122200 SE Linguistics Seminar / BA Paper (2016S)

The usage-based approach is a fairly recent development in linguistics, which provides a new perspective on grammar and differs in fundamental ways from generative approaches. Usage-based theory sees language not as a separate autonomous system but as social human behaviour which draws on general cognitive abilities. As such, the focus is very much on communicative functions and the cognitive organisation of human experience.
In this seminar we will explore the central tenets of usage-based grammar, its preferred methodology of corpus linguistics and specific theories within the usage-based paradigm (esp. Construction Grammar). Particular attention will be given to the presumed close link between usage and grammatical knowledge and the three domains it manifests itself in: communication (i.e. the production and comprehension of utterances), language acquisition, and grammatical change over time.

Participants will
- develop an understanding of the basic principles of usage-based grammar and the close link between usage and syntactic structure
- conduct their own empirical investigations and gain insights into the methodology of corpus linguistics
- work with and deepen their understanding of basic grammatical concepts
- develop a better understanding of the communicative functions of specific grammatical constructions in actual language use
- deepen their understanding of different theoretical approaches to grammar

The initial sessions will be used to introduce participants to the topic and help them develop their research questions. This introductory phase involves the discussion of articles and book chapters as well as practical work with computer corpora and other language data. The second phase of the course is reserved for individual project work. In the final phase participants will present their projects and findings in oral presentations and written research papers.