When down is not bad, and up not good enough: A usage-based assessment of the plusminus parameter in image-schema theory (original) (raw)
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In this theoretical paper we propose three diff erent kinds of cognitive structure that have not been diff erentiated in the psychological and cognitive linguistic literatures. They are spatial primitives , image schemas , and schematic integrations . Spatial primitives are the fi rst conceptual building blocks formed in infancy, image schemas are simple spatial stories built from them, and schematic integrations use the fi rst two types to build concepts that include non-spatial elements, such as force and emotion. These diff erent kinds of structure have all come under the umbrella term of ‘image schemas’. However, they diff er in their content, developmental origin, imageability, and role in meaning construction in language and in thought. The present paper indicates how preverbal conceptualization needs to be taken into account for a complete understanding of image schemas and their uses. It provides examples to illustrate this infl uence, the most important of these being the primacy of imageable spatial information.
Thematic Roles in Image Schemas. Part 2. A Missing Link from Reality to Mind
2023
For a long time, Thematic roles have received much attention, raising many disputes and controversies, but they still remain a 'murky construct' (Newmeyer, 2010, Rissman and Majid, 2019). Dowty's words of 1986 that "the perennial vexing problem is the lack of agreement among linguists as to which thematic roles exist, and the absence of any obvious way to decide this question", still hold true. Departing from the traditional 'intuitive semantic' approach, I provided evidence that Thematic roles are indispensable components of image schemas, and constitute a scaffolding for language structures (2022, forthcoming). A natural question arose then, where they come from in the image schemas. Fillmore (1968) proposed that they may be, "presumably, innate concepts", while Langacker (1991) alluded to their "nonlinguistic" origin. The present paper argues that Thematic roles come from "nonlinguistic" sources, i.e., human interpretation and categorization of reality, completing the Thematic roles embodiment process.
2018
Embodiment plays an essential role in both concrete and abstract semantic representations. Our perceptual and motor system does not only impact on the way we physically interact with the external world but also on the way we cognitively structure external inputs. Both our experiential and conceptual knowledge may be encoded, in natural language, by means of action verbs. The action verbs are primarily used to refer to concrete actions and physical events (e.g., ”To push the button”). Nevertheless, they are also extensively used to express figurative meanings (e.g., ”To push someone to change habits”). This study aims to show how the semantic core of action verbs does influence their metaphorical potential. In particular, the image-schematic structure of the semantics of these predicates provides us with precise details on the linguistic processing of highly abstract concepts. The study we present is carried out within the IMAGACT framework. The analysis focuses on the metaphorical v...
Conceptual complexes in cognitive modeling 1
The present paper goes beyond previous treatments of cognitive models, especially conceptual metaphor and metonymy, by drawing on linguistic evidence. It introduces needed refinements into previous meaning construction accounts by investigating the activity of conceptual complexes, i.e. combinations of cognitive models whose existence can be detected from a careful examination of the meaning effects of some linguistic expressions. This improvement endows the linguist with a more powerful set of analytical tools capable of dealing with a broader range of phenomena than previous theories. The paper first explores metaphoric and metonymic complexes, and their meaning effects. Then, it addresses the metonymic exploitation of frame complexes and image-schematic complexes. The resulting analytical apparatus proves applicable to the study of fictive motion and image-schema transformations, which have so far been addressed in Cognitive Linguistics without making explicit any relation between them or with other phenomena. We give evidence that these two phenomena can be dealt with as specific cases of metonymic domain expansion and domain reduction respectively. This means that fictive motion and image-schema transformations can be
Conceptual complexes in cognitive modeling
Revista Espanola De Linguistica Aplicada, 2017
The present paper goes beyond previous treatments of cognitive models, especially conceptual metaphor and metonymy, by drawing on linguistic evidence. It introduces needed refinements into previous meaning construction accounts by investigating the activity of conceptual complexes, i.e., combinations of cognitive models whose existence can be detected from a careful examination of the meaning effects of some linguistic expressions. This improvement endows the linguist with a more powerful set of analytical tools capable of dealing with a broader range of phenomena than previous theories. The paper first explores metaphoric and metonymic complexes, and their meaning effects. Then, it addresses the metonymic exploitation of frame complexes and image-schematic complexes. The resulting analytical apparatus proves applicable to the study of fictive motion and image-schema transformations, which have so far been addressed in Cognitive Linguistics without making explicit any relation between them or with other phenomena. We give evidence that these two phenomena can be dealt with as specific cases of metonymic domain expansion and domain reduction respectively. This means that fictive motion and image-schema transformations can be fully integrated into an encompassing account of cognitive modeling based on the activity of single or combined cognitive operations on basic or complex cognitive models.
HERMES - Journal of Language and Communication in Business, 2017
The three-level hierarchy of values in Faber and Mairal‘s work (Constructing a Lexicon of English Verbs, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 1999) is based on the scales of values given by Max Scheler or Józef Tischner, which are deeply rooted in the theory of the Great Chain of Being (employed by Aristotle in his scala naturae). Faber and Mairal also provide an account of the relationship between lexical structure and cognition. A key issue was the introduction of a cognitive axis and a typology of predicate schemas in the lexicon (at lexeme, sub-domain and domain level). Among the four domain-level semantic patterns proposed, axiology is considered to appear in many domains. How-ever, in this article it is claimed that the axiological parameter needs further clarification and decomposition. Its structure is multidimensional, internally hierarchical and ca-nonical. In consequence, the three-level hierarchy of values in the lexicon of English verbs is reformulated and the axiological parame...