Produc'vity and schema'city of the way - construc'on in Late Modern - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Produc'vity and schema'city of the way- construc'on in Late Modern English

Florent Perek

University of Birmingham

1

Diachronic construc'on grammar

• Language change consists either of construc'onaliza'on or

construc'onal change (TraugoB & Trousdale 2013)

• Three aspects of construc'onal change:

– Composi'onality: how seman'cally transparent a construc'on is – Produc'vity: the range of lexical items that may occur in it – Schema'city: the level of detail (esp. seman'c) with which the construc'on is stored; defines restric'ons on use

• This talk focuses on how the last two can be characterized

from corpus data

2

Produc'vity and schema'city

• Produc'vity can be observed in corpus data; what about

schema'city?

• The two are commonly thought to be interrelated

– More schema'c construc'ons have more schema'c slots: fewer constraints on the lexical items that can be used – Conversely, the occurrence of more diverse items makes a slot more schema'c

3

Produc'vity and schema'city

• By no means a one-to-one rela'on

– Compa'bility of an item with a schema does not mean that it will necessarily be aBested – Conversely, new coinages can happen outside of a schema, e.g., by analogical extension

• Schema'city vs. produc'vity ~ licensing vs. coining
• How to characterize schema'city when only aBested types

are observable?

4

Case study: the way-construc'on

• Verb one’s way PP, e.g., He pushed his way through the crowd
• Describes mo'on of the subject referent
• Three senses of the construc'on:

– Path-crea'on: the verb describes what enables mo'on

They hacked their way through the jungle.

– Manner: the verb describes the manner of mo'on

They trudged their way through the snow

– Incidental-ac'on: the verb refers to some co-occurring ac'on unrelated to mo'on

He whistled his way across the room

5

The way-construc'on in diachrony

• Previous research mostly focused on the origins of the

construc'on (Israel 1996, TraugoB & Trousdale 2003)

• LiBle discussion of the recent history of the construc'on

(19th–20th) – Gramma'cally stable since the 19th century – Good case for the study of syntac'c produc'vity

• Excep'on: Mondorf (2011)

– But her focus is on the comparison with the self-resulta've construc'on (e.g., He worked himself to exhaus<on) – Only ten verbs, few datapoints

6

Data

• All tokens of “V Poss way Prep” between 1830 and 2009

extracted from the Corpus of Historical American English (COHA, Davies 2010)

• Manually filtered, annotated for construc'onal meaning:

path-crea'on, manner, incidental-ac'on

• Quan'ta've measures of produc'vity

– Token frequency: how oeen the construc'on is used? – Type frequency: with how many different verbs?

7

• Token frequency is rela'vely stable
• Steady increase in type frequency: the construc'on is used

with more and more different verbs

1830 1860 1890 1920 1950 1980 2010 10 20 30 40 50 60

Token frequency (per million words) Tokens per million words

• path−creation

manner incidental

1830 1860 1890 1920 1950 1980 2010 50 100 150

Verb type frequency Types

• path−creation

manner incidental

8

Type frequency

• Type frequency reflects the lexical range of a construc'on
• But it is a purely quan'ta've measure

– Only indirectly related to seman'c diversity – No account of how different items are

• Ques'ons:

– What kinds of verbs joined the distribu'on? – Did it become more seman'cally diverse? – Are there par'cular seman'c domains favored by the construc'on?

9

Distribu'onal seman'cs

• Most studies in DiaCxG draw on seman'c intui'ons
• This paper takes a different approach: using distribu'onal

seman'cs to measure seman'c similarity (Perek 2014, 2016)

• Words that occur in similar contexts tend to have related meanings

(Miller & Charles 1991)

“You shall know a word by the company it keeps.” (Firth 1957: 11)

• Therefore, a way to characterize the meaning of words is through

their distribu'on in large corpora

• Widely used in computa'onal linguis'cs
• Benefits:

– Fully automa'c – Data-driven and objec've

10

Distribu'onal seman'c model

• The more frequent collocates are shared by two words, the

more similar they will be considered

• “Bag of words” approach

– Extrac'on of lexical collocates of each verb in a 5-word window from a large corpus – Each verb is assigned an array of values (= a vector) derived from co-occurrence frequencies – High correla'on between vectors is an indica'on of seman'c relatedness

11

Distribu'onal seman'c plots

• Output: pairwise distances between verbs
• Define a seman'c space that can be ploBed for visualiza'on

– By means of t-Distributed Stochas'c Neighbor Embedding algorithm (t-SNE) (Van der Maaten & Hinton 2008) – Places objects in a 2-dimensional space such that the between-object distances are preserved as well as possible – Superior to mul'dimensional scaling (MDS) for dense spaces with many dimensions – Distance matrix converted to coordinates for each verb

• Seman'c domain of the construc'on ploBed for four 'me

periods: 1830-1879, 1880-1929, 1930-1969, 1970-2000.

• Three senses of the construc'on examined separately

12

The path-crea'on sense

13

1830−1879

make take think find feel work pay

• pen

understand break wear cut lie eat win pick strike fight sleep force push burn gain press spread tear fit beg burst struggle kick dig smell trace guide crush melt enforce explore shape squeeze conquer explode shove crash pierce smooth carve spell rip steer poke fan track punch grope root screw fumble dispute flap plow leak wrestle shoulder pave probe gnaw bribe maneuver wedge marshal plough rend hew burrow fiddle

1880−1929

make take think find feel work talk read pay break wear cut lie drive buy build eat win pick fight shoot sing teach sleep force guess push drink hit burn beat gain press plan extend spread dare steal tear worry argue dance beg earn burst bore kick dig purchase smell trace plead bite crush melt taste shape crack squeeze reason shove scratch blaze hug stuff smash lick pierce carve spell rip steer poke blast advertise perfect grope screw battle fumble flap stammer experiment gesture slash forge plow fret wrestle hack hitch shoulder trick hustle batter pave probe gnaw bribe prick shear bully saw thrash wedge claw scorch plough simmer jostle scent pilot brew hew paw burrow butt

1930−1969

make take think find feel work run live write talk read pay play break wear laugh cut lie drive kill buy spend smile eat pull win pick fight act shoot sing marry force push drink burn beat press blow plan manage kiss steal tear sign argue swing dance dream beg figure wash earn bore kick dig wrap smell trace crowd borrow bite crush melt murder explore tap crack squeeze reason whip clutch shove slam scratch pitch blaze negotiate rattle chew smash analyze carve grind rip pound grip poke flatter cheat quarrel blast joke fish punch soak grope root battle mumble drill fumble kid peel compromise sting puff hammer flap brood chatter chop bust slice forge wrestle hack hitch model clip con shoulder snarl cram batter harvest probe nudge digest bellow conspire gnaw bribe finger maneuver bully ruffle tick saw wrest thrash rape scribble wedge bawl nibble claw plough box grate drum paste foul hew paw burrow etch butt

1970−2009

make take think find feel work write talk read pay

• pen

grow lead play break wear laugh cut lie kill buy spend smile build eat pull explainwin pick fight agree act shoot sing sleep marry force push settle drink study announce imagine burn beat nod gain press deal manage kiss whisper pray tear worry stretch argue dance acquire dream paint figure knock earn struggle arrest bore smoke kick toss dig cling purchase cook aim smell trace grin borrow shrug entertain hunt invest focus melt contemplate taste consume labor squeeze reason trade shiver groan shove slam scratch negotiate spit blink chew hug smash lick wheel smooth carve spell grind rip pound stroke steer will poke flatter cheat trim sniff blast sue shatter hook sip rage chat scrape joke punch grope pump click wail flip screw puzzle battle mumble drill charm fumble export peel dust plot hammer sort flap twitch chop pry storm slash slice graze forge plow coax wrestle hack hitch crumble tickle con scrub shoulder trick brave dial vibrate bargain skate cram batter pave probe nudge slaughter bat bribe gamble seduce finger fund maneuver bully saw thrash wedge wrinkle nibble mop claw tangle navigate jostle seep petition swap pilot improvise sample stomp inflate ram paw burrow seethe key etch butt discipline

Clear concrete/abstract divide in the distribu'onal seman'c plot Higher density of verbs describing forceful ac'ons (cut, push, kick, ..) , especially in earlier periods

14

1830−1879

make take think find feel work pay

• pen

understand break wear cut lie eat win pick strike fight sleep force push burn gain press spread tear fit beg burst struggle kick dig smell trace guide crush melt enforce explore shape squeeze conquer explode shove crash pierce smooth carve spell rip steer poke fan track punch grope root screw fumble dispute flap plow leak wrestle shoulder pave probe gnaw bribe maneuver wedge marshal plough rend hew burrow fiddle

1880−1929

make take think find feel work talk read pay break wear cut lie drive buy build eat win pick fight shoot sing teach sleep force guess push drink hit burn beat gain press plan extend spread dare steal tear worry argue dance beg earn burst bore kick dig purchase smell trace plead bite crush melt taste shape crack squeeze reason shove scratch blaze hug stuff smash lick pierce carve spell rip steer poke blast advertise perfect grope screw battle fumble flap stammer experiment gesture slash forge plow fret wrestle hack hitch shoulder trick hustle batter pave probe gnaw bribe prick shear bully saw thrash wedge claw scorch plough simmer jostle scent pilot brew hew paw burrow butt

1930−1969

make take think find feel work run live write talk read pay play break wear laugh cut lie drive kill buy spend smile eat pull win pick fight act shoot sing marry force push drink burn beat press blow plan manage kiss steal tear sign argue swing dance dream beg figure wash earn bore kick dig wrap smell trace crowd borrow bite crush melt murder explore tap crack squeeze reason whip clutch shove slam scratch pitch blaze negotiate rattle chew smash analyze carve grind rip pound grip poke flatter cheat quarrel blast joke fish punch soak grope root battle mumble drill fumble kid peel compromise sting puff hammer flap brood chatter chop bust slice forge wrestle hack hitch model clip con shoulder snarl cram batter harvest probe nudge digest bellow conspire gnaw bribe finger maneuver bully ruffle tick saw wrest thrash rape scribble wedge bawl nibble claw plough box grate drum paste foul hew paw burrow etch butt

1970−2009

make take think find feel work write talk read pay

• pen

grow lead play break wear laugh cut lie kill buy spend smile build eat pull explainwin pick fight agree act shoot sing sleep marry force push settle drink study announce imagine burn beat nod gain press deal manage kiss whisper pray tear worry stretch argue dance acquire dream paint figure knock earn struggle arrest bore smoke kick toss dig cling purchase cook aim smell trace grin borrow shrug entertain hunt invest focus melt contemplate taste consume labor squeeze reason trade shiver groan shove slam scratch negotiate spit blink chew hug smash lick wheel smooth carve spell grind rip pound stroke steer will poke flatter cheat trim sniff blast sue shatter hook sip rage chat scrape joke punch grope pump click wail flip screw puzzle battle mumble drill charm fumble export peel dust plot hammer sort flap twitch chop pry storm slash slice graze forge plow coax wrestle hack hitch crumble tickle con scrub shoulder trick brave dial vibrate bargain skate cram batter pave probe nudge slaughter bat bribe gamble seduce finger fund maneuver bully saw thrash wedge wrinkle nibble mop claw tangle navigate jostle seep petition swap pilot improvise sample stomp inflate ram paw burrow seethe key etch butt discipline

From period 2 onwards: inges'on (eat, drink, nibble, puff, sip, smoke, ..), commerce & finance (buy, export, fund, invest, pay, spend, ..), misconduct (bribe, bully, cheat, conspire, kill, murder, plot, rape, trick, ..)

15

1830−1879

make take think find feel work pay

• pen

understand break wear cut lie eat win pick strike fight sleep force push burn gain press spread tear fit beg burst struggle kick dig smell trace guide crush melt enforce explore shape squeeze conquer explode shove crash pierce smooth carve spell rip steer poke fan track punch grope root screw fumble dispute flap plow leak wrestle shoulder pave probe gnaw bribe maneuver wedge marshal plough rend hew burrow fiddle

1880−1929

make take think find feel work talk read pay break wear cut lie drive buy build eat win pick fight shoot sing teach sleep force guess push drink hit burn beat gain press plan extend spread dare steal tear worry argue dance beg earn burst bore kick dig purchase smell trace plead bite crush melt taste shape crack squeeze reason shove scratch blaze hug stuff smash lick pierce carve spell rip steer poke blast advertise perfect grope screw battle fumble flap stammer experiment gesture slash forge plow fret wrestle hack hitch shoulder trick hustle batter pave probe gnaw bribe prick shear bully saw thrash wedge claw scorch plough simmer jostle scent pilot brew hew paw burrow butt

1930−1969

make take think find feel work run live write talk read pay play break wear laugh cut lie drive kill buy spend smile eat pull win pick fight act shoot sing marry force push drink burn beat press blow plan manage kiss steal tear sign argue swing dance dream beg figure wash earn bore kick dig wrap smell trace crowd borrow bite crush melt murder explore tap crack squeeze reason whip clutch shove slam scratch pitch blaze negotiate rattle chew smash analyze carve grind rip pound grip poke flatter cheat quarrel blast joke fish punch soak grope root battle mumble drill fumble kid peel compromise sting puff hammer flap brood chatter chop bust slice forge wrestle hack hitch model clip con shoulder snarl cram batter harvest probe nudge digest bellow conspire gnaw bribe finger maneuver bully ruffle tick saw wrest thrash rape scribble wedge bawl nibble claw plough box grate drum paste foul hew paw burrow etch butt

1970−2009

make take think find feel work write talk read pay

• pen

grow lead play break wear laugh cut lie kill buy spend smile build eat pull explainwin pick fight agree act shoot sing sleep marry force push settle drink study announce imagine burn beat nod gain press deal manage kiss whisper pray tear worry stretch argue dance acquire dream paint figure knock earn struggle arrest bore smoke kick toss dig cling purchase cook aim smell trace grin borrow shrug entertain hunt invest focus melt contemplate taste consume labor squeeze reason trade shiver groan shove slam scratch negotiate spit blink chew hug smash lick wheel smooth carve spell grind rip pound stroke steer will poke flatter cheat trim sniff blast sue shatter hook sip rage chat scrape joke punch grope pump click wail flip screw puzzle battle mumble drill charm fumble export peel dust plot hammer sort flap twitch chop pry storm slash slice graze forge plow coax wrestle hack hitch crumble tickle con scrub shoulder trick brave dial vibrate bargain skate cram batter pave probe nudge slaughter bat bribe gamble seduce finger fund maneuver bully saw thrash wedge wrinkle nibble mop claw tangle navigate jostle seep petition swap pilot improvise sample stomp inflate ram paw burrow seethe key etch butt discipline

From period 3 onwards: social interac'on (chat, chaAer, joke, kid, nod, quarrel, talk), emo'on (grin, laugh, smile, shrug, laugh), cogni'on (brood, fret, puzzle, think, worry)

16

The path-crea'on sense

• Ini'ally centered on forceful ac'ons

– Pushing, hipng, cupng, etc. – Other regions are more sparsely populated – In line with the diachronic origin of the construc'on: literal crea'on of a physical path

• Over 'me, the distribu'on becomes more even
• More abstract verbs: interac'on, commerce, cogni'on, etc.

17

The path-crea'on sense

• The new verbs tend to refer to increasingly unusual ways to

cause mo'on

• They are especially prone to cause abstract, metaphorical

mo'on, e.g.:

[T]hey talk about Uncle Paul having bought his way into the Senate! By the 'me he was four he could spell his way through his book with only occasional pauses for breath. I sit and watch […], grazing my way through a muffule7a. I saw Wallace Shawn […] lisping his way through a mournful monologue.

• Can be seen as reflec'ng an increase in the schema'city of

the mo'on component of the construc'on

18

The manner sense

19

Verbs describing slow, indirect, or difficult mo'on: thread, trial, weave, wind, plod, toil, tramp, trudge.

1830−1879

go turn bend pour urge climb steal sweep burst wind crowd thrust twist speed stumble tread jerk stride crash trail scramble toil edge plow ply thread wrench paddle plod wriggle plough course jolt

1880−1929

go move drive ride bend hurry urge climb steal sweep swing drag burst flash back wind creep crowd thrust drift brush twist whip retreat tread stoop weave trail scramble grind row trip dodge toil splash bump trample edge shuffle storm writhe limp plow ply thread sift paddle clamber trudge tramp streak squirm plod tiptoe wriggle churn ripple blunder plough

• oze

course jolt loop

1930−1969

go run pass walk fly lean step bend climb sweep drag burst sail fling slide wind crowd thrust swim brush twist dash spin speed stumble flush ease tread sway stoop pace weave crash stamp blink scramble grind pound stagger heat skip bounce roam trip trot stalk jam dodge toil bump edge wade plow ply thread wrench skim paddle filter lurch inch totter thrash plod wriggle churn blunder

• oze

ski course stomp wreathe loop

1970−2009

go turn run move walk step slip climb steal sweep drag flow slide back wind thrust hasten brush twist crawl dash speed stumble ease jerk curl weave blaze rock glide tumble scramble grind pound sneak bounce drip trip stalk hop dodge bump hammer edge bob shuffle wade storm writhe limp plow ply thread swirl sift trudge lurch squirm tack inch thrash waft plod wriggle chafe churn twirl blunder lunge

• oze

strut idle ski course power jolt lug stomp straggle angle

20

Clumsy or unsteady mo'on: blunder, limp, scramble, stagger, stumble, toAer Surrounded by verbs that encode body movements to facilitate mo'on: bend, jerk, lean, lunge, stoop, thrash, twist, wrench, wriggle, writhe

1830−1879

go turn bend pour urge climb steal sweep burst wind crowd thrust twist speed stumble tread jerk stride crash trail scramble toil edge plow ply thread wrench paddle plod wriggle plough course jolt

1880−1929

go move drive ride bend hurry urge climb steal sweep swing drag burst flash back wind creep crowd thrust drift brush twist whip retreat tread stoop weave trail scramble grind row trip dodge toil splash bump trample edge shuffle storm writhe limp plow ply thread sift paddle clamber trudge tramp streak squirm plod tiptoe wriggle churn ripple blunder plough

• oze

course jolt loop

1930−1969

go run pass walk fly lean step bend climb sweep drag burst sail fling slide wind crowd thrust swim brush twist dash spin speed stumble flush ease tread sway stoop pace weave crash stamp blink scramble grind pound stagger heat skip bounce roam trip trot stalk jam dodge toil bump edge wade plow ply thread wrench skim paddle filter lurch inch totter thrash plod wriggle churn blunder

• oze

ski course stomp wreathe loop

1970−2009

go turn run move walk step slip climb steal sweep drag flow slide back wind thrust hasten brush twist crawl dash speed stumble ease jerk curl weave blaze rock glide tumble scramble grind pound sneak bounce drip trip stalk hop dodge bump hammer edge bob shuffle wade storm writhe limp plow ply thread swirl sift trudge lurch squirm tack inch thrash waft plod wriggle chafe churn twirl blunder lunge

• oze

strut idle ski course power jolt lug stomp straggle angle

21

More ‘neutral’ manners of mo'on: walking (stride, strut, <ptoe, walk, ..), rapid mo'on (power, run, speed, ..), liquid mo'on (course, drip, siD, ooze, ..), vehicle/theme (fly, paddle, ply, sail, ski, ..)

1830−1879

go turn bend pour urge climb steal sweep burst wind crowd thrust twist speed stumble tread jerk stride crash trail scramble toil edge plow ply thread wrench paddle plod wriggle plough course jolt

1880−1929

go move drive ride bend hurry urge climb steal sweep swing drag burst flash back wind creep crowd thrust drift brush twist whip retreat tread stoop weave trail scramble grind row trip dodge toil splash bump trample edge shuffle storm writhe limp plow ply thread sift paddle clamber trudge tramp streak squirm plod tiptoe wriggle churn ripple blunder plough

• oze

course jolt loop

1930−1969

go run pass walk fly lean step bend climb sweep drag burst sail fling slide wind crowd thrust swim brush twist dash spin speed stumble flush ease tread sway stoop pace weave crash stamp blink scramble grind pound stagger heat skip bounce roam trip trot stalk jam dodge toil bump edge wade plow ply thread wrench skim paddle filter lurch inch totter thrash plod wriggle churn blunder

• oze

ski course stomp wreathe loop

1970−2009

go turn run move walk step slip climb steal sweep drag flow slide back wind thrust hasten brush twist crawl dash speed stumble ease jerk curl weave blaze rock glide tumble scramble grind pound sneak bounce drip trip stalk hop dodge bump hammer edge bob shuffle wade storm writhe limp plow ply thread swirl sift trudge lurch squirm tack inch thrash waft plod wriggle chafe churn twirl blunder lunge

• oze

strut idle ski course power jolt lug stomp straggle angle

22

The manner sense

• Difficult mo'on = seman'c ‘core’ of the construc'on

(Goldberg 1995) – Stable throughout the last 180 years – Several high-frequency members – Source of produc'vity: unsteady mo'on, body movements

• Non-difficult mo'on more prominent in later periods
• Likely interpreta'on: increase in schema'city of the verb slot,

from difficult mo'on to general manner of mo'on

23

The incidental-ac'vity sense

24

High seman'c diversity from the start Sound emission dominates in later periods: noise (bang, creak, crunch, thump), speech (babble, chaAer, joke, swear, talk), cry (bellow, howl, roar, scream, shriek), other human sounds (grunt, sigh, sob, whine, yawn)

1830−1879

eat shoot sing drink sound bow shriek wail crackle fuss crunch

1880−1929

laugh smile eat sing sound kiss worry dance beg swear bore kick dig weep roar tap sob crash bang sniff cough grunt giggle yawn splash puff flicker whine vibrate thump smear squeak fiddle babble hoot

1930−1969

talk laugh lie smile eat shoot sing drink burn kiss dance swear bow sigh complain scream dig brush roar tap curse groan slam blaze whistle shudder chuckle growl bang shriek blast cough wink howl joke devour sweat wail chant mumble grumble grunt waver hush giggle squint yawn puff sneer twitch chatter whine rumble thump holler spray bellow creak whimper fuss squeal drum crunch babble

1970−2009

talk play laugh smile eat sing sleep suffer thank drink burn shout kiss whisper dance shine dream bow sigh smoke kick weep grin bite preach twist roar gasp murder tap curse pat groan slam crash whistle shudder rattle apologize tip bang hum blast howl joke fish punch sweat click grumble grunt thunder water yawn splash puff chatter throb snarl thump bristle clatter stink creak spark bully smear thrash vomit claw exasperate squeak sneeze screech crunch babble

25

The incidental-ac'vity sense

• Likely to be highly schema'c from the start

– No clear seman'c core in the distribu'on – High seman'c diversity from the start – Construc'onal meaning is rather open

• Increase in produc'vity, no increase in schema'city

– Prominence of sound emission in mid and late 20th century – Probably explained by higher compa'bility with schema – But not from the start (contra Israel 1996)

26

Conclusions

• Produc'vity and schema'city of the way-construc'on

– Substan'al distribu'onal changes in the 19th and 20th centuries for all three senses of the construc'on – Likely to correspond to higher schema'city for two senses

• The usefulness of distribu'onal seman'c plots

– Close examina'on of the seman'c spread of a construc'on over 'me – Makes it possible to inform hypotheses about schema'city

27

Thank you! florent.perek@gmail.com hBp://www.fperek.net

Davies, M. (2010). The Corpus of Historical American English: 400 million words, 1810-2009. Available online at hBp://corpus.byu.edu/coha/ Firth, J.R. (1957). A synopsis of linguis'c theory 1930-1955. In Studies in Linguis<c Analysis, pp. 1-32. Oxford: Philological Society. Goldberg, A. (1995). Construc<ons: A construc<on grammar approach to argument structure. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Israel, M. (1996). The way construc'ons grow. In A. Goldberg (ed.), Conceptual structure, discourse and language. Stanford, CA: CSLI Publica'ons, 217-230. Miller, G. & W. Charles (1991). Contextual correlates of seman'c similarity. Language and Cogni<ve Processes, 6(1), 1-28. Mondorf, B. (2011). Varia'on and change in English resulta've construc'ons. Language Varia<on and Change, 22, 397–421. Perek, F. (2014). Vector spaces for historical linguis'cs: Using distribu'onal seman'cs to study syntac'c produc'vity in diachrony. In Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Mee<ng of the Associa<on for Computa<onal Linguis<cs, Bal<more, Maryland USA, June 23-25 2014. Perek, F. (2016). Using distribu'onal seman'cs to study syntac'c produc'vity in diachrony: A case study. Linguis<cs, 54(1), 149–188. TraugoB, E. & G. Trousdale (2013). Construc<onaliza<on and Construc<onal Changes. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Van der Maaten, L. & Hinton, G. (2008). Visualizing Data using t-SNE. Journal of Machine Learning Research, 9, 2579-2605.

28