Transcategorisation patterns in multiword prepositional phrases of (some) Romance languages. A corpus-based analysis

The traditional idea that the lexicon was an inventory of idiosyncratic and irregular entities has been questioned by several theoretical frameworks. Various approaches have demonstrated the existence of regular schemas beyond the lexicon. This chapter aims at driving a corpus-based analysis of synchronic and diachronic features of multiword prepositional phrases. In particular, it intends to investigate the dynamics of lexicalisation and grammaticalisation that led to the formation of multiword prepositional phrases in some contemporary Romance languages (i.e., Italian, French, and Spanish), starting from the analysis of the configurations in their oldest phases. Multiword prepositional phrases are distinguished according to their structure (e.g. syntagmatic configuration, type of preposition and lexemes used) and their function (i.e. adverbial, adjectival, prepositional, conjunctional). Each function is described according to the distributional properties emerging from the analysis of the contexts of use attested in the corpora. Furthermore, the analysis takes into consideration the relationship between the fixedness and cohesion of the constituents of the prepositional phrases with their degree of grammaticalisation and their frequency of use. Finally, the historical evolution of the different functions is considered in order to prove the existence of a historical path that has resulted in the functional diversification of the system of multiword prepositional phrases in the Romance languages under consideration. Comparing diachronic and synchronic data enables the postulation of the existence of specific transcategorisation chains that have strengthened the entrenchment of the prepositional phrase multiword system in terms of both functions and structures.