Empirical Evidences and Theoretical Assumptions in Functional Linguistics

This collection explores the relationships between theory and evidences in functional linguistics, bringing together perspectives from both established and emerging scholars. The volume begins by establishing theoretical common ground for functional approaches to language, critically discussing empirical inquiry in functional linguistics and the challenges and opportunities of using new technologies in linguistic investigations. Building on this foundation, the second part of the volume explores the challenges involved in using different data sources as evidence for theorizing language and linguistic processes, drawing on work on lexical cohesion in language variation, neuroimaging and neuropathological data, and keystroke logging and eye-tracking. The final section of the volume examines the ways in which evidences from a wide range of data sources can offer new perspectives toward challenging established theoretical claims, employing empirical evidences from corpus linguistic analysis, keystroke logging, and multimodal communication. This pioneering collection synthesizes perspectives and addresses fundamental questions in the investigation of the relationships between theory and evidences in functional linguistics and will be of particular interest to researchers working in the field, as well as linguists working in experimental and interdisciplinary approaches which seek to bridge this gap.

Elissa Asp is Professor of English and Linguistics at Saint Mary’s University, Canada. Ongoing research addresses: (a) discourse correlates of dementias - especially neurodegenerative diseases associated with ageing; (b) magnetoencephalography (MEG) studies of neurocognitive networks supporting language production; and (c) the theoretical implications of (a) and (b) for models of language.

Michelle Aldridge is a Reader in the Centre for Language and Communication Research (ENCAP) at Cardiff University. Her research focus is the linguistic experiences of vulnerable people (children, rape victims and people with a disability) within the legal and/or educational setting. Her data are typically analysed within a Cognitive Linguistics framework.