Impersonal Constructions from Cognitive, Discourse, and Valency Perspectives
Gunay Mehraliyeva 
Abstract. This article investigates impersonal constructions from the perspectives of cognitive linguistics, discourse analysis, and valency theory. Its main aim is to demonstrate that impersonal constructions should not be treated merely as cases of syntactic reduction, but rather as instances of discourse-driven reprofiling of semantic participants. The study examines the functional and semantic properties of A-, T-, and R-impersonals, as well as the discourse and referential distinctions between MAN-impersonals and 3PL-impersonals. Particular attention is paid to deixis, cohesion, anaphoric relations, and thematic progression in the interpretation of impersonal constructions. The analysis of two literary microtexts shows that even when agents or other actants are absent at the syntactic surface, their cognitive traces remain active and the conceptual structure of the situation is preserved. From this perspective, impersonality is better understood not as “valency deletion” but as “valency reprofiling.” The findings suggest that impersonal constructions function as important devices for organizing information structure, managing perspective, and creating emotional distance in discourse. They therefore reflect not only grammatical patterning, but also the cognitive and functional nature of language use.
Keywords: impersonal constructions, valency, discourse analysis, cognitive linguistics, deixis, referentiality, agentivity