Abstract:

In recent years, the study of Multimodal Construction Grammar has received increasing attention. Against this background, this paper first provides an analysis of the rationale behind studies of Multimodal Construction Grammar, including two basic tenets of Construction Grammar: a usage-based approach to constructions and constructional meaning as conceptualization. Second, it summarizes the research framework, which involves the following elements: (1) the form and meaning of verbal constructions, (2) the form and meaning of gestures, (3) the formal relationship between gestures and verbal constructions, (4) the semantic relationship between gestures and verbal constructions, and (5) the conventionality of multimodal form-meaning pairings. Furthermore, a case analysis of a multimodal modal particle construction in German is provided to illustrate how this framework can be applied to examine the multimodality of constructions. After that, the theoretical implications of these studies are discussed. Multimodal constructional studies provide a new and more direct tool for exploring the meaning of constructions and help in reconsidering the nature of linguistic structures and broadening the scope of constructions. Finally, a number of theoretical and empirical challenges are raised; for instance, the criteria for defining multimodal constructions are still somewhat fuzzy, and research methods on multimodal constructions are still not quantitative or diversified enough.

Keywords: construction grammar; multimodal construction; gesture; speech

摘要：

近年来,构式语法研究出现了多模态转向,多模态构式语法研究成为该领域新的研究动向。本文结合构式语法理论的使用观和意义观,概述了多模态构式研究的理论渊源和研究框架,并在评述现有研究的基础上,展望多模态构式语法研究的发展前景。多模态构式研究为考察构式义提供了新的观测窗口,有助于更完整地分析构式义,拓展构式概念的内涵,从而能够丰富和完善构式语法理论。同时,当前的多模态构式研究也存在多模态构式标准模糊、研究方法不够客观等问题。

关键词: 构式语法, 多模态构式, 手势, 言语