Talk by Prof. Dr. Benjamin Lyngfelt at the RTG
Construction Networks and Network Relations: A Constructionist Perspective
The RTG is thrilled to have had Prof. Dr. Benjamin Lyngfelt from the University of Gothenburg visit the Research Training Group “Dimensions of Constructional Space” on Wednesday, January 15th.
In the course of his talk, Lyngfelt explored how language can be understood as a network of constructions from a Construction Grammar perspective. This approach builds on current research examining both theoretical aspects of construction networks and their practical application in reference constructicons, and his experience in developing the Swedish constructicon. In his talk, he focussed particularly on the following issues:
- Network Types: The evolution from inheritance networks through association networks to deconstructionist approaches;
- Network Relations: Different types of relations between constructions and their role in linguistic analysis;
- Practical Application: How network relations are handled in the Swedish Constructicon project.
Summing up, he discussed implications of this research for our understanding of linguistic structure and change.