On Multiple Paths and Change in the Language Network

Kurzfassung/Abstract

Recent work in Diachronic Construction Grammar (DCxG) has foregrounded the importance of multiple sources of a particular construction, as well as promoting the idea that constructions are organised as a network of knowledge. The research presented in this article explores the ways in which multiple sources play a role at various stages in constructional change, and the effects of this on the structure of the language network. We aim to show how an account of language structure that focuses on links between constructions may be useful in tracking the various stages in the development of a new construction.