QLVL members - Dylan Glynn
Dylan Glynn obtained Honours in Semiotics and in Theoretical Linguistics at the University of Sydney, and a then Masters degree in Applied Linguistics at the University of New South Wales. After being awarded a DEA at the Université Paris 7, he joined the research team LILA at the Institut Charles V, and worked towards a PhD. He transferred his studies to the University of Leuven in 2005, where currently holds a doctoral scholarship.
E-mail: dylan.glynn@arts.kuleuven.be
URL: http://person2.sol.lu.se/DylanGlynn/
Phone: ++32 16 32 48 22
Fax: ++32 16 32 47 67
Surface mail: Department of Linguistics, Blijde-Inkomststraat 21 PO
Box 03308, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
Office: room 02.39 of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Leuven
Research
Mapping Meaning. Towards a methodology in Cognitive Semantics/Cartographie conceptuelle. Vers une méthodologie en sémantique cognitive.
This PhD project seeks to develop quantitative usage-based techniques for the study of lexical and syntactic semantics within the theoretical framework of Cognitive Linguistics. The basic premise is that through developing a rigorous and general method, we can test for the existence of and understand the relationship between various l anguage phenomena posited within the cognitive-functional paradigm. It is proposed that an onomasiological, or a concept-first approach, to linguistic structure is the best analytical model for this endeavour.
The two main analytical hurdles this project seeks to resolve are (i) the abstract nature of many lexical concepts and (ii) the semantic complexity of paradigmatic-syntagmatic interaction.
In the first place, an indirect method for quantifying abstract concepts with no tertium comparationis is tested. The proposal is that by pursuing a corpus-based feature analysis of the argument structure instantiated by a given lexeme, we may describe the use of that lexeme. This method is applied to the onomasiological lexical field of 'bother-annoy' using a corpus of British and American English. Through multifactorial analysis, the study shows that the lexical structuring of abstract concepts may be quantifiably described.
Secondly, it is argued that the complexity of the interaction between syntactic and lexical semantic structure may be more rigorously described by basing syntactic analysis on the collocation of lexical fields. The hypothesis is that issues of lexical licensing of syntactic forms may be more systematically explained by treating syntactic structure in an onomasiological field, in other words, by asking what syntactic forms are available for the expression of a concept, and why a speaker chooses one form over another. This hypothesis is tested by looking at a second concept, 'steal-borrow', using British English corpora.
Representative publications
The following publications are representative of Dylan's research. The rest of his published work can be found in the QLVL publication list.
Glynn, D. 2004. "Constructions at the crossroads. The Place of construction grammar between field and frame". Annual Review of Cognitive Linguistics 2: 197-233.
Glynn, D. 2006. "Iconicity and the Grammar - Lexis Interface". In O. Fischer et al. (eds), Iconicity in Language and Literature 5 267-286. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Glynn, D. in press. "Polysemy, Syntax, and Variation. A usage-based method for Cognitive Semantics". In V. Evans & S. Pourcel (eds.), New Directions in Cognitive Linguistics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
