List constructions: Towards a unified account

This paper identifies an abstract linguistic pattern named ‘list’ and discusses its theoretical status and manifestations. The object ‘list’ is defined as a syntagmatic concatenation of two or more units of the same type (i.e. potentially paradigmatically connected) that are on a par with each other, thus filling one and the same slot within the larger construction they are part of. This highly abstract pattern is claimed to be responsible for a number of linguistic phenomena (endowed with different degrees of complexity, cohesion and conventionalization) that are normally ascribed to different levels of analysis, from morphology to syntax and discourse. We put forward a macro-distinction between denotation lists and formulation lists, pertaining to the conceptual and the metalinguistic level, respectively. More importantly, we show that certain formal features of denotation lists are conventionally associated with certain types of (non-compositional) meanings. We analyze the denotation lists characterized by this form-function match as ‘constructions’ in the Construction Grammar sense and we claim that these are instantiations of a maximally abstract List Construction. Finally, we discuss the status of formulation lists and the advantages of a constructional approach to do justice to both the diversity and the unity of lists.