Cognitive linguistics
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| Linguistics |
| Theoretical linguistics |
| Phonetics |
| Phonology |
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| Lexical semantics |
| Structural semantics |
| Prototype semantics |
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| Generative linguistics |
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| List of linguists |
Cognitive linguistics is a school of linguistics and cognitive science, which aims to provide accounts of language that mesh well with current understandings of the human mind, and is generally opposed to the more syntactocentric approaches to meaning in generative linguistics. Cognitive Linguistics is divided into two main areas of study: cognitive semantics and cognitive approaches to grammar. The guiding principle behind this area of linguistics is that language use must be explained with reference to the underlying mental processes.
Aspects of cognition that are of interest to cognitive linguists include:
- Construction grammar and cognitive grammar, c.f. Adele Goldberg (linguist), Ronald Langacker and Bill Croft.
- Conceptual metaphor and conceptual blending, heavily influenced by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, Mark Turner, Gilles Fauconnier
- Conceptual organization: Categorization, Metonymy, Image schemas, Frame semantics, Iconicity, and Force Dynamics, c.f. Leonard Talmy, Charles Fillmore and Dirk Geeraerts.
- Construal and Subjectivity, c.f. Arie Verhagen and Ronald Langacker.
- Gesture, c.f. David McNeill, Eve Sweetser and sign language, c.f. Scott Liddell and Sarah Taub.
- Linguistic relativism, c.f. Lera Boroditsky and Stephen Levinson.
- Cognitive neuroscience, c.f. Seana Coulson and Tim Rohrer.
- Humor intepretation, c.f. Benjamin Bergen.
Related work that interfaces with many of the above themes:
- Computational models of metaphor and language acquisition, c.f. Jerome Feldman, Terry Regier and Srinivas Narayanan.
- Psycholinguistics research Michael Tomasello, Raymond Gibbs, Michael Ramscar, Michael Spivey, Teenie Matlock
- Conceptual semantics, pursued by generative linguist Ray Jackendoff is related because of its active psychological realism and the incorporation of prototype structure and images.
Cognitive linguistics, more than generative linguistics, seek to mesh together these findings into a coherent whole. A further complication arises because the terminology of cognitive linguistics is not entirely stable, both because it is a relatively new field and because it interfaces with a number of other disciplines.
Further reading
- The Center for the Cognitive Science of Metaphor Online (http://zakros.ucsd.edu/~trohrer/metaphor/metaphor.htm) is a collection of numerous formative articles in the fields of conceptual metaphor and conceptual integration.
- Gilles Fauconnier has written a brief, manifesto-like introduction to Cognitive linguistics, which compares it to mainstream, Chomsky-inspired linguistics. See Introduction to Methods and Generalizations. In T. Janssen and G. Redeker (Eds). Scope and Foundations of Cognitive Linguistics. The Hague: Mouton De Gruyter. Cognitive Linguistics Research Series. (on-line version (http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Abstracts/Fauconnier_99.html))
- Grady, Oakley, and Coulson (1999). "Blending and Metaphor". In Metaphor in cognitive linguistics, Steen and Gibbs (eds.). Philadelphia: John Benjamins. (online version (http://cogweb.ucla.edu/CogSci/Grady_99.html))
- Schmid, H. J. et. al. (1996). An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics. New York, Longman.
- Fauconnier, G. (1997). Mappings in Thought and Language.
- Taylor, J. R. (2002). Cognitive Grammar. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
- Croft, W. & D.A. Cruse (2004) Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
External links
- International Cognitive Linguistics Association (http://www.cogling.org)
- Cogling wiki (Experimental) (http://www.cogling.com)
es:Lingüística cognoscitiva et:Kognitiivne lingvistika ja:認知言語学 pl:Lingwistyka kognitywna