Usage-based Perspective Research Articles

Development of the Turkish Author Recognition Task (TART) and the Turkish Vocabulary Size Test (TurVoST)

This article reports the development of two novel research tools for Turkish, the Turkish Author Recognition Task (TART) and the Turkish Vocabulary Size Test (TurVoST). Such tools have been readily available for English, Spanish, Korean, Dutch and Chinese but not for Turkish. These tools help researchers to identify the print exposure levels of L1 speakers and an approximation of L1 speakers’ receptive vocabulary knowledge, respectively. Measuring print exposure is important as it is an important driver of L1 development from a usage-based perspective (e.g., Dąbrowska in Cognition 178:222–235, 2018), which influences vocabulary, grammar, and collocation knowledge. The findings show that the TART and TurVoST are significantly correlated at 0.47 and the TART accounts for almost 18% of the variance in vocabulary knowledge. Reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) scores were found to be 0.99 and 0.74 for two tests respectively. In light of similar previous studies of various ARTs and vocabulary size tests, the TART and the TurVoST are found to be reliable research instruments with correlations and reliability scores within the range of what has been reported in the literature. Potential uses of these two instruments are discussed. All data, R codes, and research instruments are publicly available at https://osf.io/u6t8m/?view_only=63cf706c381a4214950984dae5470df6.

Ideal and real paradigms: language users, reference works and corpora

Abstract This article approaches defective and overabundant paradigm cells as an opportunity and pitfall for usage-based linguistics. Through reference to two production tasks involving native speakers of Czech, we show how definitions of these two categories are problematized when multiple forms per context are entrenched, or when pre-emption seems to occur in the absence of entrenchment: in other words, pre-emption occurs via entrenchment of uncertainty. We explain the results by adopting a broader, usage-based perspective. We examine the relationship between frequency (as proxy for exposure) and reference-work information (as proxy for a priori structure) to assess their connection with our experimental results. We assign a role to frequency as helping to form perceptions of “suitable” and “unsuitable” forms, but also note places where non-frequency factors predominate. “Structure” as represented by reference-work recommendations appears to have no significant connection to our experimental results; we discuss reasons for this.

Homogeneity and heterogeneity in lexical stress placement among Ugandan speakers of English as an L2: a view from usage-based perspective

Abstract The study delineates divergences that set apart the Ugandan accent from RP with respect to primary lexical stress placement, as well as divergences that evince variability among Ugandans. For example, differences from RP were (almost) homogenously observed in the words effect, cassava, agreement, arrest, alarm, with stress placed on the first syllable of all these nouns, while inter-speaker variability was substantially observed in words such as bursar, further, with some speakers placing stress on both syllables of the words, while others had the stress on the first syllable only. Analogy and underlying substrate influence account for the divergences, with substrate influence considered along the lines of what Wells (1982) refers to as ‘lexical distribution.

Acquisition of English nominal suffix -er by advanced EFL learners: a view from usage-based perspective

Abstract The present study investigated advanced Croatian EFL learners’ knowledge of five meanings of the English nominal (deverbal) suffix -er. It probed their ability to comprehend and produce corpus-rare and presumably unentrenched -er nouns in their prototypical agent and instrument meanings and their non-prototypical patient, locative, and causative meanings. It was hypothesized that participants would deal effortlessly with agent and instrument meanings of the low-frequency nouns since the corpus-attested high type frequency of -er agents and instruments, among others, suggests the existence of productive corresponding schemas. We hypothesized that participants would struggle with patient, locative and causative meanings of the low-frequency nouns since the corpus-attested low type frequency of the three functions arguably does not support their association with -er. A recognition and a production test were administered to two separate groups of English majors at a Croatian public university (n = 131). Results confirm general usage-based predictions about better performance with low-frequency agent and instrument -er nouns. However, a detailed examination reveals unexpected results, which confirm that frequency, however important, is not the only factor to include in a future model of EFL learners’ derivational proficiency.

Investigating language transfer from a usage-based perspective

Aims and objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate language contact from a usage-based perspective. In particular, we test the explanatory power of a schematicity continuum, one of the central assumptions within usage-based approaches, in regard to these contact effects. In doing so, we aim to better understand how schematicity influences language transfer as well as learn more about the cognitive mechanism of schematicity itself. Design: The empirical focus of this study is on native German speakers living in the Netherlands who tend to experience a lot of language transfer from their second language Dutch to their native language German. The experiment consists of a production task containing constructions that differ in regard to their potential level of schematicity (i.e., lexically specific, partially schematic, fully schematic) and in the type of transfer that they might trigger (i.e., covert and overt transfer). Data and analysis: We compare production data of native German speakers living in the Netherlands ( N = 60) with those of a control group of speakers not in contact with Dutch ( N = 60), to establish whether the language use of these two groups differs. In addition, we analyze both speaker and item variation for the different constructions. Findings/conclusions: The speakers with Dutch contact show a number of contact effects, such as covert and overt transfer as well as hypercorrection regarding the use of certain constructions. Originality: The variation analysis reveals individual differences in how speakers use the different constructions. Some of these differences can be attributed to their mental levels of schematicity. Significance/implications: The study shows that transfer depends on schematicity. In doing so, it provides direct evidence for different levels of schematicity in speakers’ mental representations, demonstrating the usefulness of studying cognitive mechanisms within a language contact setting.

Speakers’ Gestures and Semantic Analysis

Abstract The fact that an increasing number of scholars are approaching linguistic analysis from a multimodal perspective raises theoretical and methodological questions for the study of semantics. Taking a usage-based perspective, and the position that semantics is based in conceptual structures and processes, we see that gesture use relates to some key notions in cognitive linguistics. Gesture provides cues of possible mental simulation of concepts, it inherently involves spatial imagery, and gestures frequently objectify abstract concepts (through metonymy and metaphor). Both spoken language and gesture are dynamic phenomena, but gesture use relates to the accompanying speech on several time scales at once—concerning the level of words, of phrases, and of larger discourse units. Taking gesture into consideration in semantic analysis calls for rethinking the theoretical models for cognitive semantics, the methods of analysis we use, and the means of presenting those analyses. Currently this rethinking is still in its infancy.

Variable motion encoding within Chinese: a usage-based perspective

AbstractLanguages differ considerably in the way they encode motion. Previous research on motion encoding has paid much attention to inter-typological variation (i.e., variation between language types) and intra-typological variation (i.e., variation within language types), but less focus on intra-linguistic variation (i.e., variation within particular languages). To fill this niche, the current study compares actual motion and metaphorical motion in Standard Mandarin Chinese with a corpus-based approach. We ask whether the typological properties in actual motion extend to metaphorical motion. The results indicate that the answer is negative. The typological properties including lexicalization patterns and the distribution of semantic components vary by both event type (actual motion vs. metaphorical motion) and genre (fiction vs. non-fiction) within Chinese. The intra-linguistic variation can be explained by additional factors – the pragmatic context and the structural property of Chinese. These findings support a constructional proposal of the motion event typology, which is a more nuanced typology that expands the binary distinction between V-languages and S-languages. In this proposal, the consideration of the scalar dimension enables more explicit descriptions of variation within languages (shift left- or rightward on the scale) and more accurate explanations for these phenomena.

Alterity marking and enhancing accessibility in lexical borrowing: meta-information techniques in the use of incipient anglicisms in French and Italian

Abstract Previous research has highlighted that the use of lexical borrowings is often accompanied by metalinguistic elements that have been analysed as flags or alterity markers. This paper aims to investigate the use of these markers from a usage-based perspective, focusing on their functions in communication. It will first be argued that lexical borrowings may pose certain challenges to recipient-language speakers; these challenges will be rephrased as features of reduced accessibility. The notion of reduced accessibility will be elaborated by commenting on both form-related aspects concerning the items’ conformity with respect to the RL system (pronunciation, spelling, morphology) and content-related aspects concerning semantic transparency as defined in diachronic cognitive onomasiology. It will then be argued that in addition to the function of alterity marking, the markers also serve to enhance the accessibility of lexical borrowings. A revised categorisation of three types of relevant meta-information techniques will be proposed (flagging, metalinguistic comments, frame information). A survey on the use of recent anglicisms in French and Italian newspaper articles will reveal how the use of meta-information techniques can be seen as a strategy to communicatively negotiate and facilitate the use of borrowed items. Finally, implications of the usage-based approach to alterity marking and enhancing accessibility will be discussed.

Alterity marking and enhancing accessibility in lexical borrowing: meta-information techniques in the use of incipient anglicisms in French and Italian

AbstractPrevious research has highlighted that the use of lexical borrowings is often accompanied by metalinguistic elements that have been analysed as flags or alterity markers. This paper aims to investigate the use of these markers from a usage-based perspective, focusing on their functions in communication. It will first be argued that lexical borrowings may pose certain challenges to recipient-language speakers; these challenges will be rephrased as features of reduced accessibility. The notion of reduced accessibility will be elaborated by commenting on both form-related aspects concerning the items’ conformity with respect to the RL system (pronunciation, spelling, morphology) and content-related aspects concerning semantic transparency as defined in diachronic cognitive onomasiology. It will then be argued that in addition to the function of alterity marking, the markers also serve to enhance the accessibility of lexical borrowings. A revised categorisation of three types of relevant meta-information techniques will be proposed (flagging, metalinguistic comments, frame information). A survey on the use of recent anglicisms in French and Italian newspaper articles will reveal how the use of meta-information techniques can be seen as a strategy to communicatively negotiate and facilitate the use of borrowed items. Finally, implications of the usage-based approach to alterity marking and enhancing accessibility will be discussed.

A Cognitivist Approach to I promise and I guarantee Constructions

Abstract This paper compares the constructional and functional properties of I promise (you) + X and I guarantee (you) + X constructions, whose construal revolves around the speaker’s commitment to making a situation happen and/or to vouching for the validity of the embedded clause X. Taking a usage-based perspective, it analyzes 563 spoken tokens of I promise constructions and 398 tokens of I guarantee constructions from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (coca). Three types of construals were identified: commissive, epistemic modal, or both. While the I promise construction can have any of the three, the I guarantee construction never has the commissive construal alone. Working within mental-spaces theory, this paper contends that the speaker’s commitment to the occurrence of the focal situation is necessarily involved in the default conceptualization of I promise constructions, but not of the other. The frequency data indicate that the distinctive conceptual structures motivate their functional distributions.

Defining Biometrics With Privacy and Benefits: A Research Agenda

This conceptual paper defines and gives examples of biometrics, explains how biometric tracking is currently used (e.g. to predict IQ), and presents innovative future uses of biometric tracking (e.g. to customize the price of products in real time). Specifically, this paper outlines a novel biometric pricing technology (BPT) which uses facial tracking to set the price of products using a new participatory dynamic pricing (vs. static pricing) system. Based on the privacy paradox, this paper addresses the acceptance, concerns and usage of a new emerging technology by consumers and its potential applications. To explore this, we develop a typology of perceived benefits and perceived privacy to predict consumer reactions to biometric technology. In addition, we present a research agenda to guide future research on biometric pricing technology. This research agenda offers new insights on how biometric tracking and specifically biometric price setting could be explored from multiple angles, including the consumer experience, technology acceptance, online profiling, governance, public policy, regulation, ethical and future usage-based perspectives.

Daniel Silverman. 2017. A Critical Introduction to Phonology. Functional and Usage-Based Perspectives. 2nd edition. London: Bloomsbury. Pp. xxi + 360. US $33.95

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Review of:] J. Bressem. Repetitions in gesture: A cognitive-linguistic and usage-based perspective. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 2021.

Review of:] J. Bressem. Repetitions in gesture: A cognitive-linguistic and usage-based perspective. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 2021.

Review of Bressem (2021): Repetitions in Gesture: A Cognitive-Linguistic and Usage-Based Perspective

Review of Bressem (2021): Repetitions in Gesture: A Cognitive-Linguistic and Usage-Based Perspective

Traceback and Chunk-Based Learning: Comparing Usage-Based Computational Approaches to Child Code-Mixing

Recent years have seen increased interest in code-mixing from a usage-based perspective. In usage-based approaches to monolingual language acquisition, a number of methods have been developed that allow for detecting patterns from usage data. In this paper, we evaluate two of those methods with regard to their performance when applied to code-mixing data: the traceback method, as well as the chunk-based learner model. Both methods make it possible to automatically detect patterns in speech data. In doing so, however, they place different theoretical emphases: while traceback focuses on frame-and-slot patterns, chunk-based learner focuses on chunking processes. Both methods are applied to the code-mixing of a German–English bilingual child between the ages of 2;3 and 3;11. Advantages and disadvantages of both methods will be discussed, and the results will be interpreted against the background of usage-based approaches.

Usage-based approaches to child code-switching: State of the art and ways forward

Input-output effects have been the subject of keen research for several decades in the study of monolingual acquisition from a usage-based perspective (Ambridge & Lieven, 2011). However, for bilingual acquisition, similar studies are only beginning to emerge. One major challenge for such studies is to explain why young children switch between their two languages (e.g., Ich bin ready ‘I am’ ready ) even when they hear no such switching in their input. This article reviews a strand of recent studies in children aged two to three to explain this apparent paradox. It demonstrates how the focus on one aspect of input, the child’s own prior speech, can explain how and why code-switching occurs. The article examines a range of psycholinguistic processes, showing how they drive variation in children’s use of mixed utterances. Its main contribution lies in its summative value and the recommendations made for future research in early code-switching. • Studies of language input have explained many phenomena in monolingual acquisition. • Children’s input, and output, can also explain code-switching between two languages. • Bottom-up processes capture commonalities between child and adult code-switching. • Recommendations are made for future usage-based research in child code-switching.

A Usage-Based Constructionist Approach to Evidentiality in Turkish: The Unevidentiality Construction

Coupled with corpora, usage-based construction grammar aims to provide cognitive plausibility for linguistic phenomena. In this vein, this paper combines construction grammar and usage-based approaches to analyze evidentiality in Turkish. While Turkish has been analyzed from a usage-based perspective, evidentiality has not been taken up in a usage-based constructionist approach. By using corpora, association measures, and construction as a notion and a framework, this paper defines the Unevidentiality Construction in a taxonomic space. First, it outlines its semantic properties and then it uses association measures such as faith, delta (∆) p, and ITECX to determine its usage pattern and statistical biases based on corpora. The paper demonstrates a superordinate and lower-level, item-specific instantiations of the construction. The results from association measures and the family of unevidentiality constructions can serve for future linguistic endeavors.

"Can," "Could," or "May" in Chinese? A Usage-based Perspective Gleaned from Diachronic Corpus Analysis

"Can," "Could," or "May" in Chinese? A Usage-based Perspective Gleaned from Diachronic Corpus Analysis

Indeterminacy in L1 French grammars: the case of gender and number agreement

AbstractAlthough L1 French speakers (FS) acquire the formal features of gender and number early, agreement appears to take longer, leading to persistent difficulties even for cases of straightforward agreement within a nominal or verbal phrase. This begs the questions of how adult FSs (n = 168) may fare with idiosyncratic cases of agreement such as nominal affective constructions and past participles as measured by a written grammaticality judgment /correction task and preference/grammaticality judgment task. The findings showing that participants performed better at correctly accepting than rejecting stimuli, are consistent with an increasing number of empirical studies revealing individual differences among adult L1 speakers. The findings are discussed from a generative perspective and the usage-based perspective of the Basic Language Cognition-High Language Cognition theory of L1 proficiency (Hulstijn, 2015).

Variation and variability in L2 learning trajectories: Learning the Finnish existential construction

Taking an onomasiological approach and a dynamic usage-based perspective, this study explores how four beginning L2 learners of Finnish develop in expressing existentiality (‘there is something somewhere’) before and after instruction. Data were collected weekly over a period of nine months and examined for conventionalized and non-conventionalized constructions that express existentiality. As expected from a dynamic usage-based perspective, both inter-individual variation and intra-individual variability were identified. The initial repertoires of two of the learners were quite variable, as they used several different non-conventionalized constructions before settling on more conventionalized ones. In contrast, the two other learners did not independently try out different ways of expressing the targeted meaning but started to use the conventionalized Finnish existential construction only after pedagogical intervention. As one would expect from a usage-based perspective, some learners’ initial repertoires included some item-based constructions that were similar to each other. As far as instruction is concerned, for all learners there was an increase in the use of the conventionalized construction after an explicit intervention, but the use was not morphologically accurate. The findings confirm two commonly held hypotheses in dynamic systems approaches: Learners own their own learning trajectories and initial trajectories are sometimes characterized by high degrees of variability because learners need to try out different strategies before they can adapt to the requirements of the new situation.