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Constructionalization at work : the emergence of the Latin progressive present participle/gerund construction

(2019) PHILOLOGIA CLASSICA. 14(2). p.249-266
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Abstract
In Latin, the present participle and the gerund frequently function as the predicate of an adjunct clause. Such clauses are syntactically dependent on a main clause, with which they form a bi-clausal construction. Under specific semantic and pragmatic circumstances, some of these constructions are interpreted based on a pragmatic inference: the main verb, which corresponds to a verb of existence, position, or movement, is deprived of its lexical meaning and acquires a grammatical function, viz. that of presenting the non-finite state of affairs as being in the middle of its realization. The repeated use and propagation of thusly interpreted constructions gave rise to a new construction, the progressive construction. I argue that the emergence of this construction corresponds to a constructionalization process, and that although this process has not been completed within Latin, many instances of the pattern [verb of existence/position/movement + present participle/gerund] instantiate a construction in its own right, viz. different from the bi-clausal construction that gave rise to it.
Keywords
Latin, present participle, gerund, progressive construction, constructionalization, grammaticalization, Diachronic Construction Grammar

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MLA
Vangaever, Jasper. “Constructionalization at Work : The Emergence of the Latin Progressive Present Participle/Gerund Construction.” PHILOLOGIA CLASSICA, vol. 14, no. 2, 2019, pp. 249–66, doi:10.21638/11701/spbu20.2019.206.
APA
Vangaever, J. (2019). Constructionalization at work : the emergence of the Latin progressive present participle/gerund construction. PHILOLOGIA CLASSICA, 14(2), 249–266. https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu20.2019.206
Chicago author-date
Vangaever, Jasper. 2019. “Constructionalization at Work : The Emergence of the Latin Progressive Present Participle/Gerund Construction.” PHILOLOGIA CLASSICA 14 (2): 249–66. https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu20.2019.206.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Vangaever, Jasper. 2019. “Constructionalization at Work : The Emergence of the Latin Progressive Present Participle/Gerund Construction.” PHILOLOGIA CLASSICA 14 (2): 249–266. doi:10.21638/11701/spbu20.2019.206.
Vancouver
1.
Vangaever J. Constructionalization at work : the emergence of the Latin progressive present participle/gerund construction. PHILOLOGIA CLASSICA. 2019;14(2):249–66.
IEEE
[1]
J. Vangaever, “Constructionalization at work : the emergence of the Latin progressive present participle/gerund construction,” PHILOLOGIA CLASSICA, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 249–266, 2019.
@article{8641499,
  abstract     = {{In Latin, the present participle and the gerund frequently function as the predicate of an adjunct clause. Such clauses are syntactically dependent on a main clause, with which they form a bi-clausal construction. Under specific semantic and pragmatic circumstances, some of these constructions are interpreted based on a pragmatic inference: the main verb, which corresponds to a verb of existence, position, or movement, is deprived of its lexical meaning and acquires a grammatical function, viz. that of presenting the non-finite state of affairs as being in the middle of its realization. The repeated use and propagation of thusly interpreted constructions gave rise to a new construction, the progressive construction. I argue that the emergence of this construction corresponds to a constructionalization process, and that although this process has not been completed within Latin, many instances of the pattern [verb of existence/position/movement + present participle/gerund] instantiate a construction in its own right, viz. different from the bi-clausal construction that gave rise to it.}},
  author       = {{Vangaever, Jasper}},
  issn         = {{0202-2532}},
  journal      = {{PHILOLOGIA CLASSICA}},
  keywords     = {{Latin,present participle,gerund,progressive construction,constructionalization,grammaticalization,Diachronic Construction Grammar}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{249--266}},
  title        = {{Constructionalization at work : the emergence of the Latin progressive present participle/gerund construction}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu20.2019.206}},
  volume       = {{14}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}

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