Usage-based models in linguistics: an interview with Joan Bybee

Abstract

In this special issue of Linguística, a number of linguistic analyses are presented to the reader. Despite focusing on different phenomena in different languages, all of them share a common analytical approach: the usage-based one. In this electronic interview, Joan Bybee, distinguished professor at the University of New Mexico and one of the most prominent researchers on Usage-Based Linguistics, discusses the foundations of usage-based models, the arguments in favor of adopting them and their relation to other theories of language, mainly Cognitive Linguistics and Construction Grammar.