Usage-based Analysis Research Articles

A dynamic usage-based analysis of L2 written complexity development of sojourners

Studies exploring complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) development from a complex dynamic or dynamic usage-based (DUB) systems view are well documented in the literature (Verspoor et al., 2021). However, the analyses in these studies are mostly limited to elementary to intermediate level L2 learners from instructed secondary school settings. The current study thus investigates the relationship between time and holistic judgments of proficiency and syntactic and lexical complexity development in the writings of a group of advanced sojourners during a semester spent abroad, addressing the empirical gaps pertained to different proficiency levels and context. The data are weekly diary entries produced over the course of a 12–17 week stay abroad. The data are analyzed for holistic proficiency gains and syntactic and lexical complexity measures through linear mixed-effects modelling. The results confirm the significance of random individual variation, but also suggests a common developmental path as the participants ended up with significant gains in their holistic proficiency but with more elaborate sentences with fewer verb phrases and less diverse vocabulary.

Exploring color metaphor with Behavioral Profiles: A usage-based analysis on the metaphorical meanings of the Chinese color term bái “white”

This paper conducts a usage-based, cognitive-semantic study on semantic relations between the twelve metaphorical meanings of the Chinese color term, bái 白 “white”, with the Behavioral Profiles approach. The contextual variations of the twelve metaphorical meanings of bái are captured by 51 contextual features, including collocational patterns, morphosyntactic and semantic properties, and discourse information. With a dataset consisting of 1200 instances, two statistical methods are adopted to explore the semantic relations of these meanings, namely Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering and Multiple Correspondence Analysis. The results show that the twelve metaphorical senses of bái fall into four clusters, and their semantic relations can be empirically distinguished based on the proposed contextual features. Furthermore, we found that the identified semantic relations can be explained by mutually related conceptual metaphors based on the perceptual experiences of the white color regarding its three perceptual properties – absence of hue, highest brightness, and zero colorfulness. The present study ultimately demonstrates how the semantic relations among the twelve metaphorical meanings of bái can be empirically distinguished based on their linguistic encodings and explained by cognitive principles in line with the Conceptual Metaphor Theory.

From grammaticalization to Diachronic Construction Grammar

AbstractThe term grammaticalization originally denoted a particular outcome of language change (lexis > morphology), then got expanded to practically all studies involving language change, the processes that create such changes, and a theory modeling these. These expansions have been challenged in the literature as conceptually flawed. A usage-based analysis of the evolution of the concept culminates in the use of the term grammaticalization as a “flag” of a particular approach to linguistics. However, the theoretical premises of grammaticalization studies are entirely compatible with the premises of Diachronic Construction Grammar (DCxG). All studies within the “expanded” concept of grammaticalization can be explicitly modeled within DCxG, which provides formalism of sufficient detail to map the gradual nature of language change in cases of grammaticalization and beyond. Consequently, the most vigorous attacks on grammaticalization lose power when grammaticalization is seen as part of a larger, more complete theory of language and language change.

Two-dimensional extended warranty length design from incomplete warranty data based on a new price curve considering different maintenance policies

The extended warranty issue is concerned with additional after-sale protection for a consumer, at the cost of an extra premium. Depending upon the reliability and durability of the components or the system, the extension of warranty may be done with regard to either age or usage or both, for those specified components or the entire system. The age-based analysis is usually referred to as the one-dimensional problem, while age along with usage-based analysis is termed as the two-dimensional problem. By considering two factors, viz. premium ceiling and premium escalation rate, respectively indicating the maximum allowable premium and the rate at which the allowable premium is raised with the increased coverage, the present paper deals with the design of a new price curve based optimum extended warranty policies corresponding to perfect, minimal, and imperfect repairs, for both one- and two-dimensional problems. The availability and use of incomplete field data on age and usage, facilitate establishing the relative advantage of the two-dimensional modeling over its one-dimensional counterpart, while considering an extension of the baseline warranty coverage. The findings have been elaborated with the help of a synthetic real-life data.

Multiple functions of the inclusive: examining synchronic variation in light of diachronic shift in South-Central Trans-Himalayan

Abstract A few languages of the South-Central branch of Trans-Himalayan (Tibeto-Burman/Sino-Tibetan) display diachronic shifts of the inclusive to become innovative markers of 1sg or 2sg. Such shifts are rarely reported in the cross-linguistic literature. In conjunction with phylogenetic-comparative evidence on cases of actual diachronic shift, we offer a synchronic usage-based analysis of the inclusive in one particular language, Anal Naga. In this language, usage frequencies suggest that a shift of the inclusive is underway: apart from the frequent generic usage, the inclusive now commonly has a humbling, empathy-seeking first person (1sg/excl) reference. In contrast, forms that combine inclusive and plural marking pattern more like a prototypical inclusive, i.e., with regular reference to the local speech act participants of speaker and addressee(s). The optional plural marking is the most important factor to determine the reference pattern of the inclusive. Other factors (irrealis setting; lexeme semantics) only play a marginal role; person form (bound indexes or free pronouns) and syntactic role are not indicative.

Entrenchment effects in code-mixing: individual differences in German-English bilingual children

Abstract Following a usage-based approach to language acquisition, lexically specific patterns are considered to be important building blocks for language productivity and feature heavily both in child-directed speech and in the early speech of children (Arnon, Inbal & Morten H. Christiansen. 2017. The role of multiword building blocks in explaining L1-L2 differences. Topics in Cognitive Science 9(3). 621–636; Tomasello, Michael. 2003. Constructing a language: A usage-based theory of language acquisition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press). In order to account for patterns, the traceback method has been widely applied in research on first language acquisition to test the hypothesis that children’s utterances can be accounted for on the basis of a limited inventory of chunks and partially schematic units (Lieven, Elena, Dorothé Salomo & Michael Tomasello. 2009. Two-year-old children’s production of multiword utterances: A usage-based analysis. Cognitive Linguistics 20(3). 481–508). In the current study, we applied the method to code-mixed utterances (n = 1,506) of three German-English bilingual children between 2 and 4 years of age to investigate individual differences in each child’s own inventory of patterns in relation to their input settings. It was shown that units such as I see X as in I see a Kelle ‘I see a trowel’ could be traced back to the child’s own previous productions. More importantly, we see that each child’s inventory of constructions draws heavily on multiword chunks that are strongly dependent on the children’s language input situations.

A usage-based analysis of alternating syntactic constructions: the case of spray/load constructions and clear constructions

The present paper deals with the polysemous nature of spray/load constructions and clear constructions. The verbs used in these constructions appear in an alternating syntactic pattern: the THM-object variant (e.g. He sprayed paint onto the wall) and the LOC-object variant (e.g. He sprayed the wall with paint). This paper aims to demonstrate that these syntactic alternations are functionally motivated or influenced by topics mentioned in the previous discourse context.---Original in English.

A Usage-Based Perspective on Spanish Variable Clitic Placement

This study provides a usage-based analysis of Spanish Variable Clitic Placement (VCP). A variationist analysis of VCP in spoken Argentine Spanish indicates that VCP grammar is constrained by lexical (finite verb) and semantic (animacy) factors. Considering the finite effect, the study focuses on usage-based accounts for the gradience attested across finite verb constructions. Grammaticalized meaning and increased frequency tend to account for VCP in general. However, one [tener que + infinitive] construction is found exceptional in that it favors enclisis despite its grammaticalized meaning of obligation and its high frequency of use. Data from a larger corpus indicate that the [tener que + infinitive] construction lacks unithood, signaling great analyzability of its component elements. Through an exemplar analysis, the [haber que ‘must’ + infinitive] construction that categorically takes enclisis and which is strongly linked to [tenerque + infinitive] diachronically, semantically, and structurally emerges as a likely analogical model for VCP with tener que, pushing tener que towards enclisis. This study not only illustrates how usage-based linguistics can capture VCP more generally, but also how this framework provides powerful tools to discover the constraints on VCP in naturalistic use in order to account for individual construction behavior.

From co-actions to intersubjectivity throughout Chinese ontogeny: A usage-based analysis of knowledge ascription and expected agreement

This study is based on a novel model of analysis proposed in (Tantucci, 2020) that combines results from experimental research in theory of mind (ToM) (Goldman, 2006; Apperly, 2010; Wilkinson & Ball 2012) with the notion of intersubjectivity in usage-based linguistics (i.a. Verhagen, 2005; Nuyts, 2012; Traugott, 2012). The present approach to intersubjectivtiy is based on a mismatch between interaction as mere ‘co-action’ vs. interaction as spontaneously communicated awareness of an(other) mind(s). We provide two case studies centred on the first language acquisition of the aspectual/evidential marker 过 guo and the sentence-final particle 吧 ba in Mandarin. A combination of multiple correspondence analysis and mixed effects logistic regression of spontaneous use of the two markers indicates that, beyond expressions of joint attention, children's ToM ability progressively underpins ‘ad-hoc’ generalised instantiations of extended intersubjectivity. Extended intersubjectivity regards the socio-cognitive skill to overtly problematise what a general persona would act, feel, know, or potentially think in a specific context (Tantucci, 2020a). This usage-based model further supports the evolutionary hypothesis of a shift from triadic to collective intentionality (cf. Tomasello, 2019: 7).

Reported speech in earthquake narratives from six Tibeto-Burman languages

AbstractThis paper is an analysis of the use of reported speech in six Tibeto-Burman languages from two closely-related sub-branches (Tamangic and Tibetic). The data come from a set of interview narratives about people’s experiences of the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal. The analysis begins with an examination of the relationship between reported speech, overt subjects and ergativity. We also look at reported speech and evidentiality, including grammatical reported speech evidentials. Structural features discussed include hybrid reported speech and multiple clause relationality. Interactional features discussed include the use of deictic shift, prominent subordination, and the multiple functions of reported speech forms, as well as zero-marked reported speech events. This analysis highlights the benefits of studying linguistic features such as reported speech in narrative context. We conclude with the implications of this usage-based analysis in the coverage of reported speech in descriptive grammars.

Construction Grammar and the corpus-based analysis of discourses

AbstractConstruction grammar (CxG) initially arose as a usage-based alternative to nativist theoretical accounts of language, and remains to this day strongly associated with cognitive linguistic theory and research. In this paper, however, I argue that CxG can be seen as offering an equally viable general framework for socially-oriented linguists whose work focuses on the corpus-based analysis of discourses (CBADs). The paper begins with brief reviews of CxG and CBADs as distinctive research traditions, before going on to identify synergies (both potential and actual) between them. I then offer a more detailed case study example, focusing on a usage-based analysis of a newly identified construction, the WAY IN WHICH construction, as it occurs in corpora representing six different academic discourses. The paper concludes by rebutting some anticipated objections to the approach advocated here, and by proposing a new conceptual model for constructionist approaches to CBADs.

A Usage-based Analysis of L2 Production of English Resultative Constructions

A Usage-based Analysis of L2 Production of English Resultative Constructions

From negation to shared knowledge: The evolution of utterance-final -canha in spoken Korean

This paper explores the functional and formal shift from the negative construction in Korean -ci anh- to -canha, which currently functions as an utterance-final particle that manages the information structure in discourse, by explicitly marking what the speaker believes to be shared with the other interlocutor. Although linguistic changes that have taken place over time usually requires a thorough examination of diachronic data, this paper shows that it is sometimes possible to trace a linguistic change by examining its synchronic uses, particularly when the change is quite recent and hence ‘historical’ data are not particularly relevant. Because the former form -ci anh- and its reduced form -canha co-exist in Modern Spoken Korean with very distinct functions, a comparative study of these forms will provide insight into how the utterance-final particle -canha has evolved. A usage-based analysis is used to show how a negative construction evolved into a marker of shared knowledge. Furthermore, this study argues that the recurrent (inter)subjectification in the evolution of -canha not only shows the constant, dynamic negotiation of common ground between the speakers in spoken language, but is an important motivation for the shifts of a construction from one function to another.

Investigating Indonesian conversation; Approach and rationale

Colloquial Indonesian has often been described in terms of its differences from standard Indonesian, but with such an approach, aspects of informal language usage will go unexplored. This article proposes using the theoretical approach of Interactional Linguistics to more adequately describe the dynamic nature of Indonesian as actually used by its speakers. Interactional Linguistics emphasizes usage-based analysis of natural language data, especially conversation, in order to understand relationships between social actions and language structure. This article gives an overview of Interactional Linguistics, illustrated by two short English examples taken form the literature. It then presents an analysis of two aspects of Indonesian grammar – subject expression and clause structure – using an Interactional Linguistics approach to examine conversational data. By presenting an alternative analysis of two aspects of Indonesian grammar, this article aims to promote the use of Interactional Linguistics for examining the grammar of Indonesian and other languages of Indonesia.

Variable subject pronominal expression in non-finite clauses: Implications for variant patterns and emergent contexts

This work presents the first large-scale analysis of the typologically and dialectally unusual appearance of variable pronominal subjects in non-finite clauses. A comparative variationist analysis of 703 Spanish adverbial purpose clauses (both finite and non-finite) reveals that, despite a significant difference in rates of pronoun expression across clause types (subjunctive and infinitival), the linguistic factors constraining null vs. expressed pronominal subjects are nearly identical. This result suggests a similar function for subject pronouns that operates independently of clause types (finite/non-finite). The usage-based analysis allows us to identify the locus of emergence for the unusual morphosyntactic construction [para+(subject)+infinitive] as appearing in a non-canonical discourse context. This construction may be evidence in favor of a hypothesized general pattern of SVO word order solidification in Caribbean Spanish.

Immediacy, counter-expectation, and grammatical marking: Intransitive constructions with an accusative clitic in Galician/Galego

Abstract We provide a usage-based approach to the construction [locative deictic + accusative clitic + intransitive verb] found in Galician/Galego. In this construction, the intransitive verb and the accusative clitic agree in person and number and, in the case of the clitic, also in gender with the referent of the clitic, as in, for example, aí a está (lit.: ‘there her is/there she is’)/aí as están (lit.: ‘there them are/there they are’). A corpus-based analysis of this construction shows that it presents skewed grammatical patterns in terms of frequency of occurrence. This grammatical skewing reveals that the construction emerges from an interactional usage pattern in which speakers shift from a displaced to an immediate mode of speaking to present a counter-expected situation. The construction is also exploited in narratives in order to create a quality of immediacy for displaced events. Our usage-based analysis also reveals a family of constructions — some more schematic, others more specific; some more entrenched, others more novel — that emerge from the repetition of local usage patterns through which speakers/narrators express immediacy and counter-expectation.

Exclamative clauses in English and their relevance for theories of clause types

In the present study, I investigate the grammar and usage of English exclamative clauses of the typeWhat a wonderful journey this is!andHow wonderful this journey is!Building on existing research, I argue that the exclamative clause type can be motivated both syntactically and semantically/pragmatically. In the main part of my study, I offer a usage-based analysis of English exclamative clauses drawing on data from theBritish National Corpusand theInternational Corpus of English, British Component. I consider 703 tokens ofwhat-exclamatives and 645 tokens ofhow-exclamatives. My analysis reveals that English exclamatives typically occur in reduced form lacking an overt verbal predicate, i.e.What a wonderful journey!orHow wonderful!I provide an explanation for the predominance of reduced forms based on the semantico-pragmatic properties of exclamations. Moreover, I argue that the usage properties of exclamatives render it a marginal clause type, as it is highly infrequent and predominantly appears in non-clausal forms. Usage data point to a cline of clause types as the more appropriate approximation of reality instead of the familiar distinction between major and minor clause types.

<b>Juxtaposed concessive constructions: a usage-based functional analysis

This paper presents a theoretical and empirical discussion about juxtaposed concessive clauses. It proposes an interpretation of distinct constructional patterns outside the prototypical scheme of finite and nonfinite concessive clauses. Based on a written language corpus, by means of the theoretical assumptions of the Usage-Based Functional Linguistics, it is assumed that concessive juxtaposed clauses have special characteristics that distinguish them from the prototypical concessive ones.

The phonesthetics of blends: A lexicographic study of cognitive blends in the OED

Abstract This preliminary study of 285 morphological and cognitive blends (attestation dates 1200-2012) aims to investigate the role of phonesthemes in the structuring of the English lexicon. A study of OED word origins shows a disparity between older (1200-1900) and recent blends (1903-2012). Sound symbolism plays an overriding role in over 50% of older blends, leading to a study of initial phonesthemes (i.e. consonant clusters). Several case studies of diachronic semantic shift attested in the OED point to the existence of multidirectional motivation ties. This preliminary study supports the psycholinguistic theory that 1) there is a structured secondary sound symbolism in English, and that 2) it is still productive today and may play a role in the creation of neologisms as well as ensuring their survival (see Bergen, 2010: 52). A more in-depth usage-based analysis using sophisticated measurement tools is the next step in the study.

Macro and micro perspectives on the distribution of English in Dutch: A quantitative usage-based analysis of job ads

The world-wide spread of English is one of the most visible symptoms of globalization. In weak contact settings such as Western Europe, where contact with English is usually indirect, remote and asymmetrical, the English language started diffusing at an unseen speed in the second half of the twentieth century. Crucially, this diffusing happens at two different levels. First, on the macro-level, English is more and more used as a language of (international) communication. Second, on the micro-level, English is intruding in local languages, most notably by means of lexical borrowing. So far, the macroand micro-level of linguistic influence are hardly ever linked or simultaneously studied. Nevertheless, as will be shown in this paper, it is interesting to investigate whether a connection between both levels exists. Specifically, we present a quantitative multivariate comparison of the features underlying the choice for English at both levels of analyses, using a diachronic corpus of over 16 000 job ads published in two Dutch job ad magazines. On the macro-level, we verify what communicative and situational parameters (e.g. branch of industry of the recruiter) determine the choice for and distribution of ads written entirely in English. On the micro-level, we verify the impact of the same set of parameters on the choice for inserting English elements in ads where Dutch is the matrix language. Using two multiple logistic regression models, we can verify to which extent the mechanisms underlying language choice at both levels are different. Results show that a large difference exists in the basic proportion of English at both levels, but that quite some similarities in the distribution of English are found when zooming in on the specific parameters underlying language choice. As such, this paper advocates to perceive of the different manifestations of the spread of English as part of a continuum, rather than as isolated phenomena. Hence, we hope to provide a first step in bridging the theoretical and methodological gap between the ELF paradigm and anglicism research.