Cognitive Linguistics
Cognitive Linguistics
Cognitive Linguistics
Cognitive Linguistics
A presentation Prepared
By
Supervised
By
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction
5.1.2 Conceptualization
References
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1. An introduction:
2.Cognitive Linguistics
-Categorization
- Schematization
- Analogy
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- How does the human mind handle - What does language tell us about the
language. mind.
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the basic assumption that language is the way it is because it is used for
communication. So it is a tool for getting things done in the world which means
the structures and forms of language in the way that we are see because of the
way they are used. So, form follows function and this clashes with formal
approaches which hold that the structures of language are determined by formal
principles that are independent of functional pressures.
Why the words that we use the most pronouns, articles, prepositions and things
like that are so short?
Words that you use often tend to be very short and words that we use less often
can be longer.
- From a functional point of view this makes total sense because the things that
you use often they need to be quick and handy and you need to be basically using
them very fast and so well.
Language is efficient because its usage based its functional. It is used for
communication.
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- And the relationship between language and thought, including questions about
relativism and conceptual universals.
2. Grammar is conceptualization.
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The processes of speaking and understanding language are not different from
other cognitive tasks such as visual perception, reasoning, motor activity.
The act of Categorization is mental process of classification; its products are the
cognitive categories.
Example;
suppose that for the category fruit, characteristics such as sweet, soft and having
seeds are necessary and sufficient features.
The Aristotelian belief in classical definitions for categories assumes that all
members of a category, share some essential feature(s), that all category
members have equivalent status as members, and that category boundaries are
clear-cut.
But In this case, several types of fruit would remain outside the category: lemons
(which are not sweet), avocados (which are not necessarily soft) and bananas
(which have no visible seeds). Strawberries are more like rhubarb because both
grow on the ground, not on bushes or trees. Are they fruits? Why is a strawberry
a fruit, while rhubarb is not? All this fuzziness within or between categories points
to a prototype view of categorization (Rosch 1973, 1977b, 1978; Berlin and Kay
1969; Geeraerts 1989), which holds that categories do not reflect ‘objective’
assemblies of features; rather, they are approximations consisting of clear, central
or ‘prototypical’ members.
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5.1.2 Conceptualization
Other terms;
Frame – any system of concepts related in such a way that to understand any one
of them you have to understand the whole structure in which it fits (C. Fillmore,
1982).
Domain is a semantic structure that functions as the base for at least one concept
(W. Croft & D.A. Cruse, 2004).
b- Conceptual Metaphor;
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Pack thoughts into words – WORDS (target domain) ARE CONTAINERS (source
domain)
Anger boiled over – EMOTION/ANGER (target domain) IS HOT FLUID (IN A
CONTAINER) (source domain)
Spend time – TIME (target domain) IS MONEY (source domain)
Life is going – LIFE (target domain) IS JOURNEY (source domain)
c- Conceptual Metonymy;
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Conclusion;
1. What the words of a given language mean and how they can be used in
combinations depends on the perception and categorization of the real
world around us.
References;
- Evans, V., Bergen, B., & Zinken, J. The Cognitive Linguistics Enterprise: An
Overview. [First published in this volume].
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