Can context undo constructional meaning? A Construction Grammar study of French en situation de + NOUN
This article investigates the extent to which context can impact the meaning of a construction. It focuses on the French expression en situation de (‘in situation of’) + NOUN, whose meaning is contested among language users when specifically applied to human referents (e.g., en situation de handicap...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Association Française de Linguistique Cognitive
2024-11-01
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| Series: | CogniTextes |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/cognitextes/2660 |
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| author | Sophie Raineri |
| author_facet | Sophie Raineri |
| author_sort | Sophie Raineri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article investigates the extent to which context can impact the meaning of a construction. It focuses on the French expression en situation de (‘in situation of’) + NOUN, whose meaning is contested among language users when specifically applied to human referents (e.g., en situation de handicap ‘disabled’, en situation de pauvreté ‘poor’). Analyzed as a constructional idiom, its meaning is mapped out on the basis of corpus data. Although a clash is consistently observed between the “circumstantial characterization” meaning arising from the constituent parts of the construction and the “inherent characterization” interpretation it typically receives in context, I argue that contextual pressure has not resulted in the obliteration of constructional meaning. En situation de + NOUN is shown to retain semantic and pragmatic properties that distinguish it from referentially equivalent expressions and ensure its longevity. In addition to making a contribution to research on euphemism and so-called ‘politically correct’ language, the article demonstrates the necessity to uphold the semantics/pragmatics distinction in usage-based Contruction Grammar (CxG) studies of language and language change. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-19268c6f877f4d3e8d3be854b13e3c9a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1958-5322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Association Française de Linguistique Cognitive |
| record_format | Article |
| series | CogniTextes |
| spelling | doaj-art-19268c6f877f4d3e8d3be854b13e3c9a2024-12-09T11:42:51ZengAssociation Française de Linguistique CognitiveCogniTextes1958-53222024-11-012510.4000/12rcxCan context undo constructional meaning? A Construction Grammar study of French en situation de + NOUNSophie RaineriThis article investigates the extent to which context can impact the meaning of a construction. It focuses on the French expression en situation de (‘in situation of’) + NOUN, whose meaning is contested among language users when specifically applied to human referents (e.g., en situation de handicap ‘disabled’, en situation de pauvreté ‘poor’). Analyzed as a constructional idiom, its meaning is mapped out on the basis of corpus data. Although a clash is consistently observed between the “circumstantial characterization” meaning arising from the constituent parts of the construction and the “inherent characterization” interpretation it typically receives in context, I argue that contextual pressure has not resulted in the obliteration of constructional meaning. En situation de + NOUN is shown to retain semantic and pragmatic properties that distinguish it from referentially equivalent expressions and ensure its longevity. In addition to making a contribution to research on euphemism and so-called ‘politically correct’ language, the article demonstrates the necessity to uphold the semantics/pragmatics distinction in usage-based Contruction Grammar (CxG) studies of language and language change.https://journals.openedition.org/cognitextes/2660semanticsConstruction Grammarcontextpragmaticspolitically correct language |
| spellingShingle | Sophie Raineri Can context undo constructional meaning? A Construction Grammar study of French en situation de + NOUN CogniTextes semantics Construction Grammar context pragmatics politically correct language |
| title | Can context undo constructional meaning? A Construction Grammar study of French en situation de + NOUN |
| title_full | Can context undo constructional meaning? A Construction Grammar study of French en situation de + NOUN |
| title_fullStr | Can context undo constructional meaning? A Construction Grammar study of French en situation de + NOUN |
| title_full_unstemmed | Can context undo constructional meaning? A Construction Grammar study of French en situation de + NOUN |
| title_short | Can context undo constructional meaning? A Construction Grammar study of French en situation de + NOUN |
| title_sort | can context undo constructional meaning a construction grammar study of french en situation de noun |
| topic | semantics Construction Grammar context pragmatics politically correct language |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/cognitextes/2660 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sophieraineri cancontextundoconstructionalmeaningaconstructiongrammarstudyoffrenchensituationdenoun |