37.759, Books: Syntactic Variation from Individuals to Populations: Dunn (2026)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-759. Wed Feb 25 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.759, Books: Syntactic Variation from Individuals to Populations: Dunn (2026)

Moderator: Steven Moran (linguist at linguistlist.org)
Managing Editor: Valeriia Vyshnevetska
Team: Helen Aristar-Dry, Mara Baccaro, Daniel Swanson
Jobs: jobs at linguistlist.org | Conferences: callconf at linguistlist.org | Pubs: pubs at linguistlist.org

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

Editor for this issue: Mara Baccaro <mara at linguistlist.org>

================================================================


Date: 20-Feb-2026
From: Ellena Moriarty [rfsupport at cambridge.org]
Subject: Syntactic Variation from Individuals to Populations: Dunn (2026)


Title: Syntactic Variation from Individuals to Populations
Subtitle: Language as a Complex System
Series Title: Elements in Construction Grammar
Publication Year: 2026

Publisher: Cambridge University Press
           http://www.cambridge.org/linguistics
Book URL:
https://www.cambridge.org/ch/universitypress/subjects/languages-linguistics/grammar-and-syntax/syntactic-variation-individuals-populations-language-complex-system?format=PB&isbn=9781009420303

Author(s): Jonathan Dunn

Paperback ISBN:  9781009420303 Pages:  106 Price: U.K. £ 18.00
Paperback ISBN:  9781009420303 Pages:  106 Price: Europe EURO 21.01
Paperback ISBN:  9781009420303 Pages:  106 Price: U.S. $ 23.00

Abstract:

This Element presents a computational theory of syntactic variation
that brings together (i) models of individual differences across
distinct speakers, (ii) models of dialectal differences across
distinct populations, and (iii) models of register differences across
distinct contexts. This computational theory is based in Construction
Grammar (CxG) because its usage-based representations can capture
differences in productivity across multiple levels of abstraction.
Drawing on corpora representing over 300 local dialects across
fourteen countries, this Element undertakes three data-driven
case-studies to show how variation unfolds across the entire grammar.
These case-studies are reproducible given supplementary material that
accompanies the Element. Rather than focus on discrete variables in
isolation, we view the grammar as a complex system. The essential
advantage of this computational approach is scale: we can observe an
entire grammar across many thousands of speakers representing dozens
of local populations.

Written In: English (eng)



------------------------------------------------------------------------------

********************** LINGUIST List Support ***********************
Please consider donating to the Linguist List, a U.S. 501(c)(3) not for profit organization:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=87C2AXTVC4PP8

LINGUIST List is supported by the following publishers:

Bloomsbury Publishing http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/

Cambridge University Press http://www.cambridge.org/linguistics

Cascadilla Press http://www.cascadilla.com/

De Gruyter Brill https://www.degruyterbrill.com/?changeLang=en

Edinburgh University Press http://www.edinburghuniversitypress.com

John Benjamins http://www.benjamins.com/

Language Science Press http://langsci-press.org

Lincom GmbH https://lincom-shop.eu/

MIT Press http://mitpress.mit.edu/

Multilingual Matters http://www.multilingual-matters.com/

Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG http://www.narr.de/

Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics / Landelijke (LOT) http://www.lotpublications.nl/

Peter Lang AG http://www.peterlang.com

SIL International Publications http://www.sil.org/resources/publications


----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-37-759
----------------------------------------------------------