36.3596, Confs: Grammaticalization and Diachronic Construction Grammar: Convergences and Challenges (France)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-36-3596. Mon Nov 24 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.3596, Confs: Grammaticalization and Diachronic Construction Grammar: Convergences and Challenges (France)

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Date: 20-Nov-2025
From: Eric Melac [eric.melac at univ-montp3.fr]
Subject: Grammaticalization and Diachronic Construction Grammar: Convergences and Challenges


Grammaticalization and Diachronic Construction Grammar: Convergences
and Challenges
Short Title: Grmzion-DCxG

Date: 30-Sep-2026 - 02-Oct-2026
Location: Montpellier, France
Contact: Eric Melac
Contact Email: eric.melac at univ-montp3.fr
Meeting URL: https://grmzion-dc-xg26.sciencesconf.org/

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics; Historical Linguistics;
Linguistic Theories; Typology

Submission Deadline: 13-Mar-2026

Keynote Speakers:
Martin Haspelmath (Max Planck, Leipzig)
Martin Hilpert (Uni. of Neuchâtel)
Sophie Prévost (CNRS – Lattice)
Graeme Trousdale (Uni. of Edinburgh)
Keynote Discussant:
Bernd Heine (Uni. of Cologne)
‘Grammaticalization’ (a term introduced by Meillet in 1912) has been
the subject of numerous studies, which have highlighted regularities
in the emergence of grammatical forms across typologically diverse
languages. Grammaticalization refers both to a type of change (and
sometimes its result) and to a framework for analysing such change. As
a type of change, many of the definitions that have been proposed can
be formulated as follows: the evolution of a form from a lexical
status to a grammatical status, or from a grammatical status to a more
grammatical status (Kuryɬowicz [1965] 1976). However, several broader
definitions exist, such as Lehmann’s (2024: 1) ‘subjection of a
linguistic construction or schema or of a linguistic operation to the
rule of grammar’. Such definitional extensions affect a) the scope of
this concept and b) the notion of unidirectionality (Prévost 2003,
Haspelmath 2004, Norde 2009, Fischer 2013). The term
‘grammaticalization’ also refers to an analytical framework, or even a
theory, built from observations of regularities of such processes.
This framework expanded considerably in the latter half of the 20th
century, notably through the work of Kuryɬowicz (1976), Benveniste
(1968), and Givón (1979). Among the key publications are Lehmann
([1982] 1995), Hopper & Traugott (2003), Hopper (1991), Traugott &
Heine (1991), Heine (1993, 1997), and Heine & Kuteva (2005, 2007).
Around the turn of the 21st century, Construction Grammar developed
rapidly. Much early research drew inspiration from Goldberg (1995),
who defined a construction as a ‘form-meaning pair’ (1995: 4).
Constructions are acquired individually because they are partly
unpredictable, yet they are organized into a hierarchical network –
the constructicon – that represents a speaker’s linguistic knowledge
(Diessel 2023). In this network, lower-level constructions inherit
properties from higher-level ones, and these vertical relations have
been extensively studied. More elusive are the horizontal relations
that link constructions at the same level, whether schematic or
specific (e.g. He broke the vase / The vase broke). Diachronic
Construction Grammar (a term first used by Ziegeler 2004; see Noël
2013) brings together work investigating how constructions evolve and
how such changes are integrated into the constructicon (Barðdal et al.
2015, Smirnova & Sommerer 2020 inter alia).
Several authors have examined the relationship between
grammaticalization theory and Diachronic Construction Grammar, but
their conclusions diverge (Noël 2007, Trousdale 2012, Traugott &
Trousdale 2013, Coussé et al. 2018, Hilpert 2018, Gildea & Barðdal
2023). Combining the two approaches helps capture a broader range of
diachronic phenomena, though it raises both terminological and
conceptual challenges. For instance, grammaticalization theory assumes
a continuum between two poles – lexicon and grammar – whereas
Construction Grammar conceives of grammar as the entire inventory of
constructions, without such a fundamental division (Trousdale 2015,
Heine et al. 2016; see also Boye & Harder 2012). In grammaticalization
theory, ‘construction’ does not mean ‘form-meaning pair’ but rather
the combination of at least two linguistic signs in interaction with
context (Heine 2002, Bybee 2003, Himmelmann 2004: 31, Noël 2007,
Legallois & Patard 2017, Haspelmath 2023). One may also ask which
approach better accounts for syntactic changes, especially those
involving word order (Lehmann 1992, Hilpert 2021, Prévost 2025). As a
result, several scholars have questioned attempts to subsume
grammaticalization under Construction Grammar principles (Börjars et
al. 2015, Gregersen 2018, Heine et al. 2016, Hilpert 2021, Mélac 2024,
2025, Basile & Ziegeler in press, Heine et al. in press). Work on
grammaticalization covers many linguistic areas, which led to numerous
works adopting a typological approach (Heine & Kuteva 2002, Haspelmath
2019, Narrog & Heine 2018, Kuteva et al. 2019, Bisang & Malchukov
2020). Although Construction Grammar has increasingly been applied to
languages beyond English (e.g. Croft 2001), it still tends to focus on
specific constructions and their idiosyncratic features (Hilpert
2021). Given its theoretical orientation, Construction Grammar focuses
less on typological generalizations and more on universals of
linguistic usage and cognition.
We invite proposals for papers or posters (500–800 words excluding
references) which may be either case studies discussing fundamental
theoretical issues or theoretical work based on innovative empirical
analyses, regardless of language. Contributions to the conference are
invited to address especially questions like the following:
 - What place should grammaticalization and Diachronic Construction
Grammar occupy within a general theory of language change? Should we
maintain them as distinct analytical frameworks, or seek to integrate
them?
 - What exactly is the scope of grammaticalization and Diachronic
Construction Grammar?
 - What predictive or explanatory power can be attributed to studies
on grammaticalization and Diachronic Construction Grammar?
 - To what extent are grammaticalization and Diachronic Construction
Grammar relevant for explaining linguistic diversity and typological
patterns?
 - Which kinds of change, such as word order shifts or the development
of discourse markers, are better accounted for by grammaticalization
theory or Diachronic Construction Grammar?
 - Do temporality or gradualness distinguish grammaticalization from
other types of language change?
 - Do frequency, analogy, and productivity have the same role for
lexical and grammatical changes?
 - How does the constructicon evolve – through the simple emergence or
disappearance of constructions, through internal modification, or
through reconfiguration of the network itself? Are these changes
compatible with the key principles of grammaticalization theory?
For full list of references, please see the event webpage.



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