This chapter presents the current state of research in multimodal Construction Grammar with a focus on co-speech gestures. We trace the origins of the idea that constructions may have to be (re-)conceptualized as multimodal form–meaning pairs, deriving from the inherently multimodal nature of language use and the usage-based model, which attributes to language use a primordial role in language acquisition. The issue of whether constructions are actually multimodal is contested. We present two current positions in the field. The first one argues that a construction should only count as multimodal if gestures are mandatory parts of that construction. Other, more meaning-centered, approaches rely less on obligatoriness and frequency of gestural (co-)occurrences and either depart from a recurrent gesture to explore the verbal constructions it combines with or focus on a given meaning, for example, negation, and explore its multimodal conceptualization in discourse. The chapter concludes with a plea for more case studies and for the need to develop large-scale annotated corpora and apply statistical methods beyond measuring mere frequency of co-occurrence.

Construction Grammar offers several assets that foster the learning and teaching of foreign languages. The constructionist approach focuses on well-entrenched form–meaning mappings of different degrees of complexity and abstraction. Thus, if learners have acquired the syntax and semantics of specific foreign constructions, they should be able to understand the semantic motivation behind the syntactic forms and infer the meaning of new instantiations. Moreover – an economical principle in the learning process – these units can be learned as part of a network of semantically related constructions. In learning L2-constructions, construction-based teaching strategies can be implemented, that is, the scaffolding strategy, structural priming and embodied construction practice. The scaffolding strategy elaborates on the semantic link between constructions of different degrees of syntactic complexity and on the family resemblance concept. Structural priming focuses on the creative repetition of similar structures with different slot-fillers. Finally, embodied practice applies to constructions referring to concrete events which can be represented with pictures or objects or can be enacted.

This chapter provides an overview of corpus-based advances in Construction Grammar. After a brief introduction on kinds of data in linguistics in general and the notion of corpora in particular, I discuss a variety of corpus-based studies categorized into (i) largely qualitative studies, (ii) studies based on frequencies and probabilities, (iii) studies focusing on association strengths, and (iv) statistical as well as machine-learning studies. In each section, representative studies covering a variety of languages and questions are covered with an eye to surveying methodological as well as theoretical advantages. I conclude with an assessment of the state of the art by comparing how recent developments fare relative to Dąbrowska’s discussion of Cognitive Linguistics’s seven deadly sins.

After a long tradition of studying languages as isolated systems, researchers are increasingly aware of the fact that speakers of most of the world’s languages are multilingual. The coexistence of multiple languages within the brain can be a significant force shaping each. The recognition of constructions and their arrays of constructional properties provides a useful tool for understanding contact phenomena: much of what is transferred in contact situations are constructions or constructional features. Conversely, examination of what is replicated can enhance our understanding of the nature of linguistic knowledge. Here replicated constructions of varying sizes and degrees of schematicity are first described, from words through discourse structures, then the transfer of individual constructional features, including prosody, special connotations, various pragmatic effects, linguistic and extralinguistic contexts of use, and frequency are discussed, as well as the social situations under which they occur. The kinds of constructions and constructional properties replicated provide additional evidence that constructions are more than simple combinations of basic form and meaning.

Various factors affecting language learning are introduced, including demographic variables, and learners’ L1, cultural background and the context of language use, noting that the analysis of learner corpora can enable the exploration of language-learning processes during SLA and across different contexts. Practical challenges involved in building extensive learner corpora, especially spoken learner corpora, are discussed (e.g. variable constraints, scale of data, availability of data). The Trinity Lancaster Corpus (TLC), a spoken corpus based upon a language proficiency test, and two other corpora, are then introduced. The chapter then discusses MDA and its adaptation for short texts (short-text MDA). The chapter describes the challenges of analysing short texts within corpora and explains how short-text MDA may make it possible to explore discourse at both the micro-structural (turn) and macro-structural (discourse units) levels. The chapter concludes by noting that this exploration will lead to a deeper analysis of narrative structures as a result of the findings from the corpora studied in the book using short-text MDA.

This chapter introduces the frequency-domain view and how this way of thinking can help with understanding periodic behavior and cycles. We define the spectral density function and how commonly used filters affect the spectral shape. We discuss estimation by the periodogram and smoothing methods.

This chapter introduces chief postulates common to usage-based (UB) approaches to language. The UB approach maintains that speakers’ experiences with language shape how language is stored. Experiences with specific words and word combinations in particular linguistic, discursive, and social contexts accrue in memory and subsequently contribute to patterns of variability evident in speech productions. Usage-based approaches regularly consider independent effects on lexical representations of decontextualized prior probabilities (e.g. phone/word/bigram frequencies, type frequencies), and, increasingly, contextually informed counts (e.g. lexical items’ cumulative exposure to conditioning effects of the production contexts, phone/word probabilities) are considered. This chapter offers an overview of studies exploring the connection between usage patterns and bilingual sound systems as well as studies exploring evidence of interlingual influence arising from bilingual lexical storage (schematic ties in memory). The chapter suggests potential avenues for future UB research into bilingual phonetics and phonology.

How do children process language as they get older? Is there continuity in the functions assigned to specific structures? And what changes in their processing and their representations as they acquire more language? They appear to use bracketing (finding boundaries), reference (linking to meanings), and clustering (grouping units that belong together) as they analyze the speech stream and extract recurring units, word classes, and larger constructions. Comprehension precedes production. This allows children to monitor and repair production that doesn’t match the adult forms they have represented in memory. Children also track the frequency of types and tokens; they use types in setting up paradigms and identifying regular versus irregular forms. Amount of experience with language, (the diversity of settings) plus feedback and practice, also accounts for individual differences in the paths followed during acquisition. Ultimately, models of the process of acquisition need to incorporate all this to account for how acquisition takes place.

This chapter introduces different types of signals, and studies the properties of many kinds of systems that are encountered in signal processing. Signals discussed include the exponential signal, the unit step, single-frequency signals, rectangular pulses, Dirac delta signals, and periodic signals. Two-dimensional signals, especially 2D frequencies and sinusoids, are also demonstrated. Many types of systems are discussed, such as homogeneous systems, additive systems, linear systems, stable systems, time-invariant systems, and causal systems. Both continuous and discrete-time cases are discussed. Examples are presented throughout, such as music signals, ECG signals, and so on, to demonstrate the concepts. Subtle differences between discrete-time and continuous-time signals and systems are also pointed out.

Many renewable energy sources produce electricity, and the fundamental operation of a national alternating current electric power system is described. The difference between real and reactive power is explained. The impact of renewable energy sources on the voltage of the power system is demonstrated through an example and approaches to controlling network voltages are discussed. The control of frequency is described and the importance of maintaining sufficient inertia is highlighted. Scheduling generation in a power system with significant fraction of renewable energy generation is explained. Approaches to demand-side participation and the importance of this concept are discussed. The connection of onshore and offshore wind farms to the power system is discussed. Approaches to the design of PV farms are illustrated. The chapter is supported by 6 examples, 10 questions with answers and full solutions in the accompanying online material. Further reading and online resources are identified.

When evaluating a patient on continuous EEG monitoring at the bedside, the two fundamental questions a reader must ask themselves are: a) is the patient encephalopathic? and b) if so, is this due to epileptiform activity or seizures? This chapter describes a simple method of rapid bedside EEG interpretation using three easy steps. The first step is to analyze the background for continuity, symmetry, voltage, and the presence of a posterior dominant rhythm. The second step involves searching for abnormal waveforms, such as slow or sharp waves, and the third step involves recognizing artifacts. Sharp waves are associated with seizure activity. Finally, the chapter also describes the significance and method for testing reactivity and grading the severity of encephalopathy.

We begin our study of rotational motion with the definitions and detailed examination of the fundamental quantities which we will use throughout this book. We then proceed with a description of kinematics in rotational motion by drawing analogies from our knowledge of one-dimensional kinematics in linear motion.

The scope of the investigation is clarified: ‘ancient Greek’ refers to extant texts in the Greek language written before AD 600, ‘Latin’ excludes other languages of ancient Italy, and ‘loanword’ includes derivatives of borrowings but excludes codeswitches and semantic extensions. The criteria for distinguishing loanwords from codeswitches are investigated, with a focus on frequency, integration, and not being marked by Greek speakers as foreign.

The fact that not all cannabis users will develop psychosis suggests that cannabis may exert its causal role only in pre-disposed individuals. However, since the number of people who use cannabis worldwide is so high, those who will eventually develop psychosis, whilst still a minority, represent a large number. The evidence indicates that different patterns of cannabis use have a different impact on the risk of developing psychosis, with young age at first use, and a higher frequency of use of high-potency types of cannabis indicated as the most important risk factors. Nonetheless, given the complex nature of the association between cannabis use and psychosis, it is hard to determine which cannabis users will eventually develop psychosis. The link between cannabis use and schizophrenia is unlikely to be just the result of a genetic predisposition, it is more likely the result of Gene x Environment inter-play.