Combining Signs in Sign-Based Construction Grammar: What’s in an Idiom? | CU Experts

Abstract; ; This article revisits Charles Fillmore’s vision of the lexicon as the control center of grammar, advancing the claim that idioms are ordinary linguistic objects. Within Sign-Based Construction Grammar (SBCG), idiomatic expressions – whether fixed phrases, idiomatically combining forms, or formal idioms – are modeled as typed feature structures licensed by lexical entries and constructions. This unified architecture dissolves the traditional boundary between words and rules; in it, idioms occupy distinct points along a continuum of lexical fixity rather than standing outside the grammar. Through analyses of fixed expressions like; in the know; , idiomatically combining forms such as causative; have; , and formal idioms like the Split Interrogative, the paper demonstrates how SBCG integrates idiomaticity into a general theory of sign combination, fulfilling Fillmore’s goal of a grammar grounded in the structure of the lexicon.;

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