The research agenda of Grammar and Pragmatics (GaP) is in full agreement with the general interest in 'Language in Use' that characterizes the research done within the Department of Linguistics at the University of Antwerp. GaP unites researchers who share an interest in the study of language use and (linguistic) meaning in all its forms. The starting point of the research conducted within GaP is the assumption that (1) grammatical knowledge and linguistic behaviour are built up through experience, through engagement with actual language use and exposure to interaction and (2) that language and the social world are mutually constitutive of one another. Therefore, language should be studied from a usage-based perspective. As part of this orientation, GaP unites three strands of research:
(1) A more grammar-oriented strand which focuses on a functional-cognitive orientation and concentrates on uses of verbal and nominal (morpho)syntactic constructions in a variety of languages as well as from a comparative/cross-linguistic and typological perspective. Processes of grammaticalization and constructionalization are studied on the basis of present-day and historical corpora.
(2) A more (linguistic) pragmatics and sociolinguistics-oriented strand that focuses on language as used in society with a particular interest in (institutional) spoken encounters, multilingual environments, language policy and ideologies, and publicly displayed language.
(3) A more applied linguistics-oriented strand with a focus on (second) language acquisition, applied language studies, language learning, and L2 pragmatics.
In working on these thematic foci, GaP researchers apply the full spectrum of methodologies, ranging from qualitative, ethnographic approaches to quantitative, experimental and statistical approaches. Additionally, both synchronic and diachronic approaches are adopted, while interdisciplinarity – both within linguistics, the social and human sciences and beyond – is also a key characteristic of the research conducted within GaP.