Date: Wednesday 24 June 2026, 12:15 pm to 13:45 pm
Venue: C601, Bismarckstr. 1
About: This event is organized by the RTG Dimensions of Constructional Space.
Title: Changes along the schematicity cline in German constructions
About the speaker: Elena Smirnova (Université de Neuchâtel) is a Professor of German Linguistics at the University of Neuchâtel. Her primary research focus is on the dynamics of language change, but her research interests also encompass cognitive grammar, construction grammar, verbal categories, morphological productivity, and corpus linguistics.
Abstract
In this talk, I will examine the relationship between entrenchment and analogy, focusing in particular on the emergence of abstract constructional schemas. From a usage-based perspective, frequency and repetition play a central role in language change, allowing us to distinguish between two opposing diachronic tendencies. Highly frequent structures tend to become entrenched and autonomous, resulting in the establishment of lexically specified constructions. On the other hand, less frequent but structurally related expressions may contribute to the emergence of constructional schemas.
Nevertheless, frequency alone seems to be insufficient to explain the emergence of new abstract and productive schemas. I will argue that, in addition to repetition, processes of analogical attraction based on different types of similarity must be taken into account. I will show that semantic and syntagmatic similarity are particularly relevant for the initial clustering of constructional instances, whereas formal similarity and paradigmatic relations play a central role in the emergence of more abstract schemas.
These issues will be discussed on the basis of three diachronic case studies from German. The first concerns constructions with the verb bringen, which develop both into idiomatic expressions such as zu Fall bringen and into more schematic constructions such as the causative [zum Ninf bringen]. The second focuses on noun-participle compounds, which either undergo lexicalization (maßgeschneidert, hirnverbrannt) or develop into semi-productive schemas (N-orientiert/basiert). The third examines constructions with bekommen/kriegen, which give rise both to idiomatic routines (etw. gebacken kriegen) and to the productive recipient passive constructions. Together, these case studies illustrate how entrenchment and analogy interact in diachronic constructional change.