Usage-Based Language Learning

Kenanidis P, Fernández Santos S, Wright R (2026)

Publication Type: Book chapter / Article in edited volumes

Publication year: 2026

Original Authors: Panagiotis Kenanidis, Sara Fernández Santos, Richenda Wright

Edited Volumes: International Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (Third Edition)

Pages Range: 636-641

ISBN: 9780443222863

DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-323-95504-1.01233-3

Abstract

Usage-based approaches to language learning do not assume that grammar is innate, but instead posit that linguistic structure emerges incrementally as a product of language experience and properties of human cognition. Learning takes place as a process of abstracting over concrete instances of language use, the outcomes of which are stored in the minds of speakers in the form of constructions (form-meaning pairings). This article discusses the acquisition of morphology, multi-word sequences, and syntactic frames from a usage-based perspective, showing how frequency-based, incremental learning takes place in these domains and results in the entrenchment of frequently encountered forms.

Authors with CRIS profile

Panagiotis Kenanidis Lehrstuhl für Language und Cognition (Alexander von Humboldt-Professur) Sara Fernández Santos Research Training Group 2839, Dimensions of Constructional Space Richenda Wright Lehrstuhl für Language und Cognition (Alexander von Humboldt-Professur)

How to cite

APA:

Kenanidis, P., Fernández Santos, S., & Wright, R. (2026). Usage-Based Language Learning. In International Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (Third Edition). (pp. 636-641).

MLA:

Kenanidis, Panagiotis, Sara Fernández Santos, and Richenda Wright. "Usage-Based Language Learning." International Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (Third Edition). 2026. 636-641.

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