Universität Wien

122225 SE Linguistics Seminar / BA Paper (2014W)

Usage-based grammar

11.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 20 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Dienstag, 4. November 2014
Dienstag, 11. November 2014
Dienstag, 25. November 2014
Dienstag, 2. Dezember 2014
von 16:00 Uhr bis 18:00 PC-Raum KRB NIG, Kursraum B

  • Tuesday 14.10. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Tuesday 21.10. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Tuesday 28.10. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Tuesday 04.11. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Tuesday 11.11. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Tuesday 18.11. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Tuesday 25.11. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Tuesday 02.12. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Tuesday 09.12. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Friday 12.12. 14:00 - 19:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Saturday 13.12. 09:00 - 13:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Tuesday 16.12. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Tuesday 13.01. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Tuesday 20.01. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05
  • Tuesday 27.01. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 1 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-05

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

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.

Assessment and permitted materials

Participants will be assessed on the basis of their oral presentations, written research papers, and in-class participation. All presentations take place during a seminar conference on Friday 12 December (afternoon) and Saturday 13 December.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

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

Examination topics

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.

Reading list

Bybee, Joan. 2010. Language, usage and cognition. Cambridge: CUP.
Bybee, Joan. 2006. From usage to grammar: the mind’s response to repetition. Language 82 (4): 711-33.
Bybee, Joan; Beckner, Clay. 2009. Usage-based theory. In Heine, B. And H. Narrog (eds.) The Oxford handbook of linguistic analysis. Oxford: OUP.
Diessel, Holger. 2007. Frequency effects in language acquisition, language use, and diachronic change. New Ideas in Psychology 25: 108-127.
Mukherjee, Joybrato 2013. Corpus data in a usage-based cognitive grammar. In Aijmer, K. (ed.) Advances in Corpus Linguistics. Amsterdam: Benjamins., 85-100.
Croft, William. 2007. Construction Grammar. In Geeraerts, D.; Cuykens,H. (eds.) Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics. Oxford: OUP, 463-508.

Association in the course directory

Studium: UF 344, BA 612
Code/Modul: UF 4.2.3-222, BA06.2
Lehrinhalt: 12-2222

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:33