Constructions Contact (13 results)

hardcover. Condition: Fine. Sealed in plastic otherwise in excellent condition.

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. Hardcover, xiv + 294 pages, NOT ex-library. Book looks unread, clean and bright throughout with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps, firmly bound. Minor external shelfwear. Issued without a dust jacket. -- This volume investigates the grammatical constructions of Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish) from a construction grammar perspective, with particular emphasis on how language contact phenomena shape the emergence of new construction types. Grounded in case studies and empirical data, it examines how English-based surface forms are deployed to express meanings and functions derived from regional substrate languages. Its central concern is how form-meaning-function mappings in Singlish challenge traditional definitions in construction grammar, especially those that assume that constructions are form-meaning pairings independent of lexical items or contact influences. Through detailed studies of four specific constructions - the transitive (conventionalized scenario), experiential ever, past-for-present tense, and bare noun constructions - the book argues for a model of constructional convergence in which contact dialects blend elements of multiple source languages not only at the lexical level but within the structure and function of grammatical constructions themselves. The opening chapters outline the historical and sociolinguistic context of Singapore English, emphasizing its development as a multilingual contact variety shaped by English, Chinese dialects, Malay, and Tamil. It critiques earlier creole-based models and reframes Singlish as a contact language that requires analysis beyond standard substrate-superstrate paradigms. In exploring how constructions behave in Singlish, the author raises fundamental questions for construction grammar theory - particularly how mixed languages negotiate semantic continuity when form and function are inherited from different sources. One of the case studies examines conventionalized scenarios, showing how pragmatic strategies reduce causativity and how speakers accommodate meanings through topic prominence and underdeveloped subject roles. Another chapter investigates the use of ever to express experiential aspect in Singlish. The third constructional study addresses the use of past tense in habitual and performative contexts, which do not correspond to temporal reference in standard English. A further case study explores bare noun constructions, which lack number marking or determiners and are used to encode nonspecificity rather than count/mass distinctions. All these case studies are linked by the broader question of how speakers draw analogical correspondences across source languages when grammaticalizing new functions through English forms. In the final chapter, the book proposes a unified theoretical model - the Merger Construction - to describe how speakers of a replica language (Singlish) integrate syntactic forms from English with semantic and functional properties from contact languages. This model is not restricted to substrate transfer or relexification, but includes pragmatic strategies, conceptual metaphors, and polysemous reanalyses. It accounts for the variability and innovation in contact grammars without presuming that every construction is a direct replica of a prior form. For scholars in construction grammar, typology, or contact linguistics, this work provides a framework for analyzing contact varieties as coherent grammatical systems shaped by cognitive, functional, and sociopolitical forces. For applied linguists and educators, it offers a clearer understanding of how nonstandard English varieties develop internal consistency, grammatical productivity, and expressive range despite divergence from standard norms. It is particularly useful in contexts where language policy, bilingual education, or sociolinguistic identity are at stake, providing a research-based perspective on how contact varieties operate as legitimate linguistic systems.…

Hardcover. Condition: Brand New. 437 pages. 9.50x6.50x1.00 inches. In Stock.

hardcover. Condition: New.

Hardcover. Condition: Brand New. 316 pages. 9.50x6.50x0.75 inches. In Stock.

Hardcover. Condition: Brand New. 356 pages. French language. 8.58x5.98x0.79 inches. In Stock.

Condition: New. pp. 294.

hardcover. Condition: New.

Condition: New. In English.

Condition: New. pp. 294.

Condition: Brand New. This is a study of Old Spanish and present-day Mexican. The title develops a grammaticization account of the variation in progressive constructions. The book looks at spatial expressions, patterns of synchronic variation and register considerations amongst many other topics.

Condition: Brand New. Original printing.

Condition: Brand New. Brand New.