The usefulness of the grammaticality–acceptability distinction in functional approaches to language

Abstract

The distinction between grammaticality and acceptability has been regarded with strong scepticism in functional linguistics because of its origin in Chomskyan linguistics. In this article, I will argue that the distinction is useful in functional linguistics, provided that it is based on a distinction between competence and performance, rather than on a distinction between syntax and meaning. The basic rationale for having such a distinction is that much of linguistics is concerned with describing relatively stable grammatical knowledge, rather than the psycholinguistic dynamics of language use. This article will briefly summarize the early history and rationale of the notion of grammaticality within Chomskyan and functional linguistics, before defining a functional, usage-based definition of grammaticality. Finally, the article will illustrate how this usage-based notion of grammaticality can be used as a framework for interpreting corpus and experimental data on language use.

Keywords::

• grammaticality
• acceptability
• competence
• functional linguistics
• usage-based linguistics

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mads Poulsen

Mads Poulsen is Associate Professor of Psycholinguistics at the University of Copenhagen. His research interests are language processing and the linguistic underpinnings of reading. Recent and ongoing projects include investigations the role of lexical access and syntax processing in reading comprehension, and the role of context for the processing of non-canonical sentence structures.