Fragments

Team

• Javier Pérez-Guerra (PI)
• Yolanda Fernández-Pena
• Ana Elina Martínez-Insua
• Rosalía Rodríguez-Vázquez
• Laura Abalo-Dieste
• Claudia de la Iglesia Sanjuán

Affiliated members: Martin Hilpert, Gunther Kaltenböck, Jong-Bok Kim, Anne McCabe & Sasha Ann Calhoun

 

The project

Fragments constitute a challenge for linguistic theories as far as the relationship between form and meaning is concerned since, despite their fragmentary syntax, these structures convey meanings equivalent to complete sentences or clauses in specific linguistic and/or contextual situations. Also, fragments perform a wide range of speech acts (ask/answer, show (dis)agreement). Due to their characteristics and functions, fragments are located at the intersection between the grammar and the pragmatic-discursive level, an aspect that they share with so-called 'thetical' constructions.

Starting from the idea that thetical structures and fragments share properties such as (i) syntactic and/or prosodic independence, (ii) compliance with grammatical norms applicable to complete sentences (in 'Sentence Grammar') and, above all, (iii) a non-restrictive interpretation dependent on the discursive situation, the concept of fragment in this project gives room to constructions of Thetical Grammar, such as parentheticals and independent subordinate (insubordinate) clauses.

Another weak point in the study of the fragments in English, which constitutes one of the most relevant contributions of this project, is the adoption of the theoretical framework of Construction Grammar, which conceives language as a network of constructions, that is, of semantic and/or discursive form/function pairings in which the form/function is not strictly predictable from the components of the expressions, and rejects the existence of a deep syntactic structure. The combination of formal analyses (syntactic, structural, prosodic and purely distributive characteristics based on frequency and productivity) based on written (and oral) corpora, and the functional study of fragments will determine the degree of matching ('pairing') that justifies treating these expressions as 'constructions'.

 

Publications

2023

• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda & Javier Pérez-Guerra. A corpus-based analysis of the enriched interpretation of why-fragments in contemporary British English. In Proceedings of the 45^th International Conference AEDEAN. 
• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda & Javier Pérez-Guerra. An ecology of fragmentary constructions in English: A corpus-driven cognitive categorisation. Springer.
• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda & Javier Pérez-Guerra. Why why-fragments? A corpus-based constructionist analysis of their form and meaning. In Stefania Maci & Giovanni Garofalo (eds.), Investigating discourse & translation: Corpus-assisted analytical perspectives. Bern: Peter Lang.
• Rodríguez-Vázquez, Rosalía & Claudia de la Iglesia Sanjuán. 2023. The intonation of directive (in)subordinate if-clauses in American English: A corpus study. In Stefania Maci & Giovanni Garofalo (eds.), Investigating discourse & translation: Corpus-assisted analytical perspectives. Bern: Peter Lang.

2022

• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda. 2022. An analysis of fragments in Present-Day written and spoken English. In Francisco Gallardo-del-Puerto, Mª del Carmen Camus Camus & Jesús Ángel González-López (eds.), Moving beyond the pandemic: English and American studies in Spain, 56-64. Santander: Editorial de la Universidad de Cantabria. ISBN: 978-84-19024-15-2. doi: 10.22429/Euc2022.034
• Kaltenböck, Gunther & Evelien Keizer. 2022. Insubordinate if-clauses in FDG: Degrees of independence. Open Linguistics 8. 675-698.

2021

• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda. 2021. Towards an empirical characterisation and a corpus-driven taxonomy of fragments in written contemporary English. RÆL, Revistælectrónica de Lingüística Aplicada, 20(1). 136-154.
• Kaltenböck, Gunther. 2021. Funny you should say that: On the use of semi-insubordination in English. Constructions and Frames 13(1). 126-159.

 

Conference presentations

2023

• Abalo-Dieste, Laura. "A corpus-based study of colloquialisation strategies in Present-Day British English". Modelling the linguistic architecture of English: Cognitive and empirical developments (Modelling2023), University of Vigo (Spain).
• Abalo-Dieste, Laura. "A corpus-driven study of proxies for register levelling in Present-Day British English". Corpus Linguistics 2023 Conference, Lancaster University (United Kingdom).
• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda. "Modelling the constructionalisation of why-fragments in recent diachrony". Modelling the linguistic architecture of English: Cognitive and empirical developments (Modelling2023), University of Vigo (Spain).
• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda & Ana Elina Martínez-Insua. "Are they thematic? A systemic functional analysis of fragments in English". 14^th International Conference of Corpus Linguistics (CILC2023), University of Oviedo (Spain).
• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda & Javier Pérez-Guerra. "A constructionist account of why-fragments". Fun*Cog Meeting, University of Vienna (Austria).
• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda & Javier Pérez-Guerra. "Why deal with why- and Mad-Magazine fragments? Modelling allostructional variation in contemporary English". 14^th International Conference of Corpus Linguistics (CILC2023), University of Oviedo (Spain).
• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda & Javier Pérez-Guerra. "Us investigate fragments today? Why why- and Mad-Magazine fragments in contemporary English?". Corpus Linguistics 2023 Conference, Lancaster University (United Kingdom).
• Mustafa, Ozan & Gunther Kaltenböck. "Last I heard: On the use of evidential last I fragments". Fun*Cog Meeting, University of Vienna (Austria).

2022

• Abalo-Dieste, Laura. "Screening colloquialisation strategies in the recent diachrony2. 45^th International Conference of the Spanish Association of Anglo-American Studies (AEDEAN). University of Extremadura (Spain).
• Abalo-Dieste, Laura. “Colloquialisation and informality: A corpus-driven taxonomy of linguistic features”. 13^th International Conference of Corpus Linguistics (CILC2022). University of Bergamo (Italy).
• Abalo-Dieste, Laura. "Fragments as proxies for colloquialisation in contemporary English2. 4^th Seminar in English Studies (IV SEING 2022). University of Zaragoza (Spain).
• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda. “Fragments: Constructionalising non-canonical expressions in written Present-Day English”. Listening to the Voices That Count: LVTC research seminars, University of Vigo (Spain).
• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda & Javier Pérez-Guerra. “Fragments in written and spoken Present-Day English: A corpus-driven constructional account”. Grammar and Corpora 2022 Conference, University of Ghent (Belgium).
• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda & Javier Pérez-Guerra. “Non-formulaic highly/partially conventionalised fragments in written English: A corpus-driven taxonomy”. 9^th Biennial International Conference on the Linguistics of Contemporary English (BICLCE9), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia).
• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda & Javier Pérez-Guerra. “Constructionalising non-canonical expressions in recent diachrony: A corpus-based study of fragments in English”. 45^th AEDEAN International Conference, University of Extremadura (Spain).
• Kaltenböck, Gunther & Ozan Mustafa. "Ellipsis as addition: The case of semi-insubordination". 9^th Biennial International Conference on the Linguistics of Contemporary English (BICLCE9), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia).
• Pérez-Guerra, Javier. "A corpus-friendly analysis of fragmentary constructions in English". Corpus linguistics and applied linguistics research 2022.
• Pérez-Guerra, Javier & Yolanda Fernández-Pena. "Why why-fragments? A corpus-based constructional analysis of their form and meaning". 13^th Conference on Corpus Linguistics (CILC 2022), University of Bergamo (Italy).

• Rodríguez-Vázquez, Rosalía & Claudia de la Iglesia Sanjuán. 2022. "A corpus study of the intonation contours of insubordinate if-clauses in spoken American English". 13^th Conference on Corpus Linguistics (CILC 2022), University of Bergamo (Italy).

2021

2020

• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda & Javier Pérez-Guerra. "Sentence/clause fragments in written Present-Day English". Fun*Cog Meeting, University of Vienna (Austria).

 

Videos

• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda. "Towards a corpus-driven taxonomy of fragments in Present-Day written English". 12^th International Conference on Corpus Linguistics (CILC 2021), University of Murcia (Spain).

• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda & Laura Abalo-Dieste. "Fragmentary constructions as proxies for colloquialisation in Present-Day written English". 12^th International Conference of Corpus Linguistics (CILC2021). University of Murcia (Spain).

• Pérez-Guerra, Javier. "A corpus-friendly analysis of fragmentary constructions in English". Corpus linguistics and applied linguistics research 2022.

 

Events

2023

• Kim, Jong-Bok. Research seminar "Why Construction Grammar?". University of Vigo.

• Research seminar "Fragments". University of Vigo.

• Kim, Jong-Bok. "How to respond to negative polar questions: A theoretical, and experimental study".

• Martínez-Insua, Ana Elina & Yolanda Fernández-Pena. "Exploring the thematic structure of fragments in English".

• Rodríguez Vázquez, Rosalía & Claudia de la Iglesia Sanjuán. "(In)subordinate if-clauses in spoken American English: Intonation and degree of directiveness".

• Abalo-Dieste, Laura. "A corpus-driven study of proxies for register levelling in Present-Day British English".

• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda & Javier Pérez-Guerra. "Tell me why... why- and Mad-Magazine fragments in contemporary English".

• Rama Martínez, Esperanza. "Fragments in institutional interaction: A research proposal focused on trials".

2022

• Fernández-Pena, Yolanda, Gunther Kaltenböck & Javier Pérez-Guerra. "Workshop: Fragments: Construction and reconstruction" at the 9^th Biennial International Conference on the Linguistics of Contemporary English (BICLCE9), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia).