Gradience in Syntax and Semantics: Experimental, Modeling, and Formal Perspectives

Dear Colleages,

The journal Languages is pleased to announce a Special Issue focused on gradience in syntax and semantics, with the aim of promoting intersectional linguistics research bridging formal grammar and experimental research on gradience (Culicover et al., 2022; Christensen and Nyvad 2024; Fanselow et al. 2006; Francis, 2021; Lau et al., 2017; Müller et al. 2022; Villata and Tabor, 2022; Wasow, 2002, Yano 2024). Submissions from theoretical, corpus, and experimental linguistics that are clearly focused on gradient phenomena are welcome.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors ([email protected]/[email protected]) or to /Languages/ editorial office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the special issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Tentative Completion Schedule
Abstract Submission Deadline: 15 February 2025
Notification of Abstract Acceptance: 15 March 2025
Full Manuscript Deadline: 15 August 2026

Please note that abstracts will be accepted on a rolling basis anytime before February 15, and prospective authors will be notified quickly whether they will be invited to submit a full manuscript. 

References

Culicover, P. W., Varaschin, G., & Winkler, S. (2022). The radical unacceptability hypothesis: Accounting for unacceptability without universal constraints. Languages, 7(2), 96.

Christensen K. R., and Nyvad A. M. (2024) Complexity, frequency, and acceptability. Glossa 9(1), 1–44.

Francis, E. J. (2021). Gradient acceptability and linguistic theory. Oxford University Press.

Lau, J. H., Clark, A., & Lappin, S. (2017). Grammaticality, acceptability, and probability: A probabilistic view of linguistic knowledge. Cognitive Science, 41(5), 1202–1241.

Müller, G., Englisch, J., & Opitz, A. (2022). Extraction from NP, frequency, and minimalist gradient harmonic grammar. Linguistics, 60(5), 1619–1662.

Villata, S., Sprouse, J., & Tabor, W. (2019). Modeling ungrammaticality: A self-organizing model of islands. In A. K. Goel, C. M. Seifert, & C. Freksa (Eds.), Proceedings of the 41st annual conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 1178–1184).

Fanselow, G., Féry, C., Volgel, R., & Schlesewsky, M. (2006). Gradience in grammar: Generative perspectives. Oxford University Press.

Yano, M. (2024). The adaptive nature of language comprehension. In M. Koizumi (Ed.), Volume 2: Interaction between linguistic and nonlinguistic factors (pp. 115–132). De Gruyter Mouton.

Prof. Dr. Rui Pedro Chaves
Prof. Dr. Elaine Francis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is CHF 1400 (Swiss Francs). Authors of accepted papers may, however, apply for a fee waiver if they do not have access to funding for this purpose. Submitted papers should be carefully prepared but are not required to conform to the journal's style guidelines until after acceptance. For an additional fee, authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• gradience
• probability
• grammar
• experimental
• stochastic