Word knowledge in a cross-disciplinary world

This editorial project stemmed from a 4-year period of intense interdisciplinary research networking funded by the European Science Foundation within the framework of the NetWordS project (09-RNP-089). The project mission was to bring together experts of various research fields (from brain sciences and computing to cognition and linguistics) and of different theoretical inclinations, to advance the current awareness of theoretical, typological, psycholinguistic, computational and neurophysiological evidence on the structure and processing of words, with a view to promoting novel methods of research and assessment for grammar architecture and language usage. The unprecedented cross-disciplinary fertilization prompted by a wide range of scientific and educational initiatives (three international workshops, two summer schools, one main conference and over a hundred grants supporting short visits and multilateral exchanges) persuaded us to pursue this effort beyond the project lifespan, spawning the idea of an interdisciplinary handbook, where a wide range of central topics on word knowledge and usage are dealt with by teams of authors with common interests and different backgrounds. Unsurprisingly (with the benefit of the hindsight), the project turned out to be more challenging and time-consuming than initially planned. Cross-boundary talking and mutual understanding are neither short-term, nor immediately rewarding efforts, but part of a long-sighted, strategic vision, where stamina, motivation and planning ahead play a prominent role. We believe that this book, published as an open access volume, significantly sharpens the current understanding of issues of word knowledge and usage, and has a real potential for promoting novel research paradigms, and bringing up a new generation of language scholars.