Usage-based & Cognitive-Functional Approaches to Linguistics

Can you send me a list of your "Top 10 articles on X"?

You wouldn't believe how often people ask me to send them my "Top 10 articles on X". Whether it's a list of "Top 10 papers on signed languages for spoken language linguists," or an "Top 10 articles on Usage-based Approaches and Construction Grammar for signed language linguists," sharing these lists lets me introduce people to the literature that inspires me to work in the frameworks I do.

So here they are, under one roof, a list of lists for all occasions and all persuasions. Enjoy!

Top 10: Articles Every Disenchanted Linguist Should Read

(You won't believe Number 8!)*

Has underlying structure got you down?

Does the thought of drawing trees give you nightmares?

Have you ever wondered if there's a better way?

There is! And many of us found it by searching for alternative frameworks to help us understand phenomenon we can't explain with traditional accounts.


(*h/t to Ian White, a linguistics student and my summertime RA at RIT-NTID's Center on Cognition and Language for the clever title)

Top 10: Sign language linguistics for spoken language linguists

Are you a linguist working on spoken languages but haven't been exposed to research on signed languages?

Do you want to increase your own working knowledge of signed language linguistics?

Do you want to incorporate more signed language linguistics into your course syllabus?

Here's a list of articles on various aspects of signed language linguistics that might fit nicely into different linguistics courses.

Top 10: Cognitive, Functional, and Usage-based Approaches to ASL

Here's a list of articles on ASL from authors working in cognitive, functional, and usage-based frameworks.