"In this book, the micro-modular approach known as Tiernet within Conceptual Semantics is introduced. Constructions make up an important part in the approach, but in this approach constructions are considered to be exceptions, licensed links between micro-modules, one of the kinds of symbolic modules in the approach. Similar to construction grammar approaches, the micro-modular approach takes a solid interest in the 'periphery' and thus also studies irregular linking principles like constructions. The book details particulars in the development of generative grammar and the relation of Conceptual Semantics to this development, and then introduces the micro-modular approach and shows its usefulness for the description of language generally by not only using examples from English, but also, and in particular, by applying the micro-modular approach of Conceptual Semantics to data from Finnish"--.

• Conceptual Semantics
• Editorial page
• Title page
• LCC data
• Dedication page
• Table of contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part I. Foundations
  • 1. The rules of the game
    • 1.1 The goals, background assumptions and methodological guidelines
    • 1.2 Conceptual semantics as a scientific approach
      • 1.2.1 Conceptual semantics in brief
      • 1.2.2 Research goals
      • 1.2.3 Background assumptions
        • Systematic nature of language and mind
        • Partly universal mind and language
        • System-based form-oriented view
        • The modularity of mind
        • Cognitive constraint
      • 1.2.4 Methodological guidelines
    • 1.3 Summary
  • 2. Towards micro-modularity
    • 2.1 Introduction
    • 2.2 Modular organization of generative grammar
    • 2.3 Conceptual Semantics architecture
    • 2.4 Tiers
    • 2.5 Micro-modularity
    • 2.6 Combinatorial relations and the principle of asymmetry
      • Constituency
      • Selection
      • Dependency
      • Linear order
      • Allowance
      • Head-complement relation
      • Hierarchy
      • The principle of asymmetry
        • The links between representations of different modules are asymmetrical
    • 2.7 Summary
• Part II. “Semantics”
  • 3. Argument structure and its ingredients
    • 3.1 Introduction
    • 3.2 From constituency to dependency and from large representations to micro-representations
      • Conceptual structure (Jackendoff 1983)
      • The motivation behind the Tiernet model of the information in conceptual structure
    • 3.3 F-chain
      • Zones
    • 3.4 Thematic features (th-features)
      • 3.4.1 Hierarchical organization of thematic features
      • 3.4.2 Feature sharing and M-units
      • 3.4.3 Some words on the feature [M]
      • 3.4.4 Some words on the functions that do not carry the feature [M]
      • 3.4.5 The feature [DIM] as interface to spatial understanding
      • 3.4.6 Summary of zones, features, and thematic roles
      • 3.4.7 Comparison of the feature hierarchies to the formalism in Jackendoff (1990)
    • 3.5 Argument level
    • 3.6 Action tier
      • 3.6.1 Action tier formation
      • 3.6.2 Functions AC and UN
      • 3.6.3 A word on the action tier and linking
      • 3.6.4 Undergoer as beneficiary or malefacive: Linguistic meaning and contextual meaning
    • 3.7 Summary
  • 4. Temporal structure of situations
    • 4.1 Introduction
    • 4.2 Temporal structure as a network of tiers
    • 4.3 Temporal tier and thematic features
      • 4.3.1 States
      • 4.3.2 Events
      • 4.3.3 Events and inferred states
    • 4.4 Complex temporal structures in a single situation: Causation
    • 4.5 Deictic RP-elements
    • 4.6 Temporal structure of complex sentences: Relating the temporal structure of two situations together
    • 4.7 Summary
  • 5. Semantic fields and the modal tier
    • 5.1 Semantic field tier
      • 5.1.1 Semantic fields linked to the f-chain functions of zone 1 and non-monadic functions of zone 2
      • 5.1.2 Semantic fields linked to monadic functions of zone 2
      • 5.1.3 Semantic fields linked to functions of zone 3
      • 5.1.4 The domain of the semantic fields for the f-chain
    • 5.2 Modal tier
    • 5.3 Summary
• Part III. “Syntax”
  • 6. The lexicon and argument linking
    • 6.1 The lexicon
      • 6.1.1 General notes
      • 6.1.2 Lexical entry
      • 6.1.3 A word on inflection and derivation
      • 6.1.4 The semantics in the lexical entries of predicates
    • 6.2 Argument linking: Linking between argument tier and syntactic functions
      • 6.2.1 Argument level, lexically determined arguments and syntactic functions
      • 6.2.2 Expressing an argument marked as implicit
        • 6.2.2.1 Erasing the impliciteness index
        • 6.2.2.2 Fill-in adjuncts
      • 6.2.3 Exceptional DA-selection
        • 6.2.3.1 Verbs meaning ‘get,’ ‘lose,’ and ‘have’
        • 6.2.3.2 Constructions that license exceptional links between grammatical ­functions and direct arguments
    • 6.3 A simple concrete example of argument linking: Possessive expressions in English and Finnish
    • 6.4 Summary
  • 7. Complex sentences
    • 7.1 Introduction
    • 7.2 Infinite complements
      • 7.2.1 Causative matrix verbs
      • 7.2.2 Verbs of deciding, planning, refusing, starting and ending as matrix verbs
      • 7.2.3 Verbs of desire and belief as matrix verb
      • 7.2.4 Modal verbs as matrix verb
      • 7.2.5 Other matrix verbs
    • 7.3 Subordinate finite sentences
      • 7.3.1 Subordinate conjunctions and relative pronouns in Finnish
        • General subordination
        • Final
        • Causal
        • Temporal
        • Conditional
        • Concessive
        • Comprarative
      • 7.3.2 Subordinate sentence in an argument position of a verb of communication
      • 7.3.3 Subordinate clause as the complement of a modal or evaluative expression
      • 7.3.4 Other subordinating conjunctions and their lexical entries
      • 7.3.5 Relative clauses
    • 7.4 Summary
  • 8. The finite sentence
    • 8.1 Introduction
    • 8.2 Background: The finite sentence as a constituent structure with functional heads
      • 8.2.1 Holmberg’s and Nikanne’s theory of the Finnish finite sentence
      • 8.2.2 Problems with the analysis
    • 8.3 A micro-modular analysis of finite sentence
      • 8.3.1 A new look at the finite sentence of Finnish
      • 8.3.2 Finite sentence morphology
      • 8.3.3 Word order and information structure in tiers
      • 8.3.4 Consequences of the suggested analysis
        • Consequence 1: Constiuents – “back to basics”
        • Consequence 2: Finite sentence morphology without movements
        • Consequence 3: Word order tier as the glue between information structure and fs-morphology
    • 8.4 Sentence initial positions in Finnish proverbs
      • 8.4.1 Proverbs as data
      • 8.4.2 Syntactic variation in proverbs
      • 8.4.3 The functions of the word se ‘it-nom’ in proverbs
        • 8.4.3.1 Pronoun
        • 8.4.3.2 Definiteness marker
        • 8.4.3.3 Pseudoarticle
        • 8.4.3.4 Expletive
      • 8.4.4 A closer look at the expletive se
      • 8.4.5 Expletive se and focus carrying pronoun se
      • 8.4.6 Problematic topics
      • 8.4.7 The position of the expletive se in the light of the whole proverb data
    • 8.5 Summary
• Part IV. Conclusion
  • 9. Conclusion
    • 9.1 The main properties of the micro-modular approach
    • 9.2 Tiernet as a cognitively oriented approach to language
    • 9.3 A new perspective on familiar phenomena
    • 9.4 Challenges for the future: Language specific analyses
• Abbreviations
• References
• Construction index
• Subject index