Abstract This article investigates the German phraseme construction [X hin, X/Y her ] on the basis of an exploratory corpus-linguistic analysis of 596 instances from different communicative domains. The study focuses on the ways in which the construction is used for rhetorical relevance management in contemporary German. Combining semantic, formal, and pragmatic perspectives, the analysis shows that the construction functions as a device for complexity reduction: specific concepts, including normative values, technical terms, emotional stances, and argumentative positions, are rhetorically suspended in order to strengthen the pragmatic force of subsequent speech acts or to shield them from potential objections. Particular attention is paid to the distribution of the variants [X hin, X her ] and [X hin, Y her ], the semantic-pragmatic relations between the slot fillers, and the construction’s embedding in different discourse contexts. The results show notable productivity in newspaper discourse and Wikipedia discussions. The variant [X hin, Y her ] is especially relevant for creating scalar exhaustion across semantic continua and for marking ad-hoc relations in argumentative and even polemical contexts.
Abstract This paper presents a corpus-based constructional study of the idiom ¡Agarrate, Catalina, que vamos a galopar! (literally ‘Hold on, Catalina, we’re going to gallop!’, meaning ‘Brace yourself!’), which is commonly used in Rioplatense Spanish to warn the interlocutor about the onset of a particularly difficult situation. The aim of this study is (i) to identify the motivation behind this expression from a Cognitive Linguistics perspective and (ii) to describe the expression through a Constructionist analysis that integrates the phenomenon of creativity in the use of the idiom in discourse. Within the theoretical framework of Cognitive Linguistics, empirical support is provided for metaphorical mappings from the domain of physical sensations to the abstract domain of individual and social experiences. The integration of metaphor and metonymy enables a transition from the literal meaning ‘hold on because you are about to gallop’ – that is, ‘brace yourself because there will be jolts and a risk of falling’ – to ‘prepare to face a difficult situation’. From a Constructionist Approach, this expression is analyzed as the prototypical instance licensed by the constructional idiom [ V pronominal imperativo {agarrarse} + N vocativo + [ que + [S + V futuro perifrÁstico ]]], composed of three slots: an imperative verb whose lexical meaning denotes the search for a point of support, a proper noun or another lexeme with vocative function, and an adjunct that explains the reason of this exhortation. The analysis of 250 occurrences shows that the Rioplatense expression is a prototypical instance of the mentioned construction, which, however, licenses other variants depending on the diatopic varieties of Hispanic American Spanish. This constructional approach allows us to treat the different variants for the same cognitive image, enables the study of relatively marginal occurrences, and allows for the integration in our analysis of the continuum between repetition and innovation.
Idioms represent a significant challenge for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, including Moroccan high school students. This study explores the effectiveness of an action research intervention aimed at enhancing idiom comprehension through the application of embodiment and Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) strategies. In this regard, a group of high school students (n=216) participated in targeted training designed to facilitate their understanding of idiomatic expressions. The results indicate a marked improvement in students' ability to comprehend idioms post-intervention. The data reveal that, across all idioms, 55.97% of responses were accurate interpretations, 36.17% were erroneous interpretations, and 6.71% were responses of "I don't know". This indicates that, on average, individuals correctly interpreted the idioms more frequently than they misinterpreted them, with a relatively small percentage expressing uncertainty. These findings underscore the importance of integrating embodiment and conceptual strategies in EFL pedagogy, highlighting their role in enriching the conceptual frameworks of learners, even in the context of a foreign language. This study contributes to the current body or research on effective teaching methods to help EFL students acquire figurative language skills. It also highlights the applications of the CMT and embodiment paradigms.
