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Part of
Corpus Approaches to Language, Thought and Communication
Edited by Wei-lun Lu, Naděžda Kudrnáčová and Laura A. Janda
[Benjamins Current Topics 119] 2021
► pp. 7–28

Quantitative perspectives in Cognitive Linguistics

| UiT The Arctic University of Norway

As a usage-based approach to the study of language, cognitive linguistics is theoretically well poised to apply quantitative methods to the analysis of corpus and experimental data. In this article, I review the historical circumstances that led to the quantitative turn in cognitive linguistics and give an overview of statistical models used by cognitive linguists, including chi-square test, Fisher test, Binomial test, t-test, ANOVA, correlation, regression, classification and regression trees, naïve discriminative learning, cluster analysis, multi-dimensional scaling, and correspondence analysis. I stress the essential role of introspection in the design and interpretation of linguistic studies, and assess the pros and cons of the quantitative turn. I also make a case for open access science and appropriate archiving of linguistic data.

Keywords: quantitative methods, statistical models, corpus data, experimental data, usage-based approach
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.What brought about the quantitative turn?
    • 2.1A usage-based model of language is data-friendly
    • 2.2Advent of electronic language resources
    • 2.3Advent of analytical tools
  • 3.What does the quantitative turn bring us?
    • 3.1Quantitative methods in cognitive linguistics
      • 3.1.1Is A different from B? Chi-square test, Fisher test, Binomial test, t-test, ANOVA
      • 3.1.2What factors are associated with A? Correlation, regression, mixed effects regression, classification and regression trees, naïve discriminative learning
      • 3.1.3What is the structure of relationships among a group of items? Cluster analysis, multi-dimensional scaling, correspondence analysis
    • 3.2Role of introspection
  • 4.Where does the quantitative turn lead us?
    • 4.1Opportunities
    • 4.2Dangers
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 16 August 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/bct.119.02jan
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