Abstract This paper investigates stacking of nominal diminutive markers in Modern Greek implemented through an acceptability judgement task. The main research questions we address are (a) what are the characteristics of suffixes that behave as closing elements and in general, what are the underlying factors contributing to this behavior and (b) what constraints determine the (non‑)combinability of evaluative affixes. The main working hypothesis being tested is whether the combinatorial or closing status of specific evaluative markers is accounted for in terms of their higher productivity and lack of severe selectional restrictions, by the broader range of evaluative readings they can express compared to non-closing suffixes, or both, along with other potential lexical or register restrictions. The results of the acceptability judgement task reveal that stacking of diminutive markers seems to operate more efficiently in positive evaluative (i.e. affective) readings or when no conflict or overlap of quantitative readings is at play. Moreover, it seems to be more effective when evaluative markers of learnèd origin are not involved, whereas it operates optimally when no severe restrictions (like that of gender) are present. Furthermore, among all involved constraints, gender stands out as one of the most strongly operative restriction on stacking, while the semantic constraint concerning the avoidance of the abstract base is more easily violated. Additionally, productivity does not seem to exert a massive influence on the (non‑)closing status of evaluative markers, as its levels range from moderate to high across elements. Extending this research to additional suffixal chains, i.e., the contrastive investigation of prefix-suffix versus suffix-suffix chains, could prove particularly enlightening.
Abstract This paper explores the intersection of Construction Grammar and lexicography, a notion referred to here as “constructicography”. The study considers constructicon projects for languages such as English, German, Swedish and Russian, and aims to contribute to the emerging body of constructionist research on Greek by illuminating the path towards a Greek constructicon. By way of illustration, constructicographic practices are applied to Greek data concerning three semi-schematic constructions ([ τι δεν VP ], [ ποιος ,‑ α ,‑ ο (N) δεν VP ], [ πόσος ,‑ η ,‑ ο (N) δεν VP ]) that belong to the family of interrogative-negative exclamatives. The study demonstrates what is involved in constructicographic work, from identifying constructions, and describing their special properties of form (syntactic, morphological, phonological) and meaning (semantic, pragmatic, discoursal), to linking constructions with frames and with each other in a structured network.
Abstract This paper investigates a particular Greek construction, exo ‘have’ + temporal expression + na clause , aiming to show that analyzing it as part of a constructional network (Hilpert 2014; Fried 2015; Goldberg 2019) may offer insights to the compositionality issue that it poses (Iatridou 2006, 2014). The analysis is empirically supported by a large-scale investigation in the Corpus of Greek Texts (Goutsos 2010), that reveals several aspects of the construction which were overlooked in earlier work. Ultimately, the goal is to find motivation for the meaning of the construction, foregrounding the role of inheritance networks in fleshing out the notion of constructional polysemy.
Abstract Adding to ongoing discussion in the typological literature, we suggest that an appropriate way of representing nodes in a semantic map is in terms of lexical constructions. Drawing on earlier work on the polysemy of motion verbs in Ancient Greek and Coptic, in this paper we extend a behavioral profile analysis to more verbs and take into account more languages, showing that the features that systematically correlate with the various senses, whether morpho-syntactic or semantic-pragmatic, are adequately captured as lexical constructions. We compare this approach with other methods of integrating syntactic and other relevant information into semantic maps. We argue that representing nodes as lexical constructions aligns more closely with two crucial observations: first, the systematic overlap of morphosyntactic and semantic-pragmatic features in more than one verb and language; second, the fact that clusters of such features represent frequency-entrenched rather than necessary tendencies.
Abstract This study examines question-word interrogatives followed by the vocative-based markers vre and moré in Greek talk-in-interaction, drawing on Interactional Linguistics and Construction Grammar. The analysis of data from audio-recorded everyday conversations and telephone calls shows that these interrogatives instantiate a network of related, partially schematic, and entrenched constructions that carry the meaning ‘beyond information seeking’ and ‘reactive challenge’. The challenging construction is embedded into a larger construction, namely a sequential structure consisting of an assertion about a state of affairs that falls within both the speaker’s and the recipient’s epistemic domains and a response to the assertion, implemented via a question-word interrogative-plus-vocative-based marker, that carries the meaning ‘reactive challenge, counter-expectation to the speaker, solidary interpersonal function’. The study sheds light on the benefits of bringing together constructional and interactional approaches to grammar.
This paper investigates a particular Greek construction, EXO `have' + TEMPORAL EXPRESSION + NA CLAUSE, aiming to show that analyzing it as part of a constructional network (Hilpert 2014; Fried 2015; Goldberg 2019) may offer insights to the compositionality issue that it poses (Iatridou 2006, 2014). The analysis is empirically supported by a large-scale investigation in the Corpus of Greek Texts (Goutsos 2010), that reveals several aspects of the construction which were overlooked in earlier work. Ultimately, the goal is to find motivation for the meaning of the construction, foregrounding the role of inheritance networks in fleshing out the notion of constructional polysemy.
Motivated by research into multimodality and the discussion on constructionhood gradience, this paper offers insights from ModemGreek (MG) that corroborate the need for Multimodal Construction Grammar (MCxG). Specifically, we examine the pattern as estelne(s) in monomodal and multimodalX (formerly Twitter) data over a seven-year period. The pattern instantiates the verb stelno in receding compositionality, licensed by the well-entrenched AS + IMPERFECTIVE PAST; a template prototypically associated with ac rpoQsxs(c)/as prdsexe(s) carrying the semantics-pragmatics of reprimand, related to the semantics of rpoQ epsilon X omega `be careful'. Supported by empirical evidence, we argue that ac TsA nu s(c)/as estelne(s) is motivated by the polysemy of the modal particle ac which in its pairing with (the unboundedness of) the Imperfective Past motivates (latent) conditionality, wish, counterfactuality, and ultimately a reprimand for the unfulfillable. We further maintain that the pattern presents its own properties, which are modality-sensitive and amenable to creative exploitation.
This study examines question-word interrogatives followed by the vocative-based markers vre and more in Greek talk-in-interaction, drawing on Interactional Linguistics and Construction Grammar. The analysis of data from audio-recorded everyday conversations and telephone calls shows that these interrogatives instantiate a network of related, partially schematic, and entrenched constructions that carry the meaning `beyond information seeking' and `reactive challenge'. The challenging construction is embedded into a larger construction, namely a sequential structure consisting of an assertion about a state of affairs that falls within both the speaker's and the recipient's epistemic domains and a response to the assertion, implemented via a question-word interrogative-plus-vocative-based marker, that carries the meaning `reactive challenge, counter-expectation to the speaker, solidary interpersonal function'. The study sheds light on the benefits of bringing together constructional and interactional approaches to grammar.
Adding to ongoing discussion in the typological literature, we suggest that an appropriate way of representing nodes in a semantic map is in terms of lexical constructions. Drawing on earlier work on the polysemy of motion verbs in Ancient Greek and Coptic, in this paper we extend a behavioral profile analysis to more verbs and take into account more languages, showing that the features that systematically correlate with the various senses, whether morpho-syntactic or semantic-pragmatic, are adequately captured as lexical constructions. We compare this approach with other methods of integrating syntactic and other relevant information into semantic maps. We argue that representing nodes as lexical constructions aligns more closely with two crucial observations: first, the systematic overlap of morphosyntactic and semantic-pragmatic features in more than one verb and language; second, the fact that clusters of such features represent frequency-entrenched rather than necessary tendencies.
This paper explores the intersection of Construction Grammar and lexicography, a notion referred to here as "constructicography". The study considers constructicon projects for languages such as English, German, Swedish and Russian, and aims to contribute to the emerging body of constructionist research on Greek by illuminating the path towards a Greek constructicon. By way of illustration, constructicographic practices are applied to Greek data concerning three semi-schematic constructions ([tau iota delta epsilon nu vp ], [pi omicron iota omicron & varsigma;,-alpha,-omicron (N) delta epsilon nu vp ], [pi omicron sigma omicron & varsigma;,-eta,-omicron (N) delta epsilon nu vp ] that belong to the family of interrogative-negative exclamatives. The study demonstrates what is involved in constructicographic work, from identifying constructions, and describing their special properties of form (syntactic, morphological, phonological) and meaning (semantic, pragmatic, discoursal), to linking constructions with frames and with each other in a structured network.
Abstract Motivated by research into multimodality and the discussion on constructionhood gradience, this paper offers insights from Modern Greek ( MG ) that corroborate the need for Multimodal Construction Grammar (MCxG). Specifically, we examine the pattern as éstelne(s) in monomodal and multimodal X (formerly Twitter) data over a seven-year period. The pattern instantiates the verb stélno in receding compositionality, licensed by the well-entrenched AS + IMPERFECTIVE PAST ; a template prototypically associated with ας πρόσεχε ( ς )/ as pr ό sexe(s) carrying the semantics-pragmatics of reprimand, related to the semantics of προσέχω ‘be careful’. Supported by empirical evidence, we argue that ας έστελνε ( ς )/ as éstelne(s) is motivated by the polysemy of the modal particle ας which in its pairing with (the unboundedness of) the Imperfective Past motivates (latent) conditionality, wish, counterfactuality, and ultimately a reprimand for the unfulfillable. We further maintain that the pattern presents its own properties, which are modality-sensitive and amenable to creative exploitation.
Accounts of Ancient Greek lexical meaning have traditionally used definitions which run through all of a word's different senses: e.g. gamma rho alpha phi eta (graphe) is defined by LSJ as a 'representation by means of lines'. These 'unifying definitions' neaten all of a word's different senses into one, uniform description. Unifying definitions have turned up in lexicographical works, and even in more recent studies on lexical semantics which use prototype theory. Users of these accounts may rely on these unifying definitions in building their own understanding of a Greek word in context. However, the evidence that the mind uses such unifying definitions when comprehending natural language is increasingly under scrutiny from cognitive neuroscience. Cognitive neuroscience-like Wittgenstein and Firth-views a word's meaning as a function of the context in which it is found; a single entry for a word's sense is not stored somewhere in the brain and then reconciled with context-rather the context in which a word is found constructs its meaning. Despite this consensus in cognitive neuroscience and linguistics, Ancient Greek lexical meanings are often presented using unifying definitions. How do we proceed with a model that moves away from unifying definitions and towards an account of meaning as a function of context? This study addresses this problem as it applies to Ancient Greek, proposes a context-focused model, inspired by agglomerative clustering, and tests the model on the adjective chi lambda omega rho omicron sigma (khloros). Additionally, various new findings about the lexical meaning of chi lambda omega rho omicron sigma (khloros) are advanced: its meaning in Sappho Fragment 31, a potential use with a drug in Homer, and its late development into a colour term.
I set out here to uncover the syntactic composition of the Greek exclamative sentence type. The meticulous study of typical exclamative examples shows that they (i) are introduced by a what-phrase, (ii) feature the relative complementizer pu, and (iii) obligatorily get a high degree reading. I argue that these three characteristic properties are organically combined under the following hypothesis: Greek exclamatives are built on a relative clause denoting a degree property. The relative clause merges with a DegP projected by the what-element, thus acquiring a high-degree interpretation. Ultimately, DegP is embedded under an exclamative force operator, finally reaching the status of an utterance that conveys the speaker's emotive stance towards the expressed high degree. I conclude that, while Greek displays additional constructions that (i) convey the speaker's emotive stance, (ii) express high degree, or (iii) convey the speaker's emotive stance towards a high degree, the syntactic combination of an exclamative operator with a DegP denoting high degree is reserved for typical exclamatives and, thus, constitutes the syntactic identity of the Greek exclamative sentence type.
This article offers a constructionist perspective on the role of numerals as the first constituent (henceforth FC) in Ancient Greek compounding, an aspect often overlooked in mainstream morphological research. Despite limited attention, Ancient Greek numerals reveal significant complexities. Through meticulous analysis of data from reputable lexicographical resources and the application of constructional schemas proposed in Construction Morphology (CxM), this study identifies three main functions that Ancient Greek numerals can assume in compounding: adjectival, adverbial, and nominal. My focus in this article is on Ancient Greek cardinal numerals ranging from 1 to 3, which demonstrate distinct properties and, in some instances, can convey meanings that deviate from their usage as independent words.
This paper examines the form, function, and origin of negative directive constructions (prohibitions) in Homeric Greek. Curiously, the aspect of the verb in these constructions depends on its mood: aorist stem for subjunctive, present stem for imperative and infinitive. Previous scholarship has taken the Greek constructions to be replacements of earlier "injunctive" ones (based on comparison to Sanskrit) and seen aspect as responsible for functional differences in negative directives. I challenge both of these assumptions on the basis of a comprehensive corpus study of the Homeric language. My analysis introduces more precise usage labels and underscores the importance of the infinitive construction in the Homeric system. I show that mood, not aspect, underlies the observed functional differences. While I agree with prior research that the present infinitive is used for instructions and that the aorist subjunctive has a "preventive" function, I find that the present imperative construction is the semantically unmarked default. On this basis, I formulate a new diachronic model linking these constructions to a single Proto-Indo-European rule, accounting for the outcomes in Greek, Sanskrit, and related languages without positing arbitrary replacements of earlier constructions.
We compare here the left periphery of the D- and the C- domain. Looking at cases where a genitive possessor is separated from an accusative possessum, we argue that D differs from C in lacking an articulated left periphery and dedicated Focus and Topic projections. Instead, we propose that there is a unique left-peripheral position above D. It resembles positions in the CP-periphery in being a criterial position, but the criterial feature involved is distinct from the ones encoded by CP-peripheral projections. We thus align with Szendroi (2010) in assuming that information-structural properties such as Focus and Topic operate at the propositional level, which makes them unavailable within the DP.
This study investigates a prosody-syntax mismatch that appears with left peripheral additive phrases in Greek and Hungarian. In these constructions, the additive phrase is focused, which is reflected in prosody, such that it attracts the nuclear stress. However, fronted additive phrases display deviations from the morphosyntactic properties of constructions with fronted foci in both languages. In Greek, such phrases can be co-indexed with pronominal clitics, a property only marginally observed with fronted foci. In Hungarian, they do not trigger verb fronting, which is otherwise obligatory for narrow foci. Analyzing the questions under discussion (QUD's) for these constructions, we conclude that the focus structure of these utterances is directly reflected in prosody, while their morphosyntactic properties align with discourse properties that are independent of focus.
This introduction lays out the issues in the study of information structure with regard to Modern Greek in particular, but also with an eye to the relevance of Greek data to the architecture of grammar more generally.
We examine utterances that contain merely contrastive, corrective, confirmative, and mirative focus structures in Greek. Through a perception experiment, we provide evidence regarding listener preferences about the syntactic position ('high' vs 'low') of the contrastively focused objects in SVO vs OVS patterns. The results suggest that listeners consider utterances with all four focus types acceptable, regardless of whether the sentential object appears in a'high' or 'low' position in Greek, unlike other languages. Moreover, specific listener preferences are brought to light for each focus type: there is a clear preference for a'low' position for mere focus, versus a'high' one for corrective, while there is almost equal preference for both positions in the mirative and the confirmative structures. These findings support the distinction among the different types of contrastive focus with their respective (semantic, pragmatic, syntactic, and intonational) properties.
