COGNITIVE SEMANTICS SEPTEMBER 2024.

Q 1 Postulates of cognitive semantics.

1. Conceptual structure is embodied: This means that the structure of the concepts in our
mind is based on and refers to our bodily experience of the physical world. In other
words, we understand abstract relations and concepts with reference to basic physical
relations. One of such physical relations is containment (within a bounded space). You
will be in trouble. We’re out of trouble. Our physical relation to this container
(underlined) defines our relation to the state of trouble.

2. Semantic structure is conceptual structure: Cognitive semantics tries to provide an

account of semantic structure by relating it to conceptual structure (which is based on
our real-life experience). In other words, meaning does not immediately correspond to
objects in the real-life (it is not objective), but neither is it completely subjective in the
sense that it relates only to our beliefs about objects in the real-life. Because semantic
structure is a subpart of conceptual structure, cognitive semanticists claim that no
definition is going to be able to account for the entire meaning of a word. Cognitive
semantics expands this view of semantic structure to both lexical and grammatical
meaning, so that grammatical constructions such as the active/passive distinction are
related to conceptual structure and our lived experience. For example, BABA, DEDA,
English: grandparents. TATIN BRAT (stric), MAMIN BRAT (ujak), itd. English:
UNCLE.

3. Meaning representation is encyclopaedic: Linguistic units serve as ‘points of access’

to the extralinguistic, encyclopaedic knowledge we possess from our lived experience.
These points of access, along with their context, serve as the starting point for meaning
construction. For instance, the word safe in The beach is safe, The child is safe, The
shovel is safe has different meanings, which are constructed in relation to our
encyclopaedic knowledge of what being safe means, and our encyclopaedic knowledge
of the context of the utterance (child, beach, shovel, when and where are the utterances
uttered etc.).

4. Meaning construction is conceptualisation: Meaning is constructed at the conceptual

level. Linguistic units are points of access to our encyclopaedic knowledge which is then
subject to conceptual operations and inferencing strategies which construct the most
appropriate meaning. For instance, in In France, Bill Clinton wouldn’t have been
harmed by his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. we have to create distinct mental
spaces; in one, Bill Clinton is POTUS and in extramarital relationship with M.
Lewinsky, they are found out, this creates a scandal. In another, we locate our
suppositions about French culture according to which such a relationship would not
create a scandal in France. Finally, in a blended mental space, Bill Clinton is president of
France, has an affair with M. L., is found out, and there is no scandal.

5. There is no principled distinction between semantics and pragmatics: (There is only

encyclopedic knowledge, which subsumes what we might think of as dictionary
knowledge). Cog. semanticists reject the idea that there is a principled distinction
between `core` meaning on the one hand, and pragmatic, social or cultural meaning on
the other. This means that they do not make a sharp distinction between semantic and
pragmatic knowledge. Knowledge of what words mean and knowledge about how
words are used are both types of semantic knowledge. Naći ćemo se sutra u ovo
vreme na ovom mestu. We must know what that present moment and place are in order to
understand the message.
 6. Meaning is the most important in language: Cognitive semantics tries to provide a
unique model which would explain both the lexical and grammatical organization. It
does not treat them as separate subsystems. Semantic structure refers to all linguistic
unit, lexical and grammatical alike. The selection of lexical and grammatical units and
structures is semantically relevant, that is, it is reflected through different meaning.
According to cognitive grammar, the difference in the syntactic structure is understood
as a reflection of the cognitive principle of distinguishing between the figure and the
ground. Susan resembles my sister. My sister resembles Susan. Banka Intesa mi je
odobrila kredit. Odobren mi je kredit.

7. Meaning is non-composite: Meaning involves the integration of structures, which result

is not a simple sum of the initial structures, but rather most commonly a new more
complex meaning. Red pencil. It can mean: a pencil that writes red, a red lip pencil, a
pencil red on the outside, the pencil used to mark financial debt or something like that in
finance.

8. Meaning structure depends on the perspective: Language does not reflect the reality
objectively, rather it express meaning from a certain perspective. For example, coast and
shore stand for a piece of land next to the sea side, but coast is used by a person that is
on-land and shore by someone that is on a ship, for example.

9. Meaning is motivated: In Cognitive Linguistics, meaning is considered to be

motivated, although not unpredictable. This means that the meaning of polysemic words
and idioms which is stored and organized in his conceptual system. Pucao je od besa
and He just exploded. The verbs PUCATI and EXPLODE mean TO BE ANGRY. This
meaning is motivated by metaphor ANGER IS FIRE/EXPLOSION.

10. Polysemy is the norm: Lexical units or words usually have more than one meaning.
Word typically have one central or typical meaning, which is connected with other
meanings positioned closer or further away, depending on the closeness of meaning.
VISOKO ZVANJE, VISOKI ČIN, VISOKA FUNCKCIJA... These do not literally mean
that something is literally high. It stands for big influence or importance, etc. These are
based on the metaphor POVOLJAN POLOŽAJ U DRUŠTVU JE GORE.

Q 2 Construal refers to the ways of conceptualising the same situation. Some of the factors that
determine the way we make construals are: perspective, foregrounding, metaphor and semantic
frame.

-Perspective refers to describing the same situation from different perspective, viewpoint or
reference point.
e.g. The path falls steeply into the valley./The path climbs steeply out of the valley. (difficult to go
down/up).
e.g. John bought the car from Mary./Mary sold the car to John. (John’s point of view/Mary’s point
of view).
e.g. The pen is on the table./The table is under the pen. (The table is the reference point/the pen is
the reference point).

-Foregrounding refers to highlighting different aspects of the same situation.

e.g. I’ve broken the window./A stone has broken the window. (foregrounding my role/backgrounding
my role).
-Metaphor is linked to construal because different ways of thinking about a particular phenomenon
are associated with different metaphors:
We think about emotional intimacy in terms of heat: I couldn`t warm to her. // He is such a cold
person. (intimacy is heat) or sometimes distance : I felt close to him. // I found his manner rather
distant. (intimacy is physical distance)
Understanding an argument is sometimes construed as following someone: I don’t follow you,
You’ve lost me, I’m not with you.

-Semantic frame refers to a structure of experientially related concepts, closely related to the
culturological context in which the individual gets their experience. For instance, bug will have
different interpretations depending on the semantic frame invoked by the context: insects or
computers. The “frame” refers to the background/encyclopaedic knowledge and it is not the
meaning but it is crucial for understanding of it. It has conceptual dimension (mother is defined by
the fact that it contrasts with father, daughter, uncle, etc.) and cultural dimension (mother has many
associations or connotations which contribute to its meaning).

Semantic frames characteristics:

1.Semantic frames are cognitive and cultural constructs
-Sunday – DAYS OF THE WEEK + cultural component – not working, spending it the way you
want to
2. Semantic frames are necessary for the interpretation of the meanings of words
-The meaning of the word is determined in relation to other words in the same frame –
e.g. elbow – PARTS OF THE BODY
3. In a semantic frame relationships between its elements are defined
-e.g. pay- buyer, seller, money
sell- seller, goods, money
4. Semantic frames create a particular perspective through the choice of specific words
-e.g. coast – used by a person on the land, shore - used by a person at sea,
5. Semantic frames make it possible to present and experience a particular situation alternatively.–
subjective perspectivization (alternate framing of a single situation)
-e.g. Bill is stingy./Bill is thrifty.
wasteful/generous
While stingy represents a negative assessment against an evaluative frame of GIVING AND
SHARING, thrifty relates to a frame of HUSBANDRY (management of resources), against which it
represents a positive assessment.
6. Semantic frames are multidimensional
-Many words, especially polysemous ones, can be connected with more semantic frames.
e.g. virus – semantic frames of COMPUTER and DISEASES.
7. Semantic frames are closely associated with the concept of the prototype
-e.g. mother– the typical meaning is from the BIOLOGICAL FRAME; the prototypical meaning –
biological mother.
8. Frames have a cultural dimension and are related to the traditional concept of connotation
-A word carrying a complex range of associations that contribute to its meaning.
e.g. weekend-day off, relaxation, trips to beach, etc.
9. A special type of frame - speech event frame – it structures discourse or the context of a
communicative situation.
-It contains structured schematic knowledge relating to the type of context, i.e. the register in
which communication takes place, and it includes typical words, grammatical structures and
discourse formulas, which is close to the domain of pragmatics.
e.g. Fairytales begin with – Once upon a time, …. Once there was ….
10. Frames have a role in discourse.
-The relevance of frames extends over the boundaries of single sentences to much larger linguistic
and cognitive units. The impact of frames on linguistic phenomena:
e.g. Sue caught a plane from London to Madrid. After she had found her seat she checked whether
the life vest was beneath it, but she could not find it. So she asked the flight attendant to find one for
her.

THE – when mentioned previously BUT life vest and flight attendant – were not mentioned
previously → cultural background/frame

In order to understand the definite references we need to make inferences that are based on our
world knowledge. Everybody who has been on a plane knows (among many other things) that
airlines provide life vests for all passengers, which are usually stored beneath the seats, and that
there are flight attendants whose job it is to help passengers. All this knowledge is activated when a
plane is mentioned in the first sentence of the text and it is this knowledge which allows us to make
the right inferences without effort.

Consequences of adopting a frame based model:

1. Words and categories are dependent on frames
e.g. bug -frame of INSECTS or COMPUTERS
2. Frames provide a particular perspective
e.g. coast-used by person on land, shore-used by person on a boat
3. Frames help account for how we understand the meanings of individual words (Scene-structuring
frames)
e.g. mother -biological definition or how mother behaves
4. Alternate framing of a single situation - Frames help account for multiple understandings of the
same situation and for apparently conflicting cases of negation.(explained above)

Q 3, 4, 5 & 6
Conceptual metonymy:
1. mechanism, purpose, function
The purpose/function of conceptual metonymy is to direct attention and thus allow mental access to
a more abstract, less approachable target concept via a more specific or more salient vehicle concept
in the same domain of experience. It can be represented with a formula B FOR A, where B is the
vehicle, and A is the target. Metonymic relationship is based on contiguity (being in the same
domain). E.g. The White House denied the rumours (PLACE FOR INSTITUTION).

2. motivation or grounding
Metonymy, as a relation of conceptual contiguity, is motivated by logical, physical, cause-effect or
general experiential relations between two entities in the same domain.
E.g. The car and the factory producing it are in close physical and cause-effect
relations. (I bought a Renault), as well as the author and his work (I`m reading
Shakespeare).

3. common metonymy producing relations

Metonymy is based on systematic relations between concepts, which reflects itself at the linguistic
level.
PRODUCER FOR PRODUCT I’ve just bought a new Citröen.
AUTHOR FOR WORK I’m reading Shakespeare.
PLACE FOR EVENT Iraq nearly cost Tony Blair the premiership.
PLACE FOR INSTITUTION Downing Street refused comment.
4. difference between metaphor and metonymy
-Similarity vs. contiguity: We can distinguish metaphor and metonymy by using the like test. If we
can compare the expression with what it refers to (similarity), then it’s metaphor.
-Two domains vs. one domain: Metaphor involves two concepts that are, although similar, distant in
our conceptual system. Metonymy is the relationship between two elements of the same domain,
i.e., they are located in the same conceptual domain.
-Understanding vs. directing attention: The function of metaphor is to understand one thing in terms
of another, while the main function of metonymy is to provide mental access (direct attention) to a
target entity.

5. cognitive and communicative principles for vehicles

COGNITIVE PRINCIPLES - They depend on 3 parameters: human experience, perceptional
selectivity, and cultural preference.
a) human experience
The anthropomorphic approach to the world dominates here. That is seen in the principles
HUMAN OVER NON-HUMAN. We often say, Where are you parked? meaning of the
vehicle. Some other principles CONCRETE OVER ABSTRACT, because we notice those
concrete objects before those abstract ones. BODILY OVER ACTIONAL: Keep your mouth
shut. BODILY OVER EMOTIONAL, INTERACTIONAL OVER NON-
INTERACTIONAL, FUNCTIONAL OVER NON-FUNCTIONAL.
b) perceptional selectivity
IMMEDIATE OVER NON-IMMEDIATE- I will answer the phone. The speaker is
distanced far from the distanced speaker. Many a metonymy which express emotions are
based on this principle, which maintains the cause of the emotion, its physical consequences,
and behavioural consequences. OCCURRENT OVER NON-OCCURRENT, MORE OVER
LESS, DOMINANT OVER LESS DOMINANT, BOUNDED OVER UNBOUNDED.
c) cultural preferences
They refer to the highlighted status of the elements of a category. STEREOTYPICAL
OVER NON-STEREOTYPICAL. He’s a bachelor, as an explanation for such free behaviour
of a man. IDEAL OVER NON-IDEAL, TYPICAL OVER NON-TYPICAL, CENTRAL
OVER PERIPHERAL, BASIC OVER NON-BASIC, IMPORTANT OVER LESS
IMPORTANT, COMMON OVER LESS COMMON, RARE OVER LESS RARE.

COMMUNICATIVE PRINCIPLES
a) The principle of clarity
CLEAR OVER LESS CLEAR. Also the principle of economy. It links our need to speak
clearly of the most highlighted concepts and that of speaking explicitly. We need to
communicate so as to make the access to the target notion is clear, which implies the use
of words within their literal meanings. However, some metonymic units are very precise
in communicative sense. He bought a Renault. It is totally clear we are talking about a
car, because the metonymy PRODUCER FOR PRODUCT is so common and natural
that it is uneconomical to say He bought a car by the brand Renault.
b) The principle of relevance
It is formulated as SITUATIONALLY MORE RELEVANT OVER SITUATIONALLY
LESS RELEVANT. This becomes more pronounced when the principles of relevance is
in contrast with some of the cognitive principles, as in the example from a restaurant
The ham sandwich wants his check. The principle HUMAN OVER NON-HUMAN is
infringed upon. However, the principle of relevance justifies this utterance, as the order
in the context of a restaurant to the waitress is more relevant than the person himself.
6. conceptual metaphor and metonymy in the study of language – how we recognize them and
which linguistic structures signal them.
We recognize metaphor in particular linguistic expressions, such as:
1. Non-literally used words in everyday language:
I swallowed his whole story. IDEAS ARE FOOD
2. Idioms and proverbs
Look through rose-coloured (tinted) glasses - if you see or view something through rose-coloured
glasses, you think it is better than it really is - SOMETHING UNREALISTICALLY
GOOD IS PINK, UNDERSTANDING IS SEEING
3. Compounds
a bar-code hairstyle
4. Particular grammatical structures. For example, -ed:
Excuse me, I wanted to ask you something
INVOLVEMENT IS CLOSENESS, LACK OF
INVOLVEMENT IS DISTANCE
5. Humorous, witty messages
Fun metaphors are the chilli peppers in writing. They add flavour, spiciness and colour.
6. Hidden, covert, indirect messages, often in
advertising. - MONEY IS A LIQUID

We recognize metonymy in particular linguistic expressions, such as:

1. Non-literally used words in everyday language:
The White House refused to comment on the story. PLACE FOR THE INSTITUTION
2. Particular morphological structures:
Compounds (phrasal lexemes): skinhead, fatface SALIENT FEATURE FOR PERSON/OBJECT –
productive with neologisms
Conversions: I e-mailed her yesterday.
3. Particular grammatical structures - ed – counterfactual meaning:
It would be nice if you came. PART (BELONGS TO PAST) FOR WHOLE (DOESN’T HAPPEN
ANY MORE)
4. Idioms and proverbs:
have an eye for detail - INSTRUMENT FOR ACTION, EYE FOR WATCHING (usually in
cooperation with metaphor)
5. Funny, witty messages (often in advertisements):
BODILY DEVIANCE FOR MENTAL DEVIANCE/STUPIDITY:
He`s an airhead /empty-headed /headless.

Conceptual metaphor:
1. mechanism, purpose, function
Conceptual metaphor is a cognitive mechanism through which people think, understand the world
and organise their experience. The main function of conceptual metaphor is to understand one,
abstract concept in terms of another, more concrete and tangible concept. Understanding is achieved
by mapping the structure of one domain onto another (a set of systematic mappings between
elements of the source and the target). It is represented with a formula A IS B, where A is the target
domain, and B is the source domain. E.g., My computer doesn’t want to boot! (MACHINES ARE
PEOPLE; volition is mapped to machines).

2. metaphorical hiding, highlighting and utilization

Hiding and highlighting refer to perspectivising a concept/conceptual domain. Metaphorical
highlighting applies to the target domain, whereas what we will call “metaphorical utilization”
applies to the source domain. Concepts in general (both source and target) are characterized by a
number of different aspects. When a source domain is applied to a target, only some (but not all)
aspects of the target are brought into focus.

Highlighting and hiding presuppose each other.

e.g. AN ARGUMENT IS A CONTAINER:
Your argument has a lot of content. (highlighting the content of the argument)

In metaphorical utilization speakers tend to use only some aspects of a source domain in
understanding a target.
e.g. ARGUMENT IS A BUILDING:
If you don’t support your argument with solid facts, the whole thing will collapse.

3. GCB and unidirectionality:

The Great Chain of Being: The great chain of being refers to the proposed metaphorical hierarchy
rooted in the Biblical tradition. The GCB is not a metaphor in itself, but it can serve as the basis for
a metaphor if two levels are compared. Levels: humans > animals > plants > complex objects >
natural physical objects. For instance, HUMAN BEHAVIOUR IS ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR: He likes to bitch
about his exams. He’s really an animal when he’s drunk.
Unidirectionality: Unidirectionality refers to the fact that the mapping of the source domain to the
target domain works only in one direction. For instance, the elements which are mapped in
metaphors which use the same notions (people are machines, machines are people) are not going to
be the same. In the first metaphor, precision, efficacy and the possibility of breaking down are going
to be mapped to the target domain ( PEOPLE), while in the second metaphor volition is going to be
mapped to the target domain (MACHINES).

4. metaphorical entailments
When rich additional knowledge about a source is mapped onto a target, we call it metaphorical
entailment.
e.g. AN ARGUMENT IS A JOURNEY:
We will proceed in a step-by-step fashion. (PROGRESS IS MOVEMENT, implication – `slow,
gradual progress in an argument`)

5. linguistic vs. conceptual metaphor

Conceptual metaphors are at the level of the mind and thought, while linguistic metaphors are the
linguistic expressions via which conceptual metaphors are expressed, or, from another perspective,
which signal (indicate, prompt) conceptual metaphors.
E.g. metaphoric expressions:
big boys, big fish, big banana, big noise ‘velika zverka, krupna riba’, think big ‘imati velike
planove’, small beer, small fish, small fry ‘sitna riba’, look/feel small osećati se bezvredno, malo’
These are words expressing size, but implying the meaning of `importance, value, significance`
(big, small, velik, krupan, mali, sitan); they signal the conceptual metaphors IMPORTANT IS BIG,
UNIMPORTANT IS SMALL (IMPORTANCE/ VALUE IS SIZE).

6. metaphorical grounding
Grounding of metaphors:
- Metaphors can be based on a pre-existing similarity. This refers to objective physical
similarity: There are roses on her cheeks.
- Another grounding for metaphors is correlations in experience. These metaphors are not
based on objective similarity but the real-life correlation of the two domains. For instance,
PURPOSE IS DESTINATION is based on a common experience that if we want to do something
we have to go somewhere.
 - Metaphors can also be based on a perceived structural similarity. The perceived similarity
can be non-objective, as in LIFE IS A GAMBLING GAME, in both of which domain speakers of
the language perceive similarities in terms of winning, losing, taking chances etc. The
perceived similarity can also be induced by ontological metaphors. In other words, the
basic ontological structure of one domain (shape, substance etc.) is mapped onto the more
abstract target domain: IDEAS ARE FOOD (I have to stew over this, I can’t swallow this, It will
take a while to digest his claims).
- Finally, metaphors may be grounded when the source is the origin of the target. The origin
may be biological: LOVE IS UNITY (She is my better half); or cultural: SPORT IS WAR (After a
peaceful first period, the Penguins are launching an attack).

7. types
Kinds of metaphors according to their cognitive function:
Structural metaphor: Structural metaphors are those metaphors whose source domains provide a
rich knowledge structure for the target concept. For instance, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IS A PLANT: The
economy grew. They pruned the budget. Njihov posao cveta.
Ontological metaphor: Ontological metaphors are those metaphors which do not provide a rich
structuring for target concepts. Rather, their function is to provide an ontological status to the more
abstract target domain—object-status, substance, container etc. For instance, EMOTIONS ARE
LIQUIDS WITHIN A PERSON: I’m drowning in sorrow. I was filled with rage. She was overflowing
with joy.
Orientational metaphor: Orientational metaphors provide very little structuring to the target
concept; these metaphors are mostly based on the basic spatial orientations such as up-down and
centre-periphery. E.g., HEALTHY IS UP – SICK IS DOWN.
Image-metaphors: These metaphors are based on physical resemblance rather than any deeper
structural similarity of the concepts. Her waist is like an hourglass.

Kinds of metaphors according to their generality:

Generic-level metaphor: Generic-level metaphors are basic schematic metaphors which provide a
context and structure for the formation of more specific metaphors. INANIMATE IS ANIMATE.
Specific-level metaphor: Specific-level metaphors are the metaphors derived from generic-level
metaphors by adding more specific detail. INANIMATE IS ANIMATE→ MACHINE IS A PERSON,
THEORIES ARE PEOPLE…

Kinds of metaphors according to their conventionality:

Conventional metaphor: Conventional metaphors are the metaphors which are widespread ways
of thinking about an abstract domain. They are expressed by means of widely known fixed
linguistic expressions. LOVE IS FIRE (He is burning with love), LOVE IS GAME (She’s playing hard to
get), LOVE IS UNITY (She is my better half).
Novel metaphor: Novel metaphors are metaphors whose metaphoric mappings are not common in
everyday language. Their function is to offer a different way of perceiving reality. For instance,
LOVE IS A SOLID (Their love was palpable).

8. common source and target domains

Most common source domains: HUMAN BODY (the heart of the problem), ANIMALS (a sly fox),
PLANTS (the fruit of her labour), FOOD (He cooked up a story), FORCES (Don`t push me!).
Most common target domains: EMOTION (She was deeply moved), MORALITY (She resisted the
temptation), THOUGHT (I see your point), HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS (They built a strong
marriage), TIME (Time flies).

Target domains – abstract, diffuse, lack clear organisation and physical characteristics; source
domains – more concrete, more readily `graspable`.
9. universality:
Some metaphors may occur in other languages because of the following three reasons: (1) it has
happened by accident; (2) one language borrowed the metaphors from another, (3) there is some
universal motivation for the metaphors to emerge in these cultures. E.g. in many cultures, including
English, Hungarian, Chinese and Serbian, HAPPINESS is conceptualized as a JOURNEY (Moraće
svako svojim putem / Look how far we’ve come), UNITY (Gde ti je lepša polovina? / They are like
one).

Q 7 Determine the meanings of idioms and the cognitive motivation of meaning. They could be the
following ones:
-conceptual metaphor and/or metonymy: explained above

-conventional knowledge:
It is a cognitive mechanism, the shared knowledge that people in a given culture have concerning a
conceptual domain, e.g. the human hand. We know about its parts, shape, size, use, and function,
and the larger hierarchy related to it (e.g. arm, fingers).
E.g. We have general conventional knowledge about how and for which purposes we use hands, and
specific knowledge about the conventional gestures involving the hand.

-metaphor–metonymy interaction:
1. Metaphor from metonymy/metonymy-based metaphor- a metaphor is grounded in a metonymic
relationship.
e.g. close-lipped ‘silent’- This is metonymy.- When one’s lips are closed, one is silent.
Close-lipped can also mean‘ speaking but giving little away’. This interpretation is metaphoric since
we understand the lack of meaningful information in terms of silence.

2. Metonymy within metaphor.

e.g. She caught the Prime Minister’s ear and persuaded him to accept her plan.
metaphor: ATTENTION IS A MOVING PHYSICAL ENTITY. Within this metaphor there is also
the metonymy EAR FOR ATTENTION, in which EAR is the body part that functions as the vehicle
for the concept of ATTENTION in the metaphor. In this example, the metonymy is ‘inside’ the
metaphor.

3. METAPHOR + METONYMY. The interaction of individual conceptual metaphors and

metonymies at the same level in particular linguistic expressions.
e.g. He’s a silver fox ‘attractive, cunning middle-aged man`
SALIENT FEATURE FOR PERSON – SILVER, GREY HAIR FOR A MIDDLE-AGED PERSON
implying `maturity of age` and the metaphor PEOPLE ARE ANIMALS – A MAN IS A FOX,
implying that `this man is cunning and probably seduces a lot of women`

-emotion metaphors
They are a special type of correlation metaphors.
e.g. HEAT FOR ANGER:
In the folk model of emotion, emotions are seen as resulting in certain physiological effects. Thus,
anger can be said to result in increased subjective body heat.

-idioms:
The transparency, or motivation, of idioms (and polysemous word meanings) arises from
knowledge of the cognitive mechanisms: metaphor, metonymy, conventional knowledge.

1. Idioms based on metaphor examples:

ANGER IS FIRE
After the row, he was spitting fire.

Smoke was coming out of his ears.

He is smoldering with anger.

She was fuming.

Boy, am I burned up!

LOVE IS FIRE

The fire between them finally went out.

I am burning with love.

She carries a torch for him.

The flames are gone from our relationship.

IMAGINATION IS FIRE

The painting set fire to the composer’s imagination.

His imagination caught fire.

Her imagination is on fire.

The story kindled the boy’s imagination.

CONFLICT IS FIRE

The killing sparked off the riot.

The flames of war spread quickly.

The country was consumed by the inferno of war.

They extinguished the last sparks of the revolution.

ENERGY IS FUEL FOR THE FIRE

Don’t burn the candle at both ends.

I am burned out.

I need someone to stoke my fire.

ENTHUSIASM IS FIRE

The speaker fanned the flames of the crowd’s enthusiasm.

The team played so well that the crowd caught fire.

He was burning with excitement.

Don’t be a wet blanket.

Her enthusiasm was ignited by the new teacher.

2. Idioms based on metonymy examples:

hold one’s hand (‘wait and see’)

sit on one’s hands (‘deliberately do nothing’)

put one’s hands in one’s pockets (‘deliberately do nothing’)

turn one’s hand to something (‘tackle some project’)

be able to do something with one hand behind one’s back (‘be able to do
something very easily’)

join hands with somebody (‘cooperate with a person’)

Explanation: if you hold your hands, sit on them or put them in your pockets, where they are
constrained, you cannot do any task with them, so you do nothing.

3. Idioms based on conventional knowledge:

have one’s hands full = ‘to be busy’ – we know that if we hold things in the hands, we cannot use
them for another activity. - this kind of conventional (non-metaphoric and non-metonymic)
knowledge underlies and motivates this idiomatic meaning.

with an open hand = ‘generously’ - we know that if our hand is open everything can be taken.

Conversely, tight-fisted = ‘stingy’ - we know that if our hand is closed, things in it are concealed and
cannot fall out, so we keep everything to ourselves.

Q 8 Identify the exact conceptual mechanisms in the following examples. Underline the
metaphorically/metonymically used word(s).
1. Examples of metaphor:
PEOPLE ARE MACHINES John always gets the highest scores in maths; he’s a human calculator.

MACHINES ARE PEOPLE I think my computer hates me; it keeps deleting my data.

PEOPLE ARE PLANTS You look like a healthy apple.

AN ARGUMENT IS A JOURNEY We have covered a lot of ground.

INTENSE ANGER PRODUCES STEAM She got all steamed up.

INTENSE ANGER PRODUCES PRESSURE ON THE CONTAINER I could barely contain my

anger.
WHEN ANGER BECOMES TOO INTENSE, THE PERSON EXPLODES She blew up at me.

ARGUMENT IS WAR He won the argument.

AN ARGUMENT IS A CONTAINER Your argument has a lot of content.

AN ARGUMENT IS A BUILDING She constructed a solid argument.

LOVE IS A NUTRIENT I’m starved for affection.

BEING HAPPY IS BEING OFF THE GROUND She was on cloud nine.

BEING HAPPY IS BEING IN HEAVEN That was heaven on earth.

HAPPY IS UP We had to cheer him up.

HAPPINESS IS LIGHT He radiates joy.

HAPPINESS IS VITALITY He was alive with joy.

HAPPINESS IS A FLUID IN A CONTAINER The sight filled them with joy.

HAPPINESS IS AN OPPONENT She was overcome with joy.

2. Examples of metonymy:
PRODUCER FOR PRODUCT I’ve just bought a new Citröen.

AUTHOR FOR WORK I’m reading Shakespeare.

PLACE FOR EVENT Iraq nearly cost Tony Blair the premiership.

PLACE FOR INSTITUTION Downing Street refused comment.

PART FOR WHOLE My wheels are parked out in the back. We need some good heads on the
project.

WHOLE FOR PART England beat Australia in the 2003 rugby World Cup final.

EFFECT FOR CAUSE He has a long face. (when we are sad, muscles on our faces are drooped.
Think of the representations of happy and sad smilies).

CONTROLLER FOR CONTROLLED Nixon bombed Hanoi.

AN OBJECT FOR THE USER The sax has the flu today.

INSTRUMENT FOR ACTION She shampooed her hair.

PLACE FOR PRODUCT Give me my java/mocha.

TIME FOR AN OBJECT The 8:40 just arrived. (for a bus/train)

CONTAINER FOR CONTAINED I`d like a glass. (for wine)

CONTAINED FOR CONTAINER The milk tipped over.

Q 9 Categorization and prototype theory:

-Categorisation refers to our ability to identify perceived similarities between entities and group
them. It is central to the conceptual system because it accounts for the organisation of concepts
within our encyclopaedic knowledge.

1. problems with classical categorization:

-Definitional problem - difficult or impossible to identify the set of necessary and sufficient
features:
GAMES - board-games, card-games, ball-games, Olympic games and
so on. What is common to them all? – amusement? luck? skill? competition? winning
and losing? …
CAT - ‘is a mammal’; ‘has four legs’; ‘is furry’; ‘has a long tail’; ‘has pointy ears’.
What if it is – earless, furless, four-legged (fight, accident)?

-Conceptual fuzziness - not all categories have definite and clear boundaries:
FURNITURE: TABLE, CHAIR. CARPET?
BIRD - ROBINS and SPARROWS – OK, but PENGUINS and OSTRICHES (they do not fly).

-Prototypicality - many categories, including some with clear boundaries, exhibit typicality effects.
Certain types of bird (like robins or sparrows) are judged as ‘better’ examples of the category than
others (like penguins).

2. vertical dimension, horizontal dimension:

-Vertical dimension:
Categories can be distinguished according to the level of inclusiveness. Inclusiveness relates to
what is subsumed within a particular category.
Categories higher up the vertical axis, which provide less detail, are called superordinate categories.
Those lower down the vertical axis, which provide more detail, are called subordinate categories.
e.g. Superordinate level- FURNITURE; basic level- CHAIR; subordinate level- KITCHEN CHAIR.

-Horizontal dimension:
Categories are distinguished according to the level of correlation where certain members of the
category are judged as ‘better’ or more representative examples of that category than other
members, or they correlate better with other examples.
Members of a category that are judged as highly prototypical (most representative of that category)
can be described as category prototypes.
e.g. FRUIT members from more to less representative: orange, apple, banana, peach.

3. the basic level of categorization:

The basic level of categorisation is ‘special’: it is the level which best reconciles the conflicting
demands of cognitive economy. Therefore, the basic level is the most informative level of
categorisation. Characteristics: the most abstract level to form a mental image, monolexemic and
more frequently in language use than superordinate or subordinate level.

4. words as radial categories:

Lexical items represent the type of complex categories - radial categories: a radial category is
structured with respect to a composite prototype and the various category members are related to
the prototype by convention rather than being ‘generated’ by predictable rules. As such, word
meanings are stored in the mental lexicon as highly complex structured categories of meanings or
senses.
e.g. OVER
Lexical ambiguity – polysemy
The picture is over the sofa. ABOVE
The ball landed over the wall. ON THE OTHER SIDE
The car drove over the bridge. ACROSS
Jane has a strange power over him. CONTROL

-Homonymy -bank relates to two different words with unrelated meanings, ‘financial institution’
and ‘bank of a river’.

The ABOVE sense of over would be judged by most native speakers of English as a ‘better’
example of over than the CONTROL sense.

5. cultural models and context dependence:

The prototypes of cognitive categories are not fixed, but may change when a particular context is
introduced, and the same is true for category boundaries. The whole internal structure of a category
seems to depend on the context and, in a wider sense, on our social and cultural knowledge, which
is thought to be organized in cognitive and cultural models.

e.g. What kind of dog would you first think of?- Depends on the context given.

1. The hunter took his gun, left the lodge and called his dog.
2. Right from the start of the race the dogs began chasing the rabbit.

(1) hunting context - some kind of retriever

(2) dog racing context - a greyhound

Conclusion: The most likely member of a certain category depends on the context. Our first choice
is the prototype, so it shifts depending on the context.