A. (2012). Incipient
productivity: a construction-based approach to linguistic
creativity. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.
Ziem, A. (2018). Construction Grammar meets Phraseology: eine
Standortbestimmung. Linguistik
Online, 90(3), 3–19.
Ziem, A., & Lasch, A. (2013). Konstruktionsgrammatik: Konzepte und
Grundlagen gebrauchsbasierter
Ansätze. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter.
Consulted corpora
CORDE = Real Academia Española. Corpus Diacrónico del
Español, [URL] [March
2020].
esTenTen18 = Sketch Engine. Spanish
Web
corpus 2018 EU+AM: Sketch Engine: Corpus
Query System, [URL] [March
2020].