Construction Grammar and Usage-Based Theory

Construction Grammar (CxG) is the main approach to grammatical description and theory in cognitive linguistics. The core tenets of CxG can indeed be seen to directly follow from how domain-general cognitive abilities shape the organization of grammar during language use. The constructional approach to grammatical description can be broadly summarized in terms of the following three main tenets: grammar consists entirely of learned pairings of form with meaning (or function), that is, constructions; a construction can be defined at any level of complexity and generality; and constructions are linked to each other in a vast network. In a usage-based approach to language, the mental representation of grammar in the mind of individual speakers is taken to emerge from actual language use. The view that grammar is shaped by usage opens many avenues to explain and predict aspects of linguistic structure from usage data.