Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Construction Grammar
- Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics
- The Cambridge Handbook of Construction Grammar
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Construction Grammar
- Part I The Constructional View of Language
- Part II Methodological and Empirical Foundations of Constructional Research
- Part III Case Studies in Constructional Morphosyntax
- Part IV Multimodality and Construction Grammar
- Part V Constructions in Sociocultural and Typological Variation
- 17 Constructions in Typological and Cross-Linguistic Context
- 18 Constructions and Language Contact
- 19 Constructions and Lectal Variation
- 20 Construction Discourse
- Part VI Constructional Applications
- Index of Terms
- Index of Languages
- Index of Constructions
- References
19 - Constructions and Lectal Variation
from Part V - Constructions in Sociocultural and Typological Variation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 January 2025
- The Cambridge Handbook of Construction Grammar
- Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics
- The Cambridge Handbook of Construction Grammar
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Construction Grammar
- Part I The Constructional View of Language
- Part II Methodological and Empirical Foundations of Constructional Research
- Part III Case Studies in Constructional Morphosyntax
- Part IV Multimodality and Construction Grammar
- Part V Constructions in Sociocultural and Typological Variation
- 17 Constructions in Typological and Cross-Linguistic Context
- 18 Constructions and Language Contact
- 19 Constructions and Lectal Variation
- 20 Construction Discourse
- Part VI Constructional Applications
- Index of Terms
- Index of Languages
- Index of Constructions
- References
Summary
It follows from the usage-based view of language adopted in most strands of Construction Grammar that the constructicons of speakers of what is considered to be one and the same language will differ along social, or ‘lectal’, lines. This chapter explains the inherent theoretical importance of lectal variation for Construction Grammar and surveys existing construction-based work on synchronic language variation. Four major research strands are discussed: (i) studies aimed at the analysis of the form and/or meaning poles of constructions from specific lects; (ii) comparisons of the properties of a given construction or a set of related constructions across different lects; (iii) quantitative studies of grammatical alternations which include lectal variables in their research design; and (iv) studies of social variables involved in the propagation of constructional changes through communities of speakers. The chapter also identifies a number of challenges and open questions.
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- The Cambridge Handbook of Construction Grammar , pp. 497 - 518Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025