Dylan Glynn

Quantitative Methods in Cognitive Semantics: Corpus-Driven Approaches

In line with the increasing use of empirical methods in Cognitive Linguistics, the current volume explores the uses of quantitative, in particular corpus-driven, techniques for the study of meaning. It shows how these techniques contribute to the core theoretical issues of Cognitive Semantics as well as how they inform semantic analysis. The research presented in the volume constitutes an important step towards an Empirical Cognitive Semantics.

Does frequency in text instantiate entrenchment in the cognitive system

This paper investigates the relation between observed discourse frequencies of linguistic elements and structures, on the one hand, and assumptions concerning the entrenchment of these units in the minds of speakers, on the other. While it is usually assumed that there is a fairly direct correlation between frequency of use and degree of entrenchment, it is argued that many essential questions concerning this relation have remained unanswered so far: What is the role of absolute frequency of occurrence as opposed to frequency relative to a given reference construction? How are relative discourse frequencies to be captured statistically in such a way that, for instance, rare lexical items that typically occur in certain constructions can be differentiated from frequent lexical items which are more versatile but also observed to occur in the same construction, often with considerable absolute frequencies of occurrence? What are the psychological implications of different combinations of high and low absolute and relative frequencies? While the paper suggests solutions to some of these problems it also points to a number of unresolved issues to be addressed in the future and calls for a more modest and cautious way of interpreting quantitative observations in cognitive terms.

Empirical cognitive semantics: Some thoughts

The transformation of a discipline from an art to a science involves at least three steps: First, the discipline must adopt the protocols and practices of empirical research; second, it must adapt those protocols to its object of research and, in the process of doing so, operationalize its theoretical concepts (i.e., redefine them in terms that allow them to be measured objectively and reliably); third, it must relegate to the metaphysical level all concepts that resist such a redefinition until an operationalization has been found. This paper sketches out the current progress of cognitive semantics along this three-step process and discusses different definitions of the notion meaning – meaning as concept, as proposition, as reference and as context of use – and their potential for operationalization. It is argued that while the field as a whole still seems hesitant about the future direction of the discipline, there is a range of interesting methods that are available for transforming cognitive semantics into empirical cognitive semantics.

Polysemy and synonymy

This chapter introduces the field of polysemy and synonymy studies from a Cognitive Linguistic perspective. Firstly, the discussion explains and defines the object of research, showing that the study of semantic relations, traditionally restricted to the description of lexical semantics, needs to be extended to include all formal structures, including morpho-syntax. Secondly, given the theoretical assumptions of Cognitive Linguistics, it is argued that quantitative corpus-driven methods are essential for the description of semantic structures. Lastly, the chapter charts the development of Cognitive Semantic research in polysemy and synonymy and demonstrates how the current corpus-driven research in the field is inherently linked to the traditions of radial network analysis and prototype semantics. It is argued that instead of an empirical revolution (as has been suggested in recent commentaries), the current trends in the use of observational data are a natural extension of the Cognitive Semantic research tradition

Quantifying polysemy: Corpus methodology for prototype theory

Abstract This study addresses the methodological problem of result falsification in Cognitive Semantics, specifically in the descriptive analysis of semasiological variation, or “polysemy”. It argues that manually analysed corpus data can be used to describe models of semantic structure. The method proposed is quantified, permitting repeat analysis. The operationalisation of a semasiological structure employed in the study takes the principle of semantic features and applies them to a contextual analysis of usage-events, associated with the lexeme under scrutiny. The feature analysis, repeated on a large collection of occurrences, results in a set of metadata that constitutes the usage-profile of the lexeme. Multivariate statistics are then employed to identify patterns in those metadata. The case study examines 500 occurrences of the English lexeme annoy. Three basic senses are identified as well as a more complex array of semantic variations linked to morpho-syntactic context of usage.