Categorization and constructional change in Spanish expressions of 'becoming' / / Damián Vergara Wilson.

• Superior document: Brill's Studies in Historical Linguistics, Volume 4
• VerfasserIn: Vergara Wilson, Damián Chase,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, Netherlands : : Brill,, 2015.; ©2015
• Year of Publication: 2015
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's studies in historical linguistics ; Volume 4.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (255 p.)
• Notes: Includes index.; Revised from author's dissertation "Formulaic language and adjective categories in eight centuries of the Spanish expression of 'becoming' /quedar(se)/ + ADJ", University of New Mexico, 2009.

In Categorization and Constructional Change Damián Vergara Wilson uses the Spanish change-of-state construction quedar(se) + ADJ to analyze the impact of categorization on constructional change and productivity in data spanning eight centuries. In usage, the appearance of one adjective in the construction triggers the emergence of related ones through analogical extension propelling the expansion of semantic categories of adjectives. Categories develop in different ways reflecting the characteristics of their members in terms of semantics and conventionalization. Emergence tends to relate to the ability of one construction to attract adjective types away from another. This study gives insight into the cognitive status and complex evolution of a schematic construction in a way that supports an instance-based model of memory.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- 1 Introduction -- 2 ‘Becoming’ in Spanish -- 3 Data and Methods -- 4 Overview of quedar(se) + adj through Time -- 5 The solo ‘Alone’ Clusters: Continual Expansion with a Robust Central Member -- 6 The rico / pobre ‘Rich / Poor’ Clusters: The Relationship of Opposites in Category Development -- 7 The alegre / satisfecho ‘Happy / Satisfied’ Clusters: Family Resemblance and Changing Central Members -- 8 Similarity Experiment -- 9 Conclusion -- Appendix 1: Adjective Clusters and Tables not Analyzed -- Appendix 2: Sources in the qad -- Works Cited -- Index.