Conceptual autonomy versus conceptual dependence
In Cognitive Grammar, conceptual autonomy versus conceptual dependence explains the asymmetry that is traditionally described in terms of heads and dependents. Of course, these terms are already familiar from the previous chapter, where we saw that nominal predications are defined in terms of conceptual autonomy, whereas relational predications are defined in terms of conceptual dependence. This idea is extended to account for the relationships between the subparts of a construction. Langacker defines dependence in the following terms:
One structure, D, is dependent on the other, A, to the extent that A constitutes an elaboration of a salient substructure within D. (Langacker 1987: 300)
This means that the component structure that provides the elaboration is con ceptually autonomous (like fish in pink fish, or the bed in under the bed), while the structure that is elaborated is dependent, because it requires elaboration in order to become fully meaningful (like pink in pink fish, or under in under the bed). Langacker calls the schematic aspect of a component structure that is elaborated in a valence relation the elaboration site. As we have seen, there are two main types of dependent: complements and modifiers.
Complements
In Cognitive Grammar, a complement is a ‘component structure that elaborates the head’ (Langacker 2002: 297). In other words, when the dependent component is the profile determinant and the profile determinant is elaborated and thus dependent on the structure that elaborates it, we have what is traditionally described as a head-complement structure. For example, in a preposition phrase like under the bed the preposition under (the profile determinant) is dependent and its complement is the autonomous noun phrase the bed which elaborates its LM. In this conception of the head-complement relation, the complement is conceptually autonomous and the head or profile determinant is conceptually dependent because it relies upon the complement to elaborate its LM. In one sense, this is consistent with the traditional term ‘complement’, which means a constituent that ‘fills out’ or ‘completes’ the meaning of a head within a phrase.
Modifiers
In Cognitive Grammar, a modifier is a ‘component structure that is elaborated by the head’ (Langacker 2002: 297). In this case, the autonomous component is the profile determinant because the head does not require the modifier to complete its meaning, either because it is conceptually autonomous (the prototypical nominal predication) or because it is a relational predication (e.g. a verb) that already has its meaning completed by a complement. In contrast, the modifier is a relational predication that requires the head to elaborate some aspect of its schematic structure. This type of relationship gives rise to what is traditionally described as a head-modifier structure. For example, in the NP that slipper under the bed, the profile determinant slipper is autonomous and under the bed is dependent (having a schematic TR that requires elaboration). The head slipper elaborates the schematic TR of under the bed. This means that under the bed is a modifier rather than a complement. Table 17.1 summarises the Cognitive Grammar model of heads and dependents in terms of conceptual autonomy and conceptual dependence.
It is important to point out how Langacker’s view of dependence differs from the traditional view. The traditional view is that complements and modifiers depend upon the head rather than the other way around. The term ‘dependent’ has its roots in a selection-based theory which is favoured by formal models. For example, the presence of a preposition entails the presence of a noun phrase, so the preposition is said to ‘select’ or ‘subcategorise’ for the noun phrase. Equally, the presence of a transitive verb entails the presence of an object which is a type of complement, so the verb is said to select or subcategorise for that phrase. This information is stored in the lexicon in ‘selection frames’. An example of how the selection frame for in might look is given in (4). Of course, the lexical entry for this item would also contain further detail relating to meaning and pronunciation but these aspects do not concern us here.
This lexical entry says that in is a member of the category preposition and occurs in a syntactic context where it is followed by a noun phrase (the underscore represents the position of the preposition itself within the resulting structure: it precedes the noun phrase). In the selection model of head-dependent relations, both complements and modifiers are dependent upon the head for their presence in the structure: complements are selected and modifiers are added optionally to provide additional information about the head. In Cognitive Grammar, the head is dependent upon the complement to elaborate its schematic LM, but the modifier is dependent upon the head to elaborate some schematic aspect of its structure.
