Call for papers

BCGL 8: The grammar of idioms

CRISSP (KU Leuven) and UiL OTS (Universiteit Utrecht), as part of the joint NWO/FWO
project ‘The Syntax of Idioms’, are proud to present the 8th Brussels Conference on Generative
Linguistics: The grammar of idioms.

Workshop description

According to the Fregean principle of compositionality, the meaning of a complex expression is

determined by the meanings of its parts and the rules used to combine them. This principle is
flouted in the case of idioms (cf. Katz & Postal 1963; Fraser 1970; Katz 1973; Chomsky 1980;
Machonis 1985; Schenk 1994; Grégoire 2009; among others). Every language contains
idiomatic expressions which, by definition, denote a meaning that is not simply derivable from
(the combination of) the meanings of the individual lexical items of that expression. A canonical
example is kick the bucket, the meaning of which has nothing to do with either kicking or
buckets; it simply means ‘to die’. The existence of such expressions within natural language
gives rise to many questions which have puzzled linguists for years, such as how these phrases
are formed syntactically, whether they are restricted to certain structural domains, or how it is
that we are able to deduce the idiomatic interpretation of such phrases despite there being no
clues as to their meanings within any of the individual lexical items that comprise these
expressions.
The purpose of this workshop is to discuss and explore the phenomenon of idioms with
the aim of gaining better theoretical and empirical insights into how such expressions are able to
occur within natural language, and what sorts of rules of language they are governed by. More
specifically, issues that we would like to see addressed at this workshop include, but are not
limited to, the following:

Syntax
-­‐ The “size” and building blocks of idioms: Is there a size limitation to idioms? That is,
aside from verbs and their arguments, can idioms be comprised of any other syntactic
material? Can they also be built from tense, modality, aspect, or passive voice, for
instance, or material from the CP domain? Are there nominal, adjectival or
prepositional idiomatic expressions besides the more familiar verbal/clausal ones?
What implications might this have for the theory of idiomatic constructions (cf.
Chomsky 1980, 1981; Marantz 1984; McGinnis 2002; Svenonius 2005; Hoeksema
2010; Harwood 2013, 2014)?
-­‐ The opacity and transparency of idioms: How do opacity and compositionality interact
in idioms? Are they completely frozen structureless atoms or are they built up by the
same (or similar) syntactic and morphological structure building mechanisms that are
responsible for non-idiomatic expressions? What is the internal organization and
makeup of idioms? What is their external syntax, i.e. how does material contained
within the idiom interact with material that is not part of the idiom (cf. Makkai 1972;
DiSciullo & Williams 1987; Marantz 1984; Fellbaum 1993; Nunberg et al. 1994; Van
Gestel 1995; Ifill 2002)?
-­‐ Idioms and syntactic diversity: Can we attest micro- and macro-variation in the syntax
of idiomatic expressions and if so, where? Do different languages allow different sizes
of idioms and/or different syntactic behaviour of idioms? What implications does this
have for the theory of idioms in particular, and what does this tell us about cross-
 linguistic variation in general (cf. Everaert 1996; Hoeksema 1996, 2010; Hoekstra
2009; Fellbaum 2014; Fellbaum et al. 2003)?
-­‐ How should idioms be defined? Where does one draw the line between an idiom and
simply a fixed expression such as a well-known metaphor? Does a discontinuous idiom
constitute an idiomatic expression in the same way that a continuous idiom does?
Should opaque/non-compositional idioms be considered apart from
transparent/compositional idioms? Should idioms that exhibit syntactic or lexical
flexibility be considered alike with inflexible idioms (cf. Chomsky 1981; Nunberg et al.
1994; O’Grady 1998; Ifill 2002; Svenonius 2005; Grégoire 2009; Hoeksema 2010)?

Semantics
-­‐ The meaning of idioms: Exactly how is the meaning of an idiomatic construction
derived when it follows in no (obvious) way from the meanings of any of the individual
lexical items that comprise it? Are idioms stored in our mental lexicon, and if so, how
(cf. Chafe 1968; Bach 1974; Fellbaum 1993; Nunberg et al. 1994; Jackendoff 1997;
Marantz 1997a,b; Ifill 2002; Svenonius 2005; Grégoire 2009)?

Processing
-­‐ How are idiomatic expressions processed? What is the role of literal processing during
the interpretation of idiomatic expressions? Can idiomatic meaning be accessed directly,
or is literal processing crucial in the access of idiomatic meaning? What is the role of
structural, lexical, and contextual factors in the retrieval, interpretation of, and
processing of idiomatic expressions? How do syntactic compatibility, lexical
compatibility, and contextual expectations influence real-time processing of idioms and
their non-idiomatic counterparts (cf. Swinney and Cutler 1979; Cacciari and Tabossi
1988; Gibbs & Nayak 1989; Cutting and Bock 1997; Sprenger, Levelt & Kempen
2006; Holsinger 2011, to appear)?

Diachrony and Acquisition

-­‐ Diachronically speaking, when and how does an expression become an idiom? How
does an idiom form?
-­‐ How are idioms acquired by L1 learners of a language (cf. Elbers 1989)?

Invited speakers
Christiane D. Fellbaum (Princeton)
Louise McNally (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
Manfred Sailer (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main)

Abstract guidelines

Abstracts should not exceed two pages, including data, references and diagrams. Abstracts
should be typed in at least 11-point font, with one-inch margins (letter-size; 8½ inch by 11 inch
or A4) and a maximum of 50 lines of text per page. Abstracts must be anonymous and
submissions are limited to 2 per author, at least one of which is co-authored. Only electronic
submissions will be accepted. Please submit your abstract using the EasyChair link for BCGL8:
https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=bcgl8
Important dates

• First call for papers: January 21, 2015

• Second call for papers: February 15, 2015
• Abstract submission deadline: March 15, 2015
• Notification of acceptance: April 15, 2015
• Conference: June 4-5, 2015

Conference location
CRISSP – KU Leuven Brussels Campus
Warmoesberg 26
1000 Brussels
Belgium

Organizing institutions
Center for Research in Syntax, Semantics & Phonology (CRISSP) – KU Leuven
Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS (UiL OTS) – Universiteit Utrecht

Conference organisers
Eefje Boef
Norbert Corver
Jeroean van Craenenbroeck
William Harwood
Tanja Temmerman
Danny Jaspers
Guido Vanden Wyngaerd
Marijke De Belder
Koen Roelandt
Jolijn Sonnaert

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