The proposed framework of 'concept linking' combines insights of construction grammar with those of traditional functional descriptions to explain particularly challenging but often neglected areas of English grammar such as negation, modality, adverbials and non-finite constructions. To reach this goal the idea of a unified network of constructions is replaced by the triad of verb-mediated constructions, attribution and scope-based perspectivizing, each of them understood as a syntactically effective concept-linking mechanism in its own right, but involved in interfaces with the other mechanisms. In addition, 'concept linking' supplies a novel approach to early child language. It casts fresh light on widely accepted descriptions of early two-word utterances and verb islands in usage-based models of language acquisition and encourages a new view of children's 'mistakes'.

• How Grammar Links Concepts
• Editorial page
• Title page
• LCC data
• Table of contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Chapter 1. Introduction
  • 1.1 The present situation
  • 1.2 Revived insights of traditional functionalism
  • 1.3 The contribution of image schemas
  • 1.4 The role of perspectives
  • 1.5 A first summary of concept-linking mechanisms
  • 1.6 The role of interfaces
  • 1.7 Concept linking and language acquisition
  • 1.8 The structure of the book
  • 1.9 The status of the examples
• Chapter 2. Mechanisms of concept linking
  • 2.1 Verb-mediated constructions (VMCs)
    • 2.1.1 Agent-driven VMCs
    • 2.1.2 Other types of VMCs
  • 2.2 Attribution
    • 2.2.1 Attribution as modifying
    • 2.2.2 Attribution as circumstancing
    • 2.2.3 Attribution in complex sentences
  • 2.3 Perspectivizing and scope phenomena
    • 2.3.1 Sentence modes as grammaticalized perspectives
    • 2.3.2 Deixis, agreement, and TAM perspectives
    • 2.3.3 Negation, perspective, and the grammaticalization of scope
    • 2.3.4 Perspectivizing use of adverbs
  • 2.4 The inherent meaning of scope and attribution
  • 2.5 Evidence for concept linking in spoken language
  • 2.6 A first overview of concept-linking mechanisms
  • 2.7 Postscript on concept linking and image schemas
    • 2.7.1 Relationship of path, container, and part-whole to other image schemas
    • 2.7.2 The spatial background of image schemas
    • 2.7.3 Neurological claims for image schemas
• Chapter 3. Hierarchy in concept linking
  • 3.1 Introductory remarks on grammatical hierarchies
  • 3.2 VMC and attribution hierarchies
    • 3.2.1 The ‘flatness’ of the VMC hierarchy
    • 3.2.2 The hierarchical flexibility of attribution
  • 3.3 Hierarchical aspects of perspectivizing and scope
    • 3.3.1 Hierarchical levels
    • 3.3.2 Scope differentiation for viewpoint and person-oriented adverbs
    • 3.3.3 Scope hierarchy vs. scope competition: How time and frequency adverbs, emphasizers and not-negation function
    • 3.3.4 The scope behavior of epistemic and deontic modals
  • 3.4 Interlocking hierarchies: An example
  • 3.5 Postscript on the notions of clause and complex sentence
    • 3.5.1 The notion of clause
    • 3.5.2 The notion of complex sentence
• Chapter 4. Restrictions on concept linking
  • 4.1 Restrictions on VMCs and attribution contrasted
  • 4.2 Restrictions on perspectivizing
• Chapter 5. Signaling concept linking: Word order, morphology, function words
  • 5.1 The role of word order in concept linking
    • 5.1.1 A preliminary classification
    • 5.1.2 Word order as serialization of concept representations
    • 5.1.3 Word order as adjacency of concept representations
    • 5.1.4 Word order as indication of scope extension and the position of scope signals
  • 5.2 The role of morphology and function words in concept linking
  • 5.3 Word order, morphology and function words: An overview
• Chapter 6. Concept linking, topic, comment and focusing
  • 6.1 Introductory remarks on the influence of conceptual salience and informational prominence
  • 6.2 Topic and comment in concept-linking
    • 6.2.1 The narrow interpretation challenged: Topic and comment only as subject and predicate?
    • 6.2.2 The wide interpretation: Topic and comment in attribution and perspectivizing
  • 6.3 Introducing focusing
  • 6.4 Positional focusing
    • 6.4.1 Positional focusing and the focus potential of VMCs
    • 6.4.2 Positional focusing, scene-setting and circumstancing
    • 6.4.3 Complex focusing and scene-setting constructions (cleft sentences)
  • 6.5 Perspectival focusing
    • 6.5.1 Focusing adverbs, perspectival and positional focusing
    • 6.5.2 Perspectival focusing vs. scope
    • 6.5.3 Focus dominance vs. scope dominance in perspectivizing
    • 6.5.4 Scope and focus of connective adverbs
    • 6.5.5 Scope and focus of not-negation
    • 6.5.6 Scope and focus of TAM phenomena and sentence modes
  • 6.6 Postscript on the role of given and new
• Chapter 7. Introductory remarks on interfaces in concept linking: Introductory remarks on interfaces in concept linking
• Chapter 8. Interfaces of verb-mediated constructions and attribution: Interfaces of verb-mediated constructions and attribution
  • 8.1 Interfaces of VMCs and modifying
    • 8.1.1 The copula/modifier interface
    • 8.1.2 Extended copula/modifier interfaces and adjective complements
    • 8.1.3 Other types of interface between VMCs and modifying
  • 8.2 Interfaces of VMCs and circumstancing
    • 8.2.1 Circumstancing, VMC integration and interfaces
    • 8.2.2 Locative interfaces between circumstancing and VMCs
    • 8.2.3 Interfaces for direction, source, course and goal
    • 8.2.4 time when and time duration in concept linking
    • 8.2.5 time frequency in concept linking
    • 8.2.6 Interfaces for agent, instrument, method and plain manner concepts
    • 8.2.7 Participant/circumstance interfaces: An overview
  • 8.3 Participant/circumstance interfaces, prepositional verbs and phrasal verbs
    • 8.3.1 Constructions with prepositional verbs as interfaces
    • 8.3.2 Constructions with phrasal verbs
• Chapter 9. Interfaces of perspectivizing and attribution (adverb interfaces): Interfaces of perspectivizing and attribution (adverb interfaces)
  • 9.1 Interfaces of perspectivizing and circumstancing
    • 9.1.1 Clause-final manner adverbs as interfaces
    • 9.1.2 Clause-final position of frequency and viewpoint adverbs: Interface or afterthought?
  • 9.2 Adjectival adverbs
    • 9.2.1 Adjectival adverbs as interface phenomenon
    • 9.2.2 Adjectival adverbs and elementary adjectives
  • 9.3 Perspectivizing, modifying and interfaces to express degree
    • 9.3.1 ly-adverbs of degree as perspectivizers
    • 9.3.2 Adjectival adverbs of degree as modifiers
    • 9.3.3 measure-based degree adverbs
    • 9.3.4 Sort of and kind of as degree adverbs
    • 9.3.5 Adverbs expressing degree: An overview
• Chapter 10. Non-finite constructions as interfaces of VMCs, attribution and perspectivizing: Non-finite constructions as interfaces of VMCs, attribution and perspectivizing
  • 10.1 Introduction
  • 10.2 Outline of the concept-linking analysis of non-finite constructions
    • 10.2.1 Plain non-finite constructions as interfaces
    • 10.2.2 Notional subjects of non-finite constructions as attributed referents
    • 10.2.3 ‘Object+infinitive’ and related constructions as interfaces
  • 10.3 Selected phenomena of non-finite interfaces
    • 10.3.1 Non-finite interfaces introduced by for and other prepositions
    • 10.3.2 Subject-related and speaker-related participles as circumstances
    • 10.3.3 Absolute participles and with-constructions
  • 10.4 Postscript on the terminology of gerund and participles
• Chapter 11. Interfaces and the grammaticalization of perspectivizers: Interfaces and the grammaticalization of perspectivizers
  • 11.1 Interfaces and cross-mechanism grammaticalization
  • 11.2 From verb+infinitive to complex predicates with modal perspectivizers
  • 11.3 From two VMCs to viewpoint perspectivizer+VMC
    • 11.3.1 Statements introduced by I think
    • 11.3.2 Questions introduced by (what) do you think
  • 11.4 Final overview of interfaces
• Chapter 12. Introductory remarks on concept linking in language acquisition: Introductory remarks on concept linking in language acquisition
• Chapter 13. Temporal priority of attribution in early language acquisition: Temporal priority of attribution in early language acquisition
  • 13.1 Early attribution and the pilot corpus
  • 13.2 Non-verbal two-word-plus items as attribution
    • 13.2.1 Early attribution links (EALs)
    • 13.2.2 Pivot structures
    • 13.2.3 Attribution and caregiver speech (CDS)
  • 13.3 Verb-containing two-word-plus items as attribution
• Chapter 14. The emergence of VMCs and copula/modifier interfaces: The emergence of VMCs and copula/modifier interfaces
  • 14.1 The role of the subject participant in acquiring VMCs
  • 14.2 The put-construction as acquisition model
  • 14.3 The want-construction as acquisition model
  • 14.4 From deictic attribution to copula/modifier interfaces
• Chapter 15. The development of perspectivizing mechanisms: The development of perspectivizing mechanisms
  • 15.1 Concept linking and the notion of partial achievement
  • 15.2 The perspectivizing of negation
  • 15.3 Interrogative perspectivizing
    • 15.3.1 Questions introduced by what
    • 15.3.2 Questions introduced by where and by other interrogatives
    • 15.3.3 Yes/no-questions
  • 15.4 The perspectivizing of TAM modality
  • 15.5 Perspectivizing and the backdoor entry to complex constructions
    • 15.5.1 From modal perspectivizers to object+infinitive constructions
    • 15.5.2 From viewpoint perspectivizers to complex sentences
    • 15.5.3 Postscript on relative clauses
• Chapter 16. Conclusion and outlook
  • 16.1 Concept linking, traditional grammar, other linguistic approaches
  • 16.2 Temporal priorities in language acquisition
  • 16.3 Outlook: Graded transfer claims for cross-linguistic application
• References
• Name index
• Subject index