“How do you like this construction?”: A corpus-based analysis
In the field of Cognitive Grammar the focus of study has shifted from the abstract
universals of Generative Grammar to language-specific constructions and schemas. Each
schema serves to illustrate both a cognitive process and its functional use. Cognitive
Grammar seeks to explain grammatical structure not only as a matter of abstract symbol
manipulation, but as matter of usage that is intimately tied to cognitive processes and
discourse function. Therefore, there is no construction too big or too small to be of value
since every piece of the puzzle serves to illustrate how speakers communicate their
mental spaces, representations and construal of events.
Hence in the present paper we focus on a related cluster of constructions
exemplified by the central construction “How do/does/did PRO like X?” where X
represents a grounded nominal, a gerund or a finite clause. We also explore the related
constructions “How would PRO like X?” and “How is/are/am PRO liking X?” Through
our analysis, we show how the various post-like elements influence the interpretation and
the sort of information expected in response from the listener. We categorize these
questions broadly by which kind of answer is intended: manner or extent. Extent
questions ask for the degree to which the subject of the clause likes or dislikes the postlike element on a scale from extreme dislike to extreme preference (e.g. How do you like
your new office? I hate it! vs. When it has a nice view). Manner questions, on the other
hand, are not on a scale and ask for the specific way in which the subject prefers the postlike element (e.g. How do you like your eggs in the morning? Scrambled vs. A lot!).
Through an exhaustive corpus-based analysis, we explore the cognitive
interpretations of these interrogatives from a situated pragmatic standpoint. We also show
how the specificity of the post-like element plays a crucial role in determining the
interpretation of a construction. This can easily be observed in the following examples:
(1) How do you like the/this/that coffee? It’s great (extent) BUT NOT I like it black
(manner)
(2) How do/does you/he/she like your/his/her coffee? It’s great (extent) AND I like it
with fat free milk (manner)
The interpretation of these constructions depends entirely on each of the
constituents forming them. As we demonstrate in the paper, the more specific the post-like
element is, the more chances there are that a given question is interpreted as an extent question.
We argue that the inclusion of a specific element or the degree of elaboration of the postlike element prefers an extent interpretation and does not allow for a manner
interpretation (1). Conversely, the inclusion of more ambiguous elements, such as a
personal pronoun plus its matching possessive pronoun, allows for both interpretations:
extent and manner, as we can observe in (2). Through our analysis we hope to shed some
light on the cognitive processes and pragmatic decisions involved in this seemingly
simple interrogative.