Multidimensional Perspectives on Interlanguage

This volume is a comprehensive corpus-based study of how learners of English
(specifically French and Chinese) use the modal verbs _may_ and _can_. Taking
the reader through four related case studies that emphasize particular aspects
of second language acquisition and learner corpus research, this volume shows
how our understanding of learner language is significantly improved when a
cognitive linguistic theoretical approach is combined with a quantitative
multifactorial methodology. Specifically, new aspects of learner grammars are
unveiled and cognitively informed hypotheses are formulated about how
interlanguage varieties crystallize. Ultimately, this volume sheds light on
the overarching question of what motivates English learners to shape their
second language the way they do.

This volume presents insightful data valuable to researchers and postgraduate
students whose main interests include: modality, learner corpus research,
applied approaches to construction grammar and corpus-based cognitive
linguistics. This volume is also suitable for researchers interested in
multifactorial analyses and how several variables can simultaneously affect
the production of learner language.