For a new semiotics in Construction Grammar: A statistical analysis of the relationship between transitive syntax and semantics

Abstract

By extending the notion of constructions beyond “irregular” structures, Goldberg (1995. Constructions: A construction grammar approach to argument structure. Chicago: University of Chicago Press) made possible the analysis of clause units as a global pattern associating syntax to principles for semantic interpretation. Despite this theoretical advance, Construction Grammar’s pairing of syntactic structure and conceptual form reflects Saussure’s signifier/signified semiotic model, which poses some issues. Problems arise when a single formal structure expresses distinct semantic patterns or, conversely, when semantics persists notwithstanding formal variation. In order to approach this unstable syntax/semantics interface, this work proposes a statistical methodology to capture the correlation between syntax and Hopper and Thompson's (1980. Transitivity in grammar and discourse. Language 56(2). 251–299) parameters of transitivity. In a corpus of 7,939 clauses from 23 oral interviews, 690 randomly sampled clause units were analyzed using Generalized Estimating Equation. The data suggests that, in Brazilian Portuguese, most of those parameters are not particularly related to the prototypical transitive syntax and might be specified outside the scope of this clausal structure. Nonetheless, Affectedness is a syntax/semantic interface point that is, first, largely independent of lexical items and, second, capable of distinguishing transitive syntax from other clausal patterns. Based on this analysis, we conceive the Transitive Construction as a superordinate rule that acts upon the formal organization of a language, establishing clausal patterns both synchronically and diachronically.