Cognitive approaches to grammar in context

This chapter presents some explicit comparisons between cognitive, generative and functional-typological approaches to grammar. It compares by setting out the assumptions, aims and methodology adopted by each of the three broad traditions, and by comparing the models according to these parameters. The chapter presents an overview of the characteristics of generative approaches to grammar. It describes Transformational Grammar and Kay and Fillmore&s;s Construction Grammar as extreme poles on a continuum of &s;broadly generative&s; theories, given the substantial differences between them. The chapter presents a comparative discussion of cognitive and generative approaches to core issues in the study of grammar, including word classes, constituency, grammatical functions and case, and tense, aspect, mood and voice. In the cognitive model, generalisations result from recurring patterns of usage that enable the speaker to arrive at a &s;higher-order&s; schema. In Cognitive Grammar, component structures are described as immanent in the complex grammatical construction, regardless of whether the compositionality is recognised by the speaker.