Contexts and Constructions (Constructional Approaches to Language)

This collection of original articles focuses on the function, role, and structure of linguistic and extralinguistic “context(s)” in relation to the notion of “constructions” and in construction grammar. It thus takes up and brings together two equally complex concepts of linguistics, which both encompass structural as well as pragmatic and discourse-oriented aspects. Although both notions – contexts as well as constructions – have been under intense discussion in linguistics during the last decades with a wide span of research interests, integrative studies of these aspects have been largely missing. 
The eight papers presented in this volume explore the possibilities and risks of integrating context(s) into particular constructions and construction grammar in general. Topics range from particular language and construction-specific problems such as the "polysemy" of modal verbs in relation to context-sensitive constructions, to general technical analyses and proposals, including proposals for formalizing contextual features in constructional representations.
The volume will be of interest to scholars and advanced undergraduates interested in linguistic theory in general and in constructional, pragmatic and discourse-analytic approaches in particular.

Contents:

On de-limiting context / Marina Terkourafi 
Constructions and context : when a construction constructs the context / Henri-José Deulofeu & Jeanne-Marie Debaisieux
Representing contextual factors in language change : between frames and constructions / Mirjam Fried
Grammatical constructions in dialogue / Per Linell 
Interactional construction grammar : contextual features of determination in dialectal Swedish / Camilla Wide 
Contextual cues for particle placement : multiplicity, motivation, modeling / Bert Cappelle 
Conditionals and mental space set-up : evidence from German word order / Ilona Vandergriff 
Semantics and pragmatics in construction grammar : the case of modal verbs / Ronny Boogaart.