The life cycle of extravagance and conventionalization. Pleonastic evaluative constructions across languages and time

Human language is a delicate balance between communicative functions, such as clarity and efficiency, and social functions, such as expressing emotion, identity, or group membership. Speakers frequently use playful or hyperbolic expressions in order to be noticed, pushing the limits of what is still grammatically acceptable to their interlocutors. This communicative strategy is termed extravagance and is a possible trigger for language variation and change. Interestingly, extravagant expressions follow a life cycle of their own: initially, they may be seen as bordering on the unacceptable, but their expressive force may diminish over time until they become conventionalized, so that the need for a fresh extravagant expression arises anew. This ongoing cycle of extravagance and conventionalization is the focus of the proposed project. As a case study, we concentrate on constructions with multiple expression of evaluative meaning, termed pleonastic evaluative constructions: e.g., (informal) English pleonastic superlatives like the most kindest person or (informal) Spanish un poquito pequeñito ‘a bit small-ish’, featuring pleonastic diminution. Such expressions are widespread across languages but have not been systematically studied. In order to understand their usage, acceptability and change in two language groups (Germanic and Romance), the proposed project explores (i) which pleonastic evaluative constructions are found in authentic language use and to what extent they are constrained by typological factors, (ii) how pleonastic evaluative constructions are perceived by native speakers and (iii) how pleonastic constructions evolve over time. Adopting a constructionist approach to language variation and change and using data from synchronic and diachronic corpora and an experimental study, the project offers an integrated, comprehensive approach to the delicate balance between extravagance and conventionalization.