The Metaphorical Shift in English Light Verb Extensions

Light Verb Constructions (e.g. to give an explanation, to make a call; hence, LVCs) have been a highly discussed topic in linguistic research since Jespersen’s definition of the concept (1942: 117-118). More recently, a formally similar pattern called “Light Verb Extensions” has emerged (hence, LVEs). Like LVCs, they stem from the combination of a verb and an eventive noun; unlike LVCs, they exploit lexical verbs that, under certain syntagmatic conditions, are turned into aspectual devices (e.g. to cultivate a hobby, to launch a project, to deliver a speech). The present contribution aims at accounting for LVEs in English, both from a syntactic and an aspectual-semantic viewpoint. Firstly, we retrieved 109 instances of English LVEs from COCA. Each construction was then classified according to the different aspectual-semantic configuration licensed by the verb, and the number and type of arguments represented in its syntactic realization. The results show that a large variety of Extensions exists, exhibiting different aspectual configurations, labelled as Inchoative (e.g. to fall in love), Process (e.g. to grow a hobby), and Transition (e.g. to deliver a speech). Secondly, ten of the verbs retrieved from COCA were used to build an online survey in which native informants participated. The survey asked participants to insert the verbs that may appear in an extension in a syntagmatic context. The results show a clear metaphorical pattern that motivates these verbal constructions. Finally, we analysed the findings in keeping with Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The aims of our study are the following: 1) to justify the semantic shift that makes the extensions possible; 2) to analyse the noun in the construction to identify the conceptual metaphor underlying its linguistic realization; 3) to explore the interaction between different theoretical frameworks.