Heavy noun phrase constructions in the Afrikaans novel 'n Ander Land: a cognitive account of a stylistic feature

Abstract

This article focusses on one grammatical construction, namely heavy noun phrase (NP) constructions in Afrikaans, and more specifically on those instances encountered in the Afrikaans novel 'n Ander Land by Karel Schoeman. Within the cognitive analysis presented here it is argued that heavy NP constructions form a radial set with prototypical and less central members. The advantages of an analysis within cognitive grammar are shown to reside in their potential to interpret the metaphorical structuring of linguistic expressions and to account for stylistic phenomena.