Constructional schemas
We are now in a position to address the schematic representation of constructions containing the grammatical morphemes we have discussed in this section. Two examples of constructional schemas that capture the properties of complex words are represented in (5). While (5a) represents the schema for agentive nouns (illustrating derivational morphology), (5b) represents the schema for plural nouns (illustrating inflectional morphology).
As we saw in Chapter 14, the information on the left of the slash represents the semantic pole and the information on the right represents the phonological pole. Each component unit is contained inside square brackets. For example, the constructional schema in (5a) says that the construction, which as a whole represents a schematic THING, consists of two component parts. The first com ponent part is some member of the verb class, which is schematically represented at the semantic pole as PROCESS but which has no phonological specification because this is a generalised class schema. The second component part is a unit that also has a schematic representation at the semantic pole (ER represents the semantics of AGENTIVE NOUN) but has a specific representation at the phonological pole.
It is worth emphasising that in Cognitive Grammar constructional schemas do not belong in their own separate ‘box’ within the inventory of linguistic knowledge. In this theory, there is no principled distinction between the schemas that capture generalised patterns of structure and the specific instances that give rise to those schemas. The only difference lies in the extent to which the representation is semantically specific. Therefore the schemas belong within the same complex network that contains the instances. For example the schema for agentive nouns (5a) is connected within the network to specific instances, as well as to other schemas to which it is related (for example, the schema for plural nouns in (5b), given constructions like lovers), and ultimately to the noun class schema.
Sanctioning In Cognitive Grammar, novel constructions are sanctioned (licensed) by schemas. Langacker argues that the schema is what enables the speaker to recognise a pattern and hence judge the well-formedness of a novel construction by analogy. For example, consider the following units which are recognised as pairs due to links within the network: search – searcher; lecture – lecturer; examine – examiner; complain – complainer. As we have seen, these and others like them give rise to the schema represented in Figure 17.2 which enables the speaker to derive a novel construction like striver. Of course, the idea that novel instances are sanctioned by schemas is not restricted to word-level constructions but can also be applied to phrases and clauses.
