Prosodic Constructions

Nigel G. Ward

Chapter 13 of the Cambridge Handbook of Construction Grammar, Mirjam Fried and Kiki Nikiforidou, editors, Cambridge University Press, 2025.

pdf, by permission of Cambridge University Press.

This chapter provides a concise overview of prosodic constructions, written for a linguistics audience.

Abstract: Spoken language exhibits not only grammatical constructions but also prosodic constructions. This chapter illustrates the properties of prosodic constructions with illustrations from American English. While these are, like grammatical constructions, form-function mappings, there are also differences: prosodic constructions involve temporal configurations of diverse prosodic features, their functions are primarily pragmatics-related and interactional, they can be present to a greater or lesser degree, and they are frequently superimposed and aligned in complex ways with other prosodic constructions and with grammatical constructions.

A prosodic construction

a) is a set of prosodic features,

b) in a specific temporal configuration,

c) with a meaning,

d) that is used in certain contexts,

e) that can be present to a greater or lesser degree,

f) that can appear superimposed with other form-meaning mappings,

g) that can inherit aspects of form and meaning from other constructions, and

h) that may include behaviors by both speakers.

Figure 7: Essential Properties of Prosodic Constructions