Constructions and Compositionality

Giulia Rambelli

ISBN 10: 1009437968 / ISBN 13: 9781009437967

Published by Cambridge University Press, GB, 2025

About this Item

How do we understand any sentence, from the most ordinary to the most creative? The traditional assumption is that we rely on formal rules combining words (compositionality). However, psycho- and neuro-linguistic studies point to a linguistic representation model that aligns with the assumptions of Construction Grammar: there is no sharp boundary between stored sequences and productive patterns. Evidence suggests that interpretation alternates compositional (incremental) and noncompositional (global) strategies. Accordingly, systematic processes of language productivity are explainable by analogical inferences rather than compositional operations: novel expressions are understood 'on the fly' by analogy with familiar ones. This Element discusses compositionality, alternative mechanisms in language processing, and explains why Construction Grammar is the most suitable approach for formalizing language comprehension.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781009437967

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Constructions and Compositionality
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, GB
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009437968
• ISBN 13: 9781009437967
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 161 grams

About this title

Synopsis

How do we understand any sentence, from the most ordinary to the most creative? The traditional assumption is that we rely on formal rules combining words (compositionality). However, psycho- and neuro-linguistic studies point to a linguistic representation model that aligns with the assumptions of Construction Grammar: there is no sharp boundary between stored sequences and productive patterns. Evidence suggests that interpretation alternates compositional (incremental) and noncompositional (global) strategies. Accordingly, systematic processes of language productivity are explainable by analogical inferences rather than compositional operations: novel expressions are understood 'on the fly' by analogy with familiar ones. This Element discusses compositionality, alternative mechanisms in language processing, and explains why Construction Grammar is the most suitable approach for formalizing language comprehension.