ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the prototype structure of syntactic constructions. Syntactic construction is roughly equivalent to sentence pattern, or, as the case may be, phrasal pattern. It addresses the relevance of prototype categorization to linguistic inquiry, and substantiate, on the example of the lexical category adjective, author's claim that prototype effects pervade even the most basic categories of linguistic description. The chapter considers some evidence for the status of constructions as objects of speaker knowledge. It discusses some prototype effects associated with constructions. The chapter mentions a characteristic of prototype categories that concerns the fuzziness of their boundaries. It focuses on syntactic constructions, that is, established patterns for the syntagmatic combination of smaller units into larger configurations. Syntactic constructions characterized in both their formal and their semantic aspects. The chapter produces some reasons for supporting this assumption that knowledge of a language consists very largely in knowledge of constructions and their properties.
