Language, Imitation and Creativity : Dialogic Resonance in Grammar and Pragmatics

Combining evidence from diverse domains, this book shows how linguistic imitation is a creative phenomenon that shapes grammar, pragmatics and social interaction across cultures and contexts. It is essential reading for scholars and students of linguistics, and anyone interested in how language emerges from the creative interplay of human voices.

Linguistic imitation is not mere repetition, but is instead a foundational mechanism of language use. It underpins the engagement and categorisation of meaning as a conceptual pact among speakers. This book redefines imitation as the creative engine of human communication, showing how language evolves through our engagement with what others say. It discusses dialogic resonance – the reuse and reshaping of communicative constructions – as a unifying framework that bridges pragmatics and construction grammar. Combining evidence from first and second language acquisition, intercultural communication and neurodiverse interaction, the book highlights the crucial role of imitation in shaping social conformity, engagement, categorisation and innovation. It combines detailed qualitative case studies with innovative corpus-based and statistical analyses to provide new theoretical insights and methodological tools. It is essential reading for scholars and students of linguistics, psychology, education and sociology, and for anyone interested in how language emerges from the creative interplay of human voices.