Rhetorical schemes and Construction Grammar
Abstract
Abstract Formal rhetorical figures (schemes) have been largely neglected by Construction Grammar (CxG). The losses of this omission are substantial. Like metaphors, schemes leverage general-purpose neurocognitive principles and evoke communicative functions. They give utterances salience and memorability, making them highly compatible with usage-based models, and they align form with function. Their association with ludic functions also makes them of considerable interest to creativity-of-everyday-language linguists. Focusing on inverse-repetition figures (exemplified by “all for one and one for all”) and a few collocate figures, this paper argues for integrating rhetorical schemes much more fully into CxG.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Language
Metaphor
and Cognition
Syntax
Semantics
Linguistic Variation
Swearing
Euphemism
Multilingualism
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Constructions and Frames
- Publisher
- John Benjamins Publishing Company
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 100–138
- Publication date
- 8 January 2026
- Language
- EN