On the Polysemy of Ditransitive Save: The Role of Frame Semantics in Construction Grammar

Abstract

Save can encode different meanings in the same syntactic configuration. This article investigates the semantics of ditransitive save within the framework of Construction Grammar. Armed with frame semantics, a constructional approach is expected to encompass relatively idiosyncratic cases including ditransitive save. It is shown that this advantage cannot be obtained unless we have a proper conception of what it is like for frame-semantic meaning to be rich. This study introduces three background frames with fairly specific information, which is justified on the grounds that the present approach can succeed where approaches ignoring these frames fail. © 1998, The English Linguistic Society of Japan. All rights reserved.