28.3609, Calls: Historical Ling, Ling Theories, Semantics, Syntax, Text/Corpus Ling/France

Fri Sep 1 17:48:25 UTC 2017

LINGUIST List: Vol-28-3609. Fri Sep 01 2017. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 28.3609, Calls: Historical Ling, Ling Theories, Semantics, Syntax, Text/Corpus Ling/France

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Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2017 13:48:14
From: Martin Hilpert [martin.hilpert at unine.ch]
Subject: Modality and Diachronic Construction Grammar

Full Title: Modality and Diachronic Construction Grammar 

Date: 16-Jul-2018 - 18-Jul-2018
Location: Paris, France 
Contact Person: Martin Hilpert Bert Cappelle
Meeting Email: martin.hilpert at unine.ch
Web Site: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B85UdVlTQLBiczdCaXFVcGlQLWs 

Linguistic Field(s): Historical Linguistics; Linguistic Theories; Semantics; Syntax; Text/Corpus Linguistics 

Call Deadline: 01-Dec-2017 

Meeting Description:

This theme session will explore how Construction Grammar can be used to shed
new light on diachronic changes in a central domain of grammar, namely
modality. 

Diachronic Construction Grammar has established itself as a fruitful research
enterprise that has been applied to a wide range of historical changes (Bergs
& Diewald 2008, De Smet 2013, Hilpert 2013, Traugott & Trousdale 2013, Barðdal
et al. 2015). The growing appeal of Construction Grammar in historical
linguistics can be partly motivated by the fact that it provides an analytical
framework for phenomena that fall outside the purview of established research
traditions. Diachronic Construction Grammar is also attractive because it
invites a re-conceptualization of linguistic changes that have already been
the subject of intensive study. Modality is such a case: Grammatical
expressions of modality have received considerable attention in linguistic
work that is broadly compatible with a constructional perspective (Plank 1984,
Traugott 1989, Bybee and Fleischman 1995, Fischer 2007, Bybee 2010). At the
same time, an explicitly constructional perspective on modal expressions
raises a number of questions:

1) Constructions and paradigmatization
Modal auxiliaries in languages such as English or German are prime examples of
constructions that are organized in a paradigmatic structure (Nørgård-Sørensen
et al. 2011, Diewald & Smirnova 2012). How are such structures adequately
modeled in a constructionist framework? Do speakers form generalizations
across constructions, and if so, how are these meta-constructions represented
in their knowledge of language? With regard to diachrony, how can we model the
emergence or disintegration of paradigms?

2) The development of modal meanings
Work in typology and grammaticalization has produced far-reaching insights
into the historical change of modal meanings and possible paths of development
(Traugott 1989, Van der Auwera and Plungian 1998). How can a constructional
perspective accommodate predictions such as the unidirectionality of semantic
change? Does Construction Grammar lend itself to the formulation of strong
hypotheses, or is it a mere descriptive framework?

3) Constructionalization and constructional change
Traugott and Trousdale (2013) present a thorough re-conceptualization of
language change in terms of developments that can happen in a network of
constructions. In particular, they distinguish the emergence of new nodes
(constructionalization) from alterations in existing nodes (constructional
change), and they differentiate between the constructionalization of elements
with contentful and procedural meanings. If actual developments of modal
expressions are taken into view through the lens that Traugott and Trousdale
provide, what new insights can be gained? Conversely, what do findings from
diachronic corpora tell us about constructionalization and constructional
change?

A focus on modality in diachrony from a constructional perspective will be
useful for two reasons. First, by addressing a topic that is reasonably
well-understood we hope to bring out more clearly what new insights a
constructional perspective can yield. Second, by showing that Diachronic
Construction Grammar can make a meaningful contribution to the study of
modality in diachrony, we can stimulate research that will hopefully appeal
even to researchers in other theoretical frameworks.

Call for Papers: 

With this call, we invite contributions to a theme session that will address
the questions that were described above. Importantly, the questions should not
be seen as limits to the scope of the theme session. Rather, we hope to
inspire a discussion that will involve different theories, different
languages, different time periods and different methodologies.

Abstracts for theme session papers (20 mins talk plus 10 min. discussion) have
to be submitted to the general conference email (see below). The abstracts
will be evaluated and selected by the general scientific committee, not by the
theme session organizers.

Guidelines for abstract submission:

The length of each abstract should not exceed 500 words, not including
references. Abstracts for a poster should not exceed 400 words, not including
references. Abstracts must be submitted electronically to the following
address : iccg10 at sciencesconf.org
Abstracts will be reviewed anonymously and therefore must exclude all
references to the author(s).

Important Dates:

Submissions start : September 1, 2017
Deadline for reception of abstracts : December 1, 2017
Notification of acceptance : February 1, 2018
Program announcement : March, 2018
Early registration deadline : April, 2018

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