GRK 2839:  Dimensions of Constructional Space

• Subject Area: Linguistics
• Term: since 2022
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 468527017

The proposed Research Training Group will explore a relatively new paradigm in linguistics that has become known under the name of Construction Grammar (CxG). The fundamental premise of this approach is that the totality of speakers' linguistic knowledge is represented in a network of form-meaning pairings called constructions. Constructions differ in size (ranging from morphemes through phrasal and clausal templates to discourse conventions), abstractness (fully elaborated, partially schematic, fully schematic) and entrenchment, as well as in the way they interconnect with other constructions in the network. These properties define a multidimensional space we call ‘constructional space’. The project will address central theoretical questions in CxG (e.g. criteria for identifying constructions and establishing links between them), apply the framework to various languages (including less studied languages such as Arabic and Haitian Creole) and different historical stages / language contact situations, and test predictions derived from CxG using a variety of methods, including traditional and ‘big data’ corpus methods, behavioural experiments and neuroimaging techniques. In addition, the project will develop an open-access database for the academic community (linguists, psychologists, cognitive neuroscientists, computational linguists, etc.) in the form of a research constructicon that brings together and interconnects constructional descriptions as well as experimental results obtained in the various research projects on individual constructions and particular types of constructions. The project is interdisciplinary in that it combines insights from theoretical linguistics (both synchronic and diachronic), computational linguistics, neuroscience and psycholinguistics. What brings the individual projects together is a shared theoretical framework (CxG), which itself is to be subject of critical analysis, shared research questions and a radical commitment to empirical research. The early-career researchers involved in the RTG will benefit from a structured research training program comprising a winter school, three bootcamps, and regular seminars and research group meetings as well as a variety of optional courses, international placement opportunities, and individual coaching. The qualification program is designed to recruit high quality doctoral candidates and to provide them with a solid foundation in linguistic theory and research methods. Each doctoral candidate will have two supervisors from different disciplines or methodological approaches and one or two additional advisors (one of whom will normally be associated with a research group outside of Germany). Candidates will also gain experience working in an interdisciplinary context, acquire a variety of transferrable skills and have opportunities to develop an extensive network of international contacts, all of which will prepare them for careers both within and outside of academia.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
• Spokesperson: Professorin Dr. Ewa Dabrowska
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. Lutz Edzard; Professorin Dr. Stephanie Evert; Professor Dr. Ludwig Fesenmeier; Professorin Dr. Mechthild Habermann; Professor Dr. Thomas Herbst; Professorin Dr. Judith Huber; Professorin Dr. Silke Jansen; Privatdozent Dr. Patrick Krauss; Dr. Miguel Llompart-Garcia; Professor Thorsten Piske, Ph.D.; Dr. Peter Uhrig