Contingency and prototypicality

This paper offers some observations on the learning of argument structure constructions as well as recommendations for teaching argument structure constructions to intermediate to advanced learners, notably argument structure constructions that could be considered to alternate such as the intransitive non-causative construction (INCCx) and the transitive causative construction (TCCx). Our aim is to show that for such schematic argument constructions, generalisations emerge from the interaction between the verb, its arguments and the construction(s) they occur in. Through a distributional semantics analysis of the themes (the argument in subject position in the INCCx and object position in the TCCx), we start by identifying constructional meaning for each construction. Then, through computational simulations of learning we identify which elements in the constructions are the most reliable cues for learners to choose one or the other construction. This work is inspired by constructional approaches to language (e.g., Goldberg, 1995 ) and learning theory (for linguistics, e.g., Skinner, 1957 ). Through our constructional approach and learning simulations, we identify characteristics for each construction that can be used to teach learners the use of each construction generally. We also observe that the TCCx appears easier to learn and potentially more productive than the INCCx and provide examples of pedagogical materials.