Towards a constructional account of high and low frequency binominal quantifiers in Spanish

Abstract

Abstract This paper aims to provide a clearer understanding of the widely discussed topic of grammaticalization of constructions . One unresolved problem concerns the identification of the relevant constructional level of language change, i.e., either the substantial level of specific occurrences or the schematic level of generalizations. Another issue addressed in many current analyses is the degree of schematicity of analogical forces. The present case study addresses these questions in the context of Spanish binominal quantifiers, basing its claims on synchronic and diachronic corpus analysis. The synchronic layering of uses in Present-Day Spanish—which encompasses quantifying and premodifying uses in addition to literal head uses—will be argued to reflect the outcome of grammaticalization. The synchronic as well as diachronic semantic clustering of binominal quantifiers and the prototype function of high-frequency montón de ‘heap of’ are hypothesized to result from the close interaction between analogical thinking and conceptual persistence. In line with the usage-based approach to language change, the dramatic increase in frequency observed for quantifying montón de will lead me to distinguish several constructional levels of change and to establish a schematic ‘N1 de N2’ pattern linked to quantity as a driving force. The strong collocational preferences characterizing the individual binominal constructions, the systematicity of the premodifying use and the tendency to reinforce conceptual elements of the original head use will be accounted for by considering the quantity assessment of the (schematic) binominal string as just one possible realization of co-extensiveness, in addition to quality assessment.