What is it about?
Nominals like 'a red box' are formed by regular processes, but nominals like 'that big a box' and 'a nutcracker of a headache' are not. Their formation shows a mixture of regularity and idiosyncracy. The article provides a framework in which that interaction of regularity and idiosyncracy can be modelled and in which the degree of idiosyncracy can be measured.
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Why is it important?
It is important to understand how the regular and the idiosyncratic interact in the formation of phrases and sentences, since much of the combinatorics in language is neither completely regular nor completely irregular. The article provides a contribution to that understanding, using the English nominals for exemplification. This is relevant for both theoretical and applied linguistics.
Perspectives
The article combines insights from Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar and Construction Grammar. It is a synthesis of various talks that I gave at conferences, workshops and summer schools.
Frank Van Eynde
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Regularity and idiosyncracy in the formation of nominals, Journal of Linguistics, March 2018, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/s0022226718000129.
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