Creative Constructions in Asian and World Englishes - And What They Teach Us

"Creative constructions" are defined as patterns which deviate slightly but noticeably from grammatical, fully licensed structures in English (and are therefore sometimes branded as "wrong"), inviting specific cognitive associations to make sense of them. It is argued that such structures offer a window into the nature of the cognitive manipulation of linguistic innovations and change. The concept is related to creativity in literature and lingua franca English, and it is surveyed theoretically by asking how established grammatical theories (like traditional grammar, structuralism or generativism) or more recent approaches to the nature of grammar (usage-based linguistics, construction grammar, and complex systems theory) react to it. It is hypothesized that such creative innovations may be more characteristic of younger, less firmly conventionalized varieties, notably World Englishes, including Asian Englishes. Four case studies from different varieties are looked into: the McDonald's construction (I'm lovin' it), the "intrusive as" construction (The main temple is called as Rang-Mahal), the "all things new" construction; and the "look forward to VØ" construction (I'm looking forward to meet you). The analyses build upon observations of natural utterances compared to frequency data drawn from several electronic corpora representing a range of varieties. In each case I document where the structure in question has been observed, what has most likely motivated the innovations, and which associations the creativity triggers. The findings highlight how these creative constructions are embedded into networks of constructions and invite associations with other, similar patterns and contextual settings, and how blending processes between all these input components produce auto-emergent innovations incrementally. It is argued that these factors are central to linguistic innovation, and that creative constructions thus allow insights into language processing and the origins of linguistic change.