Most words have multiple meanings, the more frequent the word, the more meanings it will have. It is the patterning, collocations and phraseology associated with the use that tells us which meaning is intended. In other words, it is the ‘patterning’ associated with the use of the word that disambiguates its meaning.

For example, words like look, feel and sound can be used as sense verbs and as verbs of perception. Here are two examples taken from the Bank of English corpus.

1. It looks like being a long night.                     verb of perception
2. It looks like a head from Easter Island.        sense verb

In this webinar we will be using examples like these to show how some grammatical patterns are associated with the sense meaning and others with the perception meaning. By working with data from a corpus we will see the critical role that patterning plays in disambiguating the different meanings of polysemous words. 

To be able to use a word correctly, you need to know the patterns associated with its different meanings. Given that most words are polysemous, knowledge of the grammatical patterns associated with the different meanings of a word is critical. Grammar is not simply about learning how to use the different tenses. We need to be teaching the grammar associated with using words correctly and forming the patterns that characterize their different meanings. 

Bio:

Dr Crayton Walker has been working in the English Department at the University of Birmingham since 2006 as a Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics. He is a Corpus Linguist whose research interests are associated with the study of collocation and other phraseological aspects of English. He is particularly interested in collocation and pattern grammar.
Before joining the University, Crayton had a career in English language teaching. He taught English for Specific Purposes in London, Riyadh and Stuttgart and was in charge of the English department of a large language school in Germany for over 10 years. He has worked as a teacher, teacher trainer and materials developer and has over 25 years of experience in EFL/ESL.