Determinants of Grammatical Variation in English

Determinants of Grammatical Variation in English
Title Determinants of Grammatical Variation in English PDF eBook
Author Günter Rohdenburg
Publisher Walter de Gruyter
Pages 573
Release 2011-08-02
Genre Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN 3110900017

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What factors influence the choice between alternative grammatical structures such as the following: a lit / a lighted cigarette, more full / fuller of convincing arguments, the main thesis of the book / the book's main thesis, take hostage a group of 15 holiday makers / take a group of 15 holidaymakers hostage, conceding that the argument is convincing / conceding the argument to be convincing? This is the central issue explored in this volume, which contains a unique selection of innovative in-depth empirical studies written in a broadly functional framework. The factors investigated include the following: phonological influences (such as the principle of rhythmic alternation and optimal syllable structure), frequency, pervasive semantic and pragmatic aspects (including iconicity, markedness, grammaticalization and typological tendencies), information structure, processing complexity and horror aequi (the avoidance of identity effects).

Determinants of Grammatical Variation in English

Determinants of Grammatical Variation in English
Title Determinants of Grammatical Variation in English PDF eBook
Author Günter Rohdenburg
Publisher Walter de Gruyter
Pages 582
Release 2003
Genre Foreign Language Study
ISBN 9783110176476

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The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics.

The Cambridge Handbook of English Corpus Linguistics

The Cambridge Handbook of English Corpus Linguistics
Title The Cambridge Handbook of English Corpus Linguistics PDF eBook
Author Douglas Biber
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Pages 757
Release 2015-06-25
Genre Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN 1316298701

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The Cambridge Handbook of English Corpus Linguistics (CHECL) surveys the breadth of corpus-based linguistic research on English, including chapters on collocations, phraseology, grammatical variation, historical change, and the description of registers and dialects. The most innovative aspects of the CHECL are its emphasis on critical discussion, its explicit evaluation of the state of the art in each sub-discipline, and the inclusion of empirical case studies. While each chapter includes a broad survey of previous research, the primary focus is on a detailed description of the most important corpus-based studies in this area, with discussion of what those studies found, and why they are important. Each chapter also includes a critical discussion of the corpus-based methods employed for research in this area, as well as an explicit summary of new findings and discoveries.

Competing Motivations in Grammar and Usage

Competing Motivations in Grammar and Usage
Title Competing Motivations in Grammar and Usage PDF eBook
Author Brian MacWhinney
Publisher OUP Oxford
Pages 468
Release 2014-10-30
Genre Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN 0191019771

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This volume examines the conflicting factors that shape the content and form of grammatical rules in language usage. Speakers and addressees need to contend with these rules when expressing themselves and when trying to comprehend messages. For example, there are on-going competitions between the speaker's interests and the addressee's needs, or between constraints imposed by grammar and those imposed by online processing. These competitions influence a wide variety of systems, including case marking, agreement and word order, politeness forms, lexical choices, and the position of relative clauses. Chapters in the book analyse grammar and usage in adult language as well as first and second language acquisition, and the motivations that drive historical change. Several of the chapters seek explanations for the competitions involved, based on earlier accounts including the Competition Model, Natural Morphology, the functional-typological tradition, and Optimality Theory. The book will be of interest to linguists from a wide variety of backgrounds, particularly those interested in psycholinguistics, historical linguistics, philosophy of language, and language acquisition, from advanced undergraduate level upwards.

Noun Phrase Complexity in English

Noun Phrase Complexity in English
Title Noun Phrase Complexity in English PDF eBook
Author Eva Berlage
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Pages 299
Release 2014-06-05
Genre Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN 1139952250

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This book explores noun phrase (NP) complexity in English, showing that it is best accounted for both by a linear and a hierarchical parameter: its length and its type of postmodifier(s). The study is methodologically unique in that it combines univariate and multivariate analyses in an investigation of four different syntactic variables. Drawing on more than three billion words of British and American data, Eva Berlage shows that the length and the structure of the NPs, along with language-external factors such as the regional variety of English, work as powerful determinants of the variation. On a theoretical level, the book reveals that the structural complexity of NPs cannot be sufficiently captured by (phrasal) node counts but that we need to incorporate the degree to which NPs are sentential. The book is designed for researchers and students interested in syntax, language variation, sociolinguistics, structural complexity and the history of English.

Syntactic Variation and Genre

Syntactic Variation and Genre
Title Syntactic Variation and Genre PDF eBook
Author Heidrun Dorgeloh
Publisher Walter de Gruyter
Pages 373
Release 2010
Genre Computers
ISBN 3110226472

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Review text: "Without a doubt, the volume in its entirety is inspiring. ... The articles are all written in an accessible style, so that the publication is suitable not only for experts, but also for students of linguistics. It is recommendable to all who want to broaden their horizons and embark on linguistic studies at the borders of traditional sub-disciplines."Sixta Quassdorf in: Linguist List 22.3028.

Rhythm in Cognition and Grammar

Rhythm in Cognition and Grammar
Title Rhythm in Cognition and Grammar PDF eBook
Author Ralf Vogel
Publisher Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Pages 318
Release 2015-03-10
Genre Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN 3110378094

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The book contains a collection of papers dealing with the question of how rhythm shapes language. Until now, there was no comprehensive theory that addressed these findings adequately. By bringing together researchers from many different fields, this book will make a first attempt to fill this gap.