The Vertical and Horizontal Configuration of the Constructional Network
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17851/2237-2083.33.4.153-179Keywords:
construction grammar, network, vertical links, horizontal linksAbstract
One of the core principles of Usage-Based Models is the idea that language is a cognitive network of interconnected constructions, rather than an inventory of isolated linguistic units (Langacker, 2008; Hudson, 2010; Goldberg, 2006, 2019). Building on this perspective, this paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the vertical and horizontal models of constructional networks. Based on a case study of conditional connectives in Portuguese, this paper adopts an integrated view of the network, assuming that vertical and horizontal organization represents distinct yet complementary cognitive tools to represent linguistic structure. The analysis of conditional connectives shows that the vertical links cannot fully account for their semantics and pragmatics overlap, therefore this paper proposes the constructional similarity hypothesis to cover for what it is here called constructional alternation. This hypothesis suggests that speakers generalize across constructional alternation in order to memorize details of usage contexts for similar exemplars, what is capture by horizontal links.
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