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Constructions in which the verb combines with a fixed preposition in many cases have a verb taking a prepositional object (PO). It is often said that the preposition with a PO is very close to meaningless, and therefore arbitrary, but there are reasons to doubt this assertion. This paper aims at exploring the paths followed by prepositional and constructional meaning towards abstraction. For a relevant sample of PO-prepositions, it turns out to be possible to reconstruct the path that connects it to its literal sense, even synchronically. Important gateways to abstraction turn out to be the use of analogy and the shift from literal to figurative meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introductory paper outlines the different trends and movements that have in recent years led to a marked increase in the number of linguistic studies that combine a construction-based theoretical outlook on grammar with a dedicated interest in issues of synchronic and/or diachronic language variation. In addition, it gives an overview of the papers included in this thematic issue and links them with broader tendencies in the fields of cognitive linguistics and construction grammar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a cognitive-functional account of the 'autonomous use'-- i.e., the use without a main verb elsewhere in the clause -- of the Dutch modals ('can'), ('may') and ('must'), as a deviance from their default auxiliary use. The study is corpus-based and takes a predominantly diachronic perspective on the subject matter. It reveals that the autonomous use is strongly increasing in frequency since Early New Dutch, and that it has distinct grammatical properties (a strong tendency towards intransitive uses with a deictic pronoun referring to a state of affairs as the subject) and semantic properties (featuring the full range of (inter)subjective meanings of the auxiliary uses, but with a strong tendency towards deontic modal and directive uses). These properties are clearly different from those of the original main verbal uses from which these modals have emerged in Old and Early Middle Dutch. The paper offers an explanation for the emergence and increasing importance of this new autonomous use in terms of the principle of iconicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both Dutch and Afrikaans display three periphrastic progressive constructions, which indicate that an action is going on at a particular moment of time: (i) a prepositional construction with aan het/ die + zijn/wees, (ii) a construction with posture verbs (zitten/staan/liggen) with a to-infinitive (Dutch) or a coordinating verb (Afrikaans) and (iii) a construction with bezig/besig followed by a to-infinitive (see, among others, Bertinetto, Ebert & De Groot 2000; Breed 2012; Donaldson 1993). This paper focuses on the latter of these constructions, which until now has only received little attention in the grammatical literature. In the instances in (1) below, the bezig/besig-construction is used to express that a volitional action is/was going on for a certain amount of time. (1a) Sowat elf brandweerwaens was tot in die vroeë oggendure nog besig om die brand te blus. (Die Burger, 12/01/1998) lit. "About eleven fire engines were busy extinguishing the fire until long into the night." (1b) Brandweerlieden zijn druk bezig een man te bevrijden uit de fel gehavende personenwagen. (Gazet van Antwerpen, gva2) lit. "The firemen are busy rescuing a man from the heavily damaged car." However, progressive besig can also be used to express ongoing processes which do not involve a volitional agent - as shown in (b), Dutch bezig is hardly an option in such contexts. (2a) 'n Groot chaos is besig om onder sy neus te ontwikkel. (Die Burger, 06/02/1998) (2b) ??Een grote chaos is bezig om zich voor zijn neus te ontwikkelen. lit. "A great chaos is busy developing right under his very nose." (3a) Haar nuutste album is besig om goed te verkoop. (Die Burger, 06/02/1998) (3b) ??Haar nieuwste album is bezig om goed te verkopen. lit. "Her newest album is busy selling well." The aim of this paper is to examine the use of this construction in detail from the perspective of the grammaticalization theory, based on corpus data from six Dutch and two Afrikaans newspapers. Firstly, we show that besig in Afrikaans is used more often in a progressive construction than Dutch bezig. As is well-known, grammaticalization goes hand in hand with an increasing frequency (see, among others, Bybee 2003). Secondly, we show that the besig-progressive is more broadly applicable semantically than bezig in Dutch (host-class expansion, Himmelmann 2004). A semantic categorization of the types of verbs and subjects that are used with the construction indicates that the besig-progressive is used more frequently with verbs and subjects which seem incompatible with the basic "busy, acting"-semantics of the adjective besig: process verbs and inanimate subjects. It appears that besig has bleached from its etymological, "busy activity" meaning and is used as an aspectual marker denoting that something is going on, without focusing on the (complexity of the) activity, while Dutch bezig has to a large extent retained its "activity" semantics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a cognitive-functional account of the 'autonomous use' - i.e., the use without a main verb elsewhere in the clause - of the Dutch modals kunnen ('can'), mogen ('may') and moeten ('must'), as a deviance from their default auxiliary use. The study is corpus-based and takes a predominantly diachronic perspective on the subject matter. It reveals that the autonomous use is strongly increasing in frequency since Early New Dutch, and that it has distinct grammatical properties (a strong tendency towards intransitive uses with a deictic pronoun referring to a state of affairs as the subject) and semantic properties (featuring the full range of (inter)subjective meanings of the auxiliary uses, but with a strong tendency towards deontic modal and directive uses). These properties are clearly different from those of the original main verbal uses from which these modals have emerged in Old and Early Middle Dutch. The paper offers an explanation for the emergence and increasing importance of this new autonomous use in terms of the principle of iconicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a diachronic corpus investigation into the semantic and the grammatical development of the Dutch mental state predicate denken 'think', from Old Dutch onwards. The discussion focuses specifically on the implications for our understanding of the processes of grammaticalization and subjectification, and their correlation. The verb shows clear signs of a process of semantic subjectification, involving a continuous strengthening of the epistemic use, and the emergence of a pure 'subjectivity' use. But it is highly questionable whether it also involves structural grammaticalization. In particular, the investigation throws an entirely new light on the emergence of the parenthetical use: it suggests a developmental path quite different from what is commonly assumed in the literature. But this path does not involve any processes of grammaticalization. As such, this study also suggests that the processes of grammaticalization and subjectification are less intimately intertwined than is often assumed in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a diachronic corpus investigation into the semantic and the grammatical development of the Dutch mental state predicate denken 'think', from Old Dutch onwards. The discussion focuses specifically on the implications for our understanding of the processes of grammaticalization and subjectification, and their correlation. The verb shows clear signs of a process of semantic subjectification, involving a continuous strengthening of the epistemic use, and the emergence of a pure 'subjectivity' use. But it is highly questionable whether it also involves structural grammaticalization. In particular, the investigation throws an entirely new light on the emergence of the parenthetical use: it suggests a developmental path quite different from what is commonly assumed in the literature. But this path does not involve any processes of grammaticalization. As such, this study also suggests that the processes of grammaticalization and subjectification are less intimately intertwined than is often assumed in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]