This volume brings together six papers by linguistic specialists who not only share an interest in Dutch, but also the ambition to account for characteristics of the linguistic system and for linguistic usage with the same conceptual tools, and the conviction that the analysis of actual language use is crucial to attaining this goal.

Within this shared usage-based framework, the phenomena they discuss range from the level of word meaning, via concrete as well as general constructions and ordering patterns in clauses, to the coherence of discourse.

The contributors come from The Netherlands (Leiden: Judith Loewenthal, Ariane Van Santen, Arie Verhagen; Utrecht: Henk Pander Maat), Belgium (Louvain-la-Neuve: Liesbeth Degand), and the United States (UCLA: Robert S. Kirsner; UC Berkeley: Thomas F. Shannon).