Psycholinguistics and Usage-based Models

Abstract

Linguistic theories and language processing theories have distinct study objects and, therefore, also distinct goals and research methods. In this article, we attempt to demonstrate that, despite such differences, there is room in Psycholinguistics for language processing models that are guided by notions such as communicative efficiency and speaker conversational goals, which are also held dear by usage-based linguistic models. To this end, we present two language processing models with widely varying assumptions and analyze how these reveal points of convergence and divergence in relation to different linguistic theories. In doing so, we hope to facilitate collaborations between linguists and psycholinguists that develop research within usage-based frameworks.