Linguistic analysis reveals a retrospective sense of the English preposition 'from' across three distinct constructions, indicating its grounding in mental recall and pragmatics.
Key Points
To identify and formalize the previously undescribed retrospective sense of the English preposition 'from' using Cognitive Grammar.
Analyzed structural and semantic properties across two noun phrase patterns, [NP1 from NP2], and one cognitive verb pattern, [V cognition verb NP1 from NP2].
Modeled discursive and pragmatic meanings strictly using Cognitive Grammar theoretical constructs.
Showed that [NP1 from NP2] denotes an existential starting point located either within an individual's personal memory or in external reality.
Demonstrated that the verbal pattern [V cognition verb NP1 from NP2] overtly signals an active mental search through episodic memory.
Confirmed that the retrospective sense functions discursively and pragmatically without requiring theoretical constructs outside of Cognitive Grammar.