80 |
construction, where there is still a physical
action being performed, in the
BLAME
schema
there need not be any physical action or motion.
Another instance of an LVC is a construction with
lanzar
combined with
ataque
‘attack’. There is only one example in the 400-sentence corpus. This
MOVANT
occurs more
often in the collostructional analysis, discussed in §4.2.5.
(87)
LANZARON
un ataque tras otro.
(CdE:19-N, Mex:Yucatán:97Jun20)
‘They
LAUNCHED
one attack after another.’
Lanzar
un ataque
means ‘to launch an attack’. In this example,
lanzar
expresses the
beginning of an action, very similar to the inchoative verb phrases. This notion of beginning
is in large part due to the nature of
ataque
‘attack’. Attacks
are understood as having a
beginning (potentially a middle) and an end. If an attack is set into motion (as in 87) then we
quite naturally focus on the beginning portion of the action. An analysis of how the
inchoative meaning is derived from the concept of motion is detailed in §4.3.5.
The nonphysical
MOVANTS
in the data do not always participate in LVCs. There are
other constructions that occur with
arrojar
and
echar
that help to explain the relatively high
number of nonphysical
MOVANTS
with each verb.
Arrojar
appears in two constructions that
take up a
majority of its nonphysical
MOVANTS
. The first is the
PRODUCING DATA
construction, discussed in §4.1. In this schema, the
MOVANT
position is filled by nouns that
refer to information or numerical data. The meaning expressed is one of a source of
information producing information.
Arrojar
also
occurs with the noun
luz
16
. The phrase
arrojar luz
corresponds to the
English phrase ‘shed light’; it means ‘to clarify a complicated situation’ (DDFH).
(CdE:19-F, Carta Abierta a una Pérfida)
(88)
… que
ARROJE
luz sobre el porqué he perdido los dones de su corazón.
‘That she
SHED
light on why I have lost the gifts of her heart. ‘
(CdE:19-N, España:ABC)
(89)
…estos fragmentos
ARROJAN
luz sobre la historia judía…
‘These fragments
SHED
light on Jewish history.’
The
SHED LIGHT
construction uses
luz
‘light’ to reference knowledge. Something that
is lit up is seen, and if it can be seen then it is known. It is this metaphor that takes the literal
meaning of light and produces a construction referring to knowledge.
This construction is
highly specific semantically and syntactically. The
INITIATOR
is any source of information, be
16
Light cannot be touched or handled, and therefore fits our definition of nonphysical.
81 |
it an individual (88) or a document (89). The
MOVANT
is always the noun
luz ‘
light’. The
DIRECTIONAL
is introduced by the preposition
sobre
‘over/on’. Light
is metaphorically moved
over some type of situation.
This is an example of an encoding idiom (Fillmore et al. 1988 citing Makkai 1972). A
speaker must learn that this specific
combination of
arrojar
with
luz
‘light’ is the
conventional way of expressing the meaning ‘to clarify’. But it is
likely that a speaker who
hears this phrase for the first time could understand it perfectly (Fillmore et al. 1988:505,
Goldberg 1995:155).
The phrase is also highly motivated. First of all, the appearance of the noun
luz ‘
light’
is motivated by other phrases in Spanish that refer to knowledge or thinking. The following
are some example phrases with the literal translation and their definition.
(90)
a buena luz
‘With reflection, attentively’ (DRAE)
at good light
(91)
dar a luz
17
‘Publish a piece of work’ (DRAE)
give to light
(92)
sacar a la luz
‘Discover, manifest, make apparent what was hidden’
(DRAE)
Take out to the light
The above examples are only a sampling: there are in fact many other phrases with
luz
‘light’ that reference knowledge or information in one way or another. These phrases
motivate the use of this noun in the
SHED LIGHT
constructions.
The choice of verb can also be motivated. There are two constructions with
arrojar
that refer to information and knowledge: the
PRODUCING DATA
construction and the
SHED
LIGHT
construction. Even though the constructions are syntactically
and semantically quite
distinct, they share the fact that they refer to information. This allows one construction to
motivate another (or the constructions to motivate each other). Say a speaker first learns the
PRODUCING DATA
construction. If she then learns the
SHED LIGHT
construction, she can
motivate the use of
arrojar
since she already has one construction for producing information
with the same verb.
The combination of
echar
with nonphysical
MOVANTS
also signals special
constructions and meanings. The
BLAME
and
LOOKS
constructions discussed above account
for most of the nonphysical
MOVANTS
. But there are also other
constructions involving
17
It also means ‘to give birth’ (DRAE)
