Projects

Through multifactorial corpus investigations in original and translated Dutch, the project addresses the effects of register variation on grammatical choices, focusing on alternations where one of the alternatives is more U+201CexplicitU+201D than the other. The results will contribute to a better understanding of the stylistic dimensions of constructional meaning, as well as of the much-discussed concept of explicitation in translation.

This project explores the motivations behind the alternation between the Dative Construction (e.g. Sie sendet dir einen Brief) and the Prepositional Construction (e.g. Er sendet den Aufsatz an den Herausgeber) with ditransitive TRANSFERverbs (geben, senden, schicken etc.) in the history of U+2018New High GermanU+2019 (ca. 1650 until present). The focus is on (i) the changing frequencies and forms of the alternation and on (ii) the role of ...

Situated in the field of variationist sociolinguistics and research on the probabilistic grammars that regulate variation, this study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the language-internal and language-external factors that influence the probabilistic grammars of varieties of Mandarin. More specifically, we are set to examine how the dative alternation in Mandarin is conditioned by various constraints that are syntactic (e.g. ...

This study is part of the project "Exploring probabilistic grammar(s) in varieties of English around the World" and explores the underlying constraints that shape syntactic variation in new varieties of English around the World. More precisely, my research is concerned with the probabilistic constraints that influence the choice between a ditransitive (e.g. "John gives Mary the apple") and a prepositional dative (e.g. "John gives the apple to ...

Dative alternation refers to the phenomenon whereby verbs denoting a kind of transfer may occur in two different constructions (e.g. John gave Mary a book vs. John gave a book to Mary.) This research project aims at offerening a historical description of the different language changes that are involved in the emergence and evolution of this type of alternation. Additionally, an explanation is sought for each of these changes. The research ...

This study is part of the project "Exploring probabilistic grammar(s) in varieties of English around the World" and explores the underlying constraints that shape syntactic variation in new varieties of English. More precisely, my research is concerned with the probabilistic constraints that influence the choice between the s-genitive (e.g. my brother's wife) and the of-genitives (e.g. The wife of my brother) and the extent to which these ...

Building on corpus-based analysis, this project explores the motivations behind the case alternation between accusative and dative in verbal constructions with two-way prepositions in present-day German from a constructionist perspective, considering both cases as parts of alternating constructions with semantic functions in their own right, and focusing on the interplay between the constructions and the semantic and morphosyntactic ...

In their pivotal work Convergentie en divergentie in de Nederlandse woordenschat: Een onderzoek naar kleding- en voetbaltermen Geeraerts, Grondelaers & Speelman (1999) introduce the notion of profile-based measures of lexical variation. The adopted profile-based perspective takes its starting point in the profile of a concept, which can be defined as all alternative lexicalisations of that concept in a given source, distinguished ...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health concern. In a recently published report, commissioned by the British government, economist Jim OU+2019eill and co-authors estimate that by 2050 10 million lives a year will be at risk due to the rise of drug-resistant infections. The chronic misuse and overuse of our most potent antibiotics, together with the fact that conventional antibiotics impose immense selective pressure on ...