Diachronic Construction Grammar: challenges and new directions

Abstract

This literature review provides a summary of some key issues in current research on Diachronic Construction Grammar (DCxG). We focus on four areas of concern: grammaticalization, innovation and its relation to change, network structure, and the use of quantitative methods. In the discussion of grammaticalization, we outline some of the ways in which DCxG and grammaticalization overlap, and ways in which they differ. We address new directions in research in grammaticalization, and how this connects to different conceptualizations of grammar. In terms of innovation and change, we look at the role of individual speakers as agents in change, and the distinction between individual behaviour and community grammars. The section on networks looks at the architecture of the constructional network, particularly in relation to vertical and horizontal links, and network structure in Diachronic Construction Morphology. Finally, the section on quantification explores the importance of frequency effects for both the entrenchment of patterns in the individual and the conventionalization of patterns in communities.