Seminar l Understanding the use and learning of synonymy: A corpus/cognitive linguistic perspective
Seminars / Lectures / Workshops
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Date
30 Apr 2019
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Organiser
Department of English
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Time
17:00 - 18:00
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Venue
AG434, 4/F, Core A, PolyU Map
Speaker
Professor Liu Dilin
Summary
Synonymy or near-synonymy is a very common and intriguing linguistic phenomenon. While synonyms express essentially the same concept, they often do so in different fashions, for different contexts, and/or from different perspectives. As such, synonyms are important for effective communication and language learning, but they are simultaneously difficult to define, distinguish, and grasp, especially for second language learners. Drawing on current corpus/cognitive linguistics-based research including the speaker’s own studies, this speech discusses effective ways to understand both native English speakers’ and ESL learners’ use of synonyms, especially what cognitive, contextual, and linguistic factors drive their synonym-choice decisions, as well as the challenges that ESL learners face and the process they follow in their acquisition of synonyms.
Keynote Speaker
Professor Liu Dilin
Department of English, University of Alabama, USA
Dilin Liu is Professor and Coordinator of the Applied Linguistics/TESOL program in the English Department at the University of Alabama, USA. He received his Ph.D. in English from Oklahoma State University. His research focuses on the description and teaching of English grammar and vocabulary using cognitive- and corpus-linguistic approaches. He has published extensively, including six books (five authored and one edited) and numerous journal articles and book chapters. His articles have appeared in many different journals in linguistics and applied linguistics, including Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, English Today, Applied Linguistics,Applied Linguistics, International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, TESOL Journal, and Applied Linguistics. He has served on the editorial boards ofApplied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics,Applied Linguistics, TESOL Journal, among others, as well as a reviewer for over twenty international journals and book publishers, such as Cambridge University Press, Palgrave-MacMillan, and Routledge. He has also been a frequent invited speaker in the U.S. and many other countries and regions, such as Brazil, Cambodia, China, Japan, Macau, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. He is the recipient of several awards/honors, including Oklahoma State University A&S’s Distinguished Alum (2015), University of Alabama A&S’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow (2013-2016), and Oklahoma City University’s Outstanding Faculty Award (2003).
