Abstracts

Finkbeiner, Rita: Konstruktionen an der Grammatik-Pragmatik- Schnittstelle.

This paper provides an overview of recent developments in research on the grammar/pragmatics interface. The focus is on Construction Grammar and contextualist (neo- and post-Gricean) pragmatics, which are currently among the most dominant frameworks in linguistic theory. While it is widely accepted since the beginnings of Construction Grammar that pragmatic aspects may be part of the meaning side of a construction, it is only recently that construction grammarians engage in a more systematic debate about what counts as a pragmatic aspect, and in what ways pragmatic aspects may be related to constructions. While constructionist approaches typically take as ‘pragmatic aspects’ those aspects of the context that may be conventionally tied to a construction, the standard assumption of contextualist approaches is that pragmatics is concerned with inferential, i.e. non-conventional aspects of meaning. After introducing basic concepts of theories on the grammar/pragmatics interface, the paper summarizes the main assumptions regarding the relationship between grammar and pragmatics as held in constructionist and contextualist approaches, respectively. The main part of the paper is concerned with providing a synopsis of recent work into the role of pragmatics in the description of constructions. The work discussed is grouped into six types of approaches, namely (1) constructional approaches, (2) frame-/template approaches, (3) interaction approaches, (4) distinction approaches, (5) grammaticalization approaches, and (6) integrative approaches.

Rothstein, Björn: Was ist eigentlich Sprachliche Verrohung? Ergebnisse einer Laut-Denken-Studie.

The paper investigates „Sprachliche Verrohung“ (linguistic neglection/brutalization), a term that has been recently and often used within the German mass media. It seems, however, that there is no common understanding of what „Sprachliche Verrohung“ is. To obtain a definition, a thinkaloud study was conducted: 40 participants judged relevant linguistic examples by verbalizing aloud their thoughts and ideas. The obtained think-aloud protocols are analysed and the following definition is derived: Expressions of „Sprachliche Verrohung“ are in conflict with the linguistic norm and speakers uses them despite their knowledge of this conflict.

Sobhani, Kaveh Bahrami: Relative clauses in Farsi: a typological study.

The present paper, comprised of three main sections, aims to study relative clauses in Farsi from a typological perspective. In the first section, the common strategies for making relative clauses in Farsi are reviewed. In the second section, the position of Farsi relative clauses in the Noun Phrase Accessibility Hierarchy is investigated. In the last section, the differences between restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses are discussed. The results indicate that Farsi enjoys a higher number of strategies than that which has been explored so far. In addition, the limitations on making relative clauses from different noun phrases in Farsi, as compared with a number of other languages, are reported. Finally, it is concluded that the reason behind some ambiguities in distinguishing restrictive clauses from non-restrictive clauses can be traced in their different readings.

Meiler, Matthias; Dupke, Benjamin: Zur Dialektik von Situationen Anmerkungen zu einem (linguistischen) Terminus und seinen Begriffen.

Recent developments in linguistic methodology as well as in related fields make it appear increasingly urgent to re-examine the conditions of language, linguistic activity, and communication in general. One way to evaluate how appropriately a scientific or scholarly theory reflects these conditions is to scrutinize its terminology as related to the notions it is supposed to describe. This paper examines the term situation by way of reconstructing its etymological and conceptual development throughout its history. Based on this, we discuss possibilities of conceptualizing ‚situationality‘, central not just to linguistic thought, as a dialectical notion. We consequently propose to make full use of the term’s semantic potential, which allows to accurately approach the conditioned-ness of language (and other cultural entities) as both social structure and social process at the same time.

Frey, Werner, Finkbeiner, Rita, Robustino, Laura: Rezensionen.

Karin Pittner, Daniela Elsner & Fabian Barteld (eds.) (2015): Adverbs. Functional and diachronic aspects. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Claus Ehrhardt & Eva Neuland (Hgg.) (2017): Sprachliche Höflichkeit. Historische, aktuelle und künftige Perspektiven. Tübingen: Narr.

Katharina Turgay (2017): Frequenz vs. Akzeptabilität: Medialitätsabhängige Abfolgetendenzen im Mittelfeld. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag.

Klaus, Müllner: Informationen und Hinweise.