Cognitive linguistics
Encyclopedia
In linguistics
, cognitive linguistics (CL) refers to the branch of linguistics that interprets language in terms of the concepts, sometimes universal, sometimes specific to a particular tongue, which underlie its forms. It is thus closely associated with semantics
but is distinct from psycholinguistics
, which draws upon empirical findings from cognitive psychology in order to explain the mental processes that underlie the acquisition, storage, production and understanding of speech and writing.
Cognitive linguistics is characterized by adherence to three central positions. First, it denies that there is an autonomous linguistic faculty in the mind; second, it understands grammar in terms of conceptualization; and third, it claims that knowledge of language arises out of language use.
Cognitive linguists deny that the mind
has any module for language-acquisition that is unique and autonomous. This stands in contrast to the stance adopted in the field of generative grammar
. Although cognitive linguists do not necessarily deny that part of the human linguistic ability is innate, they deny that it is separate from the rest of cognition. They thus reject a body of opinion in cognitive science which suggests that there is evidence for the modularity
of language. They argue that knowledge of linguistic phenomena — i.e., phonemes, morphemes, and syntax — is essentially concept
ual in nature. However, they assert that the storage and retrieval of linguistic data is not significantly different from the storage and retrieval of other knowledge, and that use of language in understanding employs similar cognitive abilities to those used in other non-linguistic tasks.
Departing from the tradition of truth-conditional semantics
, cognitive linguists view meaning in terms of conceptualization. Instead of viewing meaning in terms of models of the world, they view it in terms of mental space
s.
Finally, cognitive linguistics argues that language is both embodied and situated
in a specific environment. This can be considered a moderate offshoot of the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis
, in that language and cognition mutually influence one another, and are both embedded in the experiences and environments of its users.
Aspects of cognition that are of interest to cognitive linguists include:
Related work that interfaces with many of the above themes:
Cognitive linguistics, more than generative linguistics, seeks 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.
Insights and developments from cognitive linguistics are becoming accepted ways of analysing literary texts, too. Cognitive Poetics
, as it has become known, has become an important part of modern stylistics.
There is also controversy and debate within the field concerning the representation and status of idioms in grammar and the actual mental grammar of speakers. On one hand it is asserted that idiom variation needs to be explained with regard to general and autonomous syntactic rules. Another view says such idioms do not constitute semantic units and can be processed compositionally (Langlotz 2006).
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, cognitive linguistics (CL) refers to the branch of linguistics that interprets language in terms of the concepts, sometimes universal, sometimes specific to a particular tongue, which underlie its forms. It is thus closely associated with semantics
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
but is distinct from psycholinguistics
Psycholinguistics
Psycholinguistics or psychology of language is the study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend and produce language. Initial forays into psycholinguistics were largely philosophical ventures, due mainly to a lack of cohesive data on how the...
, which draws upon empirical findings from cognitive psychology in order to explain the mental processes that underlie the acquisition, storage, production and understanding of speech and writing.
Cognitive linguistics is characterized by adherence to three central positions. First, it denies that there is an autonomous linguistic faculty in the mind; second, it understands grammar in terms of conceptualization; and third, it claims that knowledge of language arises out of language use.
Cognitive linguists deny that the mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
has any module for language-acquisition that is unique and autonomous. This stands in contrast to the stance adopted in the field of generative grammar
Generative grammar
In theoretical linguistics, generative grammar refers to a particular approach to the study of syntax. A generative grammar of a language attempts to give a set of rules that will correctly predict which combinations of words will form grammatical sentences...
. Although cognitive linguists do not necessarily deny that part of the human linguistic ability is innate, they deny that it is separate from the rest of cognition. They thus reject a body of opinion in cognitive science which suggests that there is evidence for the modularity
Modularity
Modularity is a general systems concept, typically defined as a continuum describing the degree to which a system’s components may be separated and recombined. It refers to both the tightness of coupling between components, and the degree to which the “rules” of the system architecture enable the...
of language. They argue that knowledge of linguistic phenomena — i.e., phonemes, morphemes, and syntax — is essentially concept
Concept
The word concept is used in ordinary language as well as in almost all academic disciplines. Particularly in philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences the term is much used and much discussed. WordNet defines concept: "conception, construct ". However, the meaning of the term concept is much...
ual in nature. However, they assert that the storage and retrieval of linguistic data is not significantly different from the storage and retrieval of other knowledge, and that use of language in understanding employs similar cognitive abilities to those used in other non-linguistic tasks.
Departing from the tradition of truth-conditional semantics
Truth-conditional semantics
Truth-conditional semantics is an approach to semantics of natural language that sees the meaning of assertions as being the same as, or reducible to, their truth conditions...
, cognitive linguists view meaning in terms of conceptualization. Instead of viewing meaning in terms of models of the world, they view it in terms of mental space
Mental space
The Mental space is a theoretic construct proposed by Gilles Fauconnier and Armen Khederlarian corresponding to possible worlds in Philosophy. The main difference between a mental space and a possible world is that a mental space does not contain a faithful representation of reality, but an...
s.
Finally, cognitive linguistics argues that language is both embodied and situated
Situated
In artificial intelligence and cognitive science, the term situated refers to an agent which is embedded in an environment. The term situated is commonly used to refer to robots, but some researchers argue that software agents can also be situated if:...
in a specific environment. This can be considered a moderate offshoot of the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis
Linguistic relativity
The principle of linguistic relativity holds that the structure of a language affects the ways in which its speakers are able to conceptualize their world, i.e. their world view...
, in that language and cognition mutually influence one another, and are both embedded in the experiences and environments of its users.
Areas of study
Cognitive linguistics is divided into three main areas of study:- Cognitive semanticsCognitive semanticsCognitive semantics is part of the cognitive linguistics movement. The main tenets of cognitive semantics are, first, that grammar is conceptualisation; second, that conceptual structure is embodied and motivated by usage; and third, that the ability to use language draws upon general cognitive...
, dealing mainly with lexical semanticsLexical semanticsLexical semantics is a subfield of linguistic semantics. It is the study of how and what the words of a language denote . Words may either be taken to denote things in the world, or concepts, depending on the particular approach to lexical semantics.The units of meaning in lexical semantics are...
, separating semantics (meaning) into meaning-construction and knowledge representation. - Cognitive approaches to grammarCognitive approaches to grammarCognitive approaches to grammar are theories of grammar that relate grammar to mental processes and structures in human cognition. While Chomsky's theories of generative grammar are the most influential in most areas of linguistics, other theories also deal with the cognitive aspects of grammar.The...
, dealing mainly with syntax, morphology and other traditionally more grammar-oriented areas. - Cognitive phonologyCognitive phonologyCognitive phonology is usually thought of as the study of the ‘sound systems’ of languages. It is an attempt to classify various correspondences between morphemes and phonetic sequences and is a part of cognitive grammar...
, dealing with classification of various correspondences between morphemes and phonetic sequences.
Aspects of cognition that are of interest to cognitive linguists include:
- Construction grammarConstruction grammarThe term construction grammar covers a family of theories, or models, of grammar that are based on the idea that the primary unit of grammar is the grammatical construction rather than the atomic syntactic unit and the rule that combines atomic units, and that the grammar of a language is made up...
and cognitive grammarCognitive grammarCognitive grammar is a cognitive approach to language developed by Ronald Langacker, which considers the basic units of language to be symbols or conventional pairings of a semantic structure with a phonological label. Grammar consists of constraints on how these units can be combined to generate...
. - Conceptual metaphorConceptual metaphorIn cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphor, or cognitive metaphor, refers to the understanding of one idea, or conceptual domain, in terms of another, for example, understanding quantity in terms of directionality . A conceptual domain can be any coherent organization of human experience...
and conceptual blendingConceptual blendingConceptual Blending is a general theory of cognition. According to this theory, elements and vital relations from diverse scenarios are "blended" in a subconscious process known as Conceptual Blending, which is assumed to be ubiquitous to everyday thought and language...
. - Image schemaImage schemaAn image schema is a recurring structure within our cognitive processes which establishes patterns of understanding and reasoning. Image schemas are formed from our bodily interactions, from linguistic experience, and from historical context...
s and force dynamicsForce DynamicsForce dynamics is a semantic category that describes the way in which entities interact with reference to force. Force Dynamics gained a good deal of attention in cognitive linguistics due to its claims of psychological plausibility and the elegance with which it generalizes ideas not usually...
. - ConceptConceptThe word concept is used in ordinary language as well as in almost all academic disciplines. Particularly in philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences the term is much used and much discussed. WordNet defines concept: "conception, construct ". However, the meaning of the term concept is much...
ual organizationOrganizationAn organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
: CategorizationCategorizationCategorization is the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Categorization implies that objects are grouped into categories, usually for some specific purpose. Ideally, a category illuminates a relationship between the subjects and objects of knowledge...
, MetonymyMetonymyMetonymy is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept...
, Frame semanticsFrame semanticsFrame semantics can refer to:*Kripke semantics - semantics for modal logics*Frame semantics - linguistic theory developed by Charles J. Fillmore...
, and IconicityIconicityIn functional-cognitive linguistics, as well as in semiotics, iconicity is the conceived similarity or analogy between the form of a sign and its meaning, as opposed to arbitrariness.Iconic principles:...
. - Construal and SubjectivitySubjectivitySubjectivity refers to the subject and his or her perspective, feelings, beliefs, and desires. In philosophy, the term is usually contrasted with objectivity.-Qualia:...
. - GestureGestureA gesture is a form of non-verbal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of speech or together and in parallel with spoken words. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body...
and sign languageSign languageA sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
. - Linguistic relativityLinguistic relativityThe principle of linguistic relativity holds that the structure of a language affects the ways in which its speakers are able to conceptualize their world, i.e. their world view...
. - Cultural linguistics.
Related work that interfaces with many of the above themes:
- Computational models of metaphor and language acquisition.
- Conceptual semanticsConceptual SemanticsConceptual semantics is a framework for semantic analysis developed mainly by Ray Jackendoff. Its aim is to provide a characterization of the conceptual elements by which a person understands words and sentences, and thus to provide an explanatory semantic representation...
, pursued by generative linguist Ray JackendoffRay JackendoffRay Jackendoff is an American linguist. He is professor of philosophy, Seth Merrin Chair in the Humanities and, with Daniel Dennett, Co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University...
is related because of its active psychological realism and the incorporation of prototype structure and images.
Cognitive linguistics, more than generative linguistics, seeks 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.
Insights and developments from cognitive linguistics are becoming accepted ways of analysing literary texts, too. Cognitive Poetics
Cognitive poetics
Cognitive poetics is a school of literary criticism that applies the principles of cognitive science, particularly cognitive psychology, to the interpretation of literary texts. It has ties to reader-response criticism, and is also closely related to stylistics, whose application to literary study...
, as it has become known, has become an important part of modern stylistics.
Controversy
There is significant peer review and debate within the field of linguistics regarding cognitive linguistics. Critics of cognitive linguistics have argued that most of the evidence from the cognitive view comes from the research in pragmatics and semantics on research into metaphor and preposition choice. They suggest that cognitive linguists should provide cognitive re-analyses of topics in syntax and phonology that are understood in terms of autonomous knowledge (Gibbs 1996).There is also controversy and debate within the field concerning the representation and status of idioms in grammar and the actual mental grammar of speakers. On one hand it is asserted that idiom variation needs to be explained with regard to general and autonomous syntactic rules. Another view says such idioms do not constitute semantic units and can be processed compositionally (Langlotz 2006).
General references
- Evans, VyvyanVyvyan EvansVyvyan Evans is Professor of Linguistics at Bangor University UK, where he is Head of the School of Linguistics & English Language. He received his PhD in Linguistics from Georgetown University in 2000. He has written numerous research monographs, textbooks, edited volumes and works of reference....
& Melanie Green (2006). Cognitive Linguistics: An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. - Evans, VyvyanVyvyan EvansVyvyan Evans is Professor of Linguistics at Bangor University UK, where he is Head of the School of Linguistics & English Language. He received his PhD in Linguistics from Georgetown University in 2000. He has written numerous research monographs, textbooks, edited volumes and works of reference....
(2007). A Glossary of Cognitive Linguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
- Gibbs (1996) in Casad ED. Cognitive Linguistics in the Redwoods: The Expansion of a New Paradigm in Linguistics (Cognitive Linguistic Research) Mouton De Gruyter (June 1996)ISBN 9783110143584
- Langlotz, Andreas. 2006. Idiomatic Creativity: A Cognitive-linguistic Model of Idiom-representation And Idiom Variation in English. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Further reading
- Evans, VyvyanVyvyan EvansVyvyan Evans is Professor of Linguistics at Bangor University UK, where he is Head of the School of Linguistics & English Language. He received his PhD in Linguistics from Georgetown University in 2000. He has written numerous research monographs, textbooks, edited volumes and works of reference....
& Melanie Green (2006). Cognitive Linguistics: An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. - Evans, VyvyanVyvyan EvansVyvyan Evans is Professor of Linguistics at Bangor University UK, where he is Head of the School of Linguistics & English Language. He received his PhD in Linguistics from Georgetown University in 2000. He has written numerous research monographs, textbooks, edited volumes and works of reference....
(2007). A Glossary of Cognitive Linguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. - Evans, VyvyanVyvyan EvansVyvyan Evans is Professor of Linguistics at Bangor University UK, where he is Head of the School of Linguistics & English Language. He received his PhD in Linguistics from Georgetown University in 2000. He has written numerous research monographs, textbooks, edited volumes and works of reference....
; Benjamin Bergen & Joerg Zinken (2007). The Cognitive Linguistics Reader. London: Equinox. - Evans, VyvyanVyvyan EvansVyvyan Evans is Professor of Linguistics at Bangor University UK, where he is Head of the School of Linguistics & English Language. He received his PhD in Linguistics from Georgetown University in 2000. He has written numerous research monographs, textbooks, edited volumes and works of reference....
, Benjamin K. Bergen and Jörg Zinken. The Cognitive Linguistics Enterprise: An Overview. In Vyvyan Evans, Benjamin K. Bergen and Jörg Zinken (Eds). The Cognitive Linguistics Reader. Equinox Publishing Co. - Geeraerts, D. & H. Cuyckens, eds. (2007). The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Geeraerts, D., ed. (2006). Cognitive Linguistics: Basic Readings. Berlin / New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
- Kristiansen et al., eds. (2006). Cognitive Linguistics: Current Applications and Future Perspectives. Berlin / New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
- Rohrer, T. Embodiment and Experientialism in Cognitive Linguistics. In the Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics, Dirk Geeraerts and Herbert Cuyckens, eds., Oxford University Press, forthcoming.
- Gilles FauconnierGilles FauconnierGilles Fauconnier is a French linguist, researcher in cognitive science, and author, currently working in the U.S.. He is a professor at the University of California, San Diego in the Department of Cognitive Science....
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) - Grady, Oakley, and Coulson (1999). "Blending and Metaphor". In Metaphor in cognitive linguistics, Steen and Gibbs (eds.). Philadelphia: John Benjamins. (online version)
- 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.
- Tomasello, M. (2003). Constructing a Language. A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition. Harvard University Press.
- Fauconnier, Gilles and Mark Turner (2003). The Way We Think. New York: Basic Books.
- Lakoff, GeorgeGeorge LakoffGeorge P. Lakoff is an American cognitive linguist and professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1972...
(1987). Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal About the Mind University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-46804-6.
External links
- International Cognitive Linguistics Association
- UK Cognitive Linguistics Association
- Annotated Cognitive Linguistics Reading List (Vyv Evans)
- JohnQPublik's Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics is an overview of the field, comparing it to traditional Chomskian linguistics.
- Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics (Mark Turner).
- The Gestalt Theory and Linguistics Page deals with the relationship between Gestalt theory and cognitive linguistics.
- The Center for the Cognitive Science of Metaphor Online is a collection of numerous formative articles in the fields of conceptual metaphor and conceptual integration.