System and usage: (Never) mind the gap

Adli, Aria; Garcia, Marco Garcia; Kaufmann, Göz

doi:10.1515/9783110346855-001

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 22 publications

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“…The question of whether we have to distinguish between I-language and E-language (or make related distinctions) also entails important epistemological and methodological consequences. Adli et al (2015, p. 10), discussing points of convergence and difference between generative syntax and variationist sociolinguistics (which tends to be conducted in a usage-based framework), phrase the main issue quite succinctly: “In essence, the question is whether grammar contains numbers or not?” In other words, the question is what, if anything, we can learn from usage data about language as a (cognitive) system. According to Taylor’s (2012) “mental corpus” hypothesis, which is heavily influenced by other usage-based approaches (especially the works of Bybee and Langacker, e.g., Langacker, 1987; Bybee, 2010), language users keep track of the utterances they encounter, which leads to the (ontogenetic) emergence and lifelong reconfiguration of a network of linguistic constructions.…”

Section: Convergence and Divergencementioning

confidence: 99%

Constructing a Consensus on Language Evolution? Convergences and Differences Between Biolinguistic and Usage-Based Approaches

Pleyer

Hartmann

2019

Front. Psychol.

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Two of the main theoretical approaches to the evolution of language are biolinguistics and usage-based approaches. Both are often conceptualized as belonging to seemingly irreconcilable “camps.” Biolinguistic approaches assume that the ability to acquire language is based on a language-specific genetic foundation. Usage-based approaches, on the other hand, stress the importance of domain-general cognitive capacities, social cognition, and interaction. However, there have been a number of recent developments in both paradigms which suggest that biolinguistic and usage-based approaches are actually moving closer together. For example, theoretical advancements such as evo-devo and complex adaptive system theory have gained traction in the language sciences, leading to changed conceptions of issues like the relative influence of “nature” and “nurture.” In this paper, we outline points of convergence between current minimalist biolinguistic and usage-based approaches regarding four contentious issues: (1) modularity and domain specificity; (2) innateness and development; (3) cultural and biological evolution; and (4) knowledge of language and its description. We show that across both paradigms, researchers have come to increasingly embrace more complex views of these issues. They also have come to appreciate the view that biological and cultural evolution are closely intertwined, which lead to an increased amount of common ground between minimalist biolinguistics and usage-based approaches.

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Section: Convergence and Divergencementioning

confidence: 99%

Constructing a Consensus on Language Evolution? Convergences and Differences Between Biolinguistic and Usage-Based Approaches

Pleyer

Hartmann

2019

Front. Psychol.

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Variation of deontic constructions in spoken Catalan

Giménez García,

Queralt,

Moreno Vila

2023

Studies in Language Companion Series

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Different areas of linguistic research have given different meanings to the notion of free variation. This paper reflects on this term and variationist linguistics. We focus on the variation between prescriptive and nonstandard deontic verbal constructions in Catalan. Through a variationist lens, we use decision trees to explore 1,060 tokens of infinitive constructions with caldre, haver de, tenir de, tenir que and haver-hi que. The discussion of results is broadened to show that variationist linguistics can dismiss but not prove the existence of free variation, a notion we argue is nevertheless relevant in linguistics, whether as a fuel for more empirical studies of language use or as a label for linguistic phenomena for which no explanation is (yet) known.

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Language variation in minority online newspapers: The example of the “Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung” in Kazakhstan

Földes

2022

KLB

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This article discusses the online edition of the “Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung” (DAZ, German General Newspaper), an exceptional media product in Kazakhstan. This medium was chosen mainly for its very complex linguistic and cultural configuration. The linguistic forms are German, while the discourse and text traditions suggest a Russian influence due to the long hegemony of Russian as the language of culture and education in Kazakhstan. Additionally, the current sociocultural frame of reference is of genuine Kazakh origin.The central aim of this evidence-based media linguistic analysis was to describe the unique features in the language of this online medium, i.e. the multilingual aspects of language variation and aspects related to language and cultural contact.The methodology is based on a linguistic concept of saliency and used interrater reliability in the linguistic assessment. The study showed that the online version and the print version differ not only on a technical level, but also in their journalistic and linguistic design. The digital version is marked by livelier, more idiomatic, and more colorful texts than the print version. These differences can likely not just be attributed to the greater range of options provided by the new medium, but possibly also to the larger share of contributions by authors from Germany in the online version compared to the print version. In the written practices examined in this article it could be shown that authors from Kazakhstan generally used ‘multiliteracy’ form that also generated emergent forms.

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System and usage: (Never) mind the gap

Cited by 3 publications

References 22 publications

Constructing a Consensus on Language Evolution? Convergences and Differences Between Biolinguistic and Usage-Based Approaches

Constructing a Consensus on Language Evolution? Convergences and Differences Between Biolinguistic and Usage-Based Approaches

Variation of deontic constructions in spoken Catalan

Language variation in minority online newspapers: The example of the “Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung” in Kazakhstan

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