At-constructions in English : a cognitive historical perspective

This paper provides a cognitive historical analysis of expressions using the preposition at, or at-constructions, in English.In this paper, it is proposed that at-constructions have a general construction schema indicating backgrounding of the end portion of a whole movement or action.This schema is motivated by the bodily experience of directing attention to something and cognitive prominence among focused entities.Because at has been used frequently to describe these fundamental cognitive processes, it is argued that, due to the conserving effect (Bybee ( 2006)), the constructional meaning of at-constructions has been observed throughout the history of English, in contrast with the relevant descriptions in the Oxford English Dictionary and the Middle English Dictionary.