Sunny Hwang

Professor Sunny Hwang's research lab specializes in corpus-based linguistic analysis, focusing on syntactic variation and morphosyntactic phenomena in German, particularly in prepositional constructions. The lab investigates diachronic and synchronic patterns in case usage, such as genitive variation with secondary prepositions like *innerhalb* and *außerhalb*, using large-scale written corpora. Current research directions include the grammaticalization of prepositional phrases, the role of discourse and register in syntactic variation, and the interplay between formal grammar and usage-based patterns in native and L2 German. The lab emphasizes empirical data-driven approaches, combining quantitative methods with sociolinguistic and cognitive perspectives.