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Graduiertenkolleg GRK DFG 1624⁄1 "Frequenzeffekte in der Sprache": Frequenz als Faktor in gebrauchsbasierten Modellierungen von Sprachwandel, Sprachverarbeitung und Spracherwerb

Research Project
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01.10.2009
 - 30.09.2014

Ziel des DFG-Graduiertenkollegs (GRK) sind umfangreiche und untereinander koordinierte empirische Untersuchungen zu Frequenzeffekten vornehmlich in den bzw. anhand der europäischen Sprachen und ihrer Varietäten. Unter Frequenz wird die Vorkommenshäufigkeit einer bestimmten sprachlichen Struktur (items, strings, types, tokens) in einem bestimmten Ausschnitt der Sprachwirklichkeit (der durch ein passendes Korpus approximiert wird) verstanden. Sie wird im Rahmen gebrauchsbasierter Theorien modelliert, die davon ausgehen, dass die Häufigkeit eines linguistischen Phänomens in der mentalen Repräsentation von Sprache einen Niederschlag findet. Das Graduiertenkolleg geht aber über diese oft nur unterstellte Annahme hinaus, indem es die Wirkung dieses Niederschlags untersucht, und zwar in verschiedenen empirisch mit den Methoden der Linguistik und Kognitionswissenschaft erfassbaren Gebieten: im Sprachwandel, in der Sprachverarbeitung und im Spracherwerb. Auf diese Weise soll erstmalig in systematischer Weise die Tragweite des Faktors Frequenz untersucht werden, und zwar in einer Weise, die auch seine Grenzen sichtbar werden lässt. In diesem hohen empirischen und theoretischen Anspruch liegt das innovative Potential des Graduiertenkollegs. Sprecher: Stefan Pfänder (Freiburg) & Heike Behrens (Basel) ________ Frequency as a determinant in usage-based models of language change, language processing and language acquisition The research training group (DFG-Graduiertenkolleg) aims to carry out empirically rich and methodologically co-ordinated research on frequency effects in language, with an empirical focus on standard and non-standard varieties of European languages. Frequency is defined in terms of number of occurrences of a given linguistic structure in a particular linguistic system or sub-system (as approximated by a suitable corpus). Frequency is assumed to be a possible determinant in usage-based models of language change, language acquisition and language processing. While the default assumption is that there is a non-trivial relation between frequency of occurrence thus defined and mental and structural representation, the frequency factor will be investigated with a view both to its explanatory potential and to its limitations. In its integration of descriptive-linguistic and cognitivist approaches and its broad empirical corpus base, the envisaged research is without parallel, both on the national and international levels, and opens up a new, constructively critical approach to usage-based modelling in linguistics. The two-pronged approach - extending the breadth of empirical coverage, while at the same time increasing the sophistication of the theoretical models - is a timely one that has great innovative potential. Speakers: Stefan Pfänder (Freiburg) & Heike Behrens (Basel)

Publications

Behrens, Heike and Pfänder, Stefan (2016) Experience Counts : Frequency Effects in Language, Linguae & litterae. Berlin: De Gruyter (Linguae & litterae). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110346916.

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Pfänder, Stefan and Behrens, Heike (2016) ‘Experience counts. An introduction to frequency effects in language.’, in Behrens, Heike; Stefan , Pfänder (ed.) Experience Counts: Frequency Effects in Language. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter (linguae & litterae), pp. 1–20. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110346916-002.

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Madlener, Karin (2015) Frequency Effects in Instructed Second Language Acquisition, Applications of Cognitive Linguistics. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton (Applications of Cognitive Linguistics). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110405538.

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Perek, Florent and Goldberg, Adele (2015) ‘Generalizing beyond the input: the functions of the constructions matter’, Journal of Memory and Language, 84, pp. 108–127. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2015.04.006.

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Behrens, Heike (2015) ‘The acquisition of grammatical categories’, in Bavin, Edith L.; Naigles, Letitia R. (ed.) The Cambridge Handbook of Child Language. 2 edn. Cambrigde: Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Handbooks in Linguistics), pp. 250–270. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781316095829.012.

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Perek, Florent (2014) ‘Vector spaces for historical linguistics : using distributional semantics to study syntactic productivity in diachrony’. Association for Computational Linguistics: Association for Computational Linguistics. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3115/v1/p14-2051.

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Perek, Florent and Hilpert, Martin (2014) ‘Constructional tolerance : cross-linguistic differences in the acceptability of non-conventional uses of constructions’, Constructions and frames, 6(2), pp. 266–304. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1075/cf.6.2.06per.

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Pfänder, Stefan et al. (2013) ‘Erfahrung zählt. Frequenzeffekte in der Sprache - ein Werkstattbericht = (Frequency as a Determinant in Usage-Based Models of Language Change, Language Processing and Language Acquisition)’, Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik, 43(169), pp. 7–32. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03379870.

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Perek, Florent (2012) Verbs, Constructions, Alternations: Usage-based perspectives on argument realization. . Translated by Lemmens Maarten. Dissertation.

Behrens, Heike (2012) ‘Corpus analysis of child language’, in Chapelle, Carol A. (ed.) The encyclopedia of applied linguistics. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell (The encyclopedia of applied linguistics), p. S. 1214–1222. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0242.

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Lieven, Elena and Behrens, Heike (2012) ‘Dense sampling’, in Erika Hoff (ed.) Research methods in child language : a practical guide. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell (Guides to research methods in language and linguistics), p. S. 226–239.

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Behrens, Heike (2011) ‘Cues to form and function in the acquisition of german number and case inflection’, in Eve V. Clark; Inbal Arnon (ed.) Experience, variation and generalization : learning a first language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins (Trends in language acquisition research), p. S. 35–51. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1075/tilar.7.03beh.

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Brandt, Silke (2011) ‘Analysis and generalization across verbs and constructions: The development of transitives and complement-clause constructions in German’, in Arnon, Inbal; Clark, Eve V. (ed.) Experience, Variation and Generalization. Learning a first language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins (Trends in Language Acquisition Research), pp. 135–152. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1075/tilar.7.08bra.

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Members (9)

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Heike Behrens

Principal Investigator
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Stefan Pfänder

Principal Investigator
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Bernd Kortmann

Project Member
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Christian Mair

Project Member
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Daniel Jacob

Project Member
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Gerhard Strube

Project Member
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