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- Volume 5, Issue, 2007
Annual Review of Cognitive Linguistics - Volume 5, Issue 1, 2007
Volume 5, Issue 1, 2007
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Before and after: Relations of anteriority and posteriority along ‘paths’ of conceptual structure
Author(s): Angeliki Athanasiadoupp.: 1–26 (26)More LessThe paper deals with the way events are ordered in a sequence with respect to each other and with respect to the speaker. When ordered with respect to each other, one event serves as the temporal reference point for establishing mental contact with another event, the target. Taking the speaker as the reference point, events are organized on the time line around the speaker and the present moment of speaking (speech time) from which the speaker looks back at past time and forwards at future time. The event-ordering relations are studied by before and after in physical, temporal and abstract space. Moreover, the variety of meanings of before and after is not only motivated by the spatial and nonspatial domains they extend to, but also by the different patterns and modifications of image schemas.
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A bi-polar theory of nominal and clause structure and function
Author(s): Jerry T. Ballpp.: 27–54 (28)More LessA bi-polar theory of the structure and function of nominals and clauses is presented in which a specifier, functioning as a referential pole, and a head, functioning as a relational pole, combine to form a referring expression. The theory applies to both object referring expressions, in the case of nominals, and situation referring expressions, in the case of clauses. The bi-polar theory is contrasted with X-Bar Theory — a uni-polar theory in which the head uniquely determines the type of the larger expression in which it occurs. Uni-polar theories adopt a strong notion of endocentricity, which is rejected in the bi-polar theory, where both the specifier and the head make significant and meaningful contributions to the larger expressions in which they occur. The bi-polar theory is also contrasted with Langacker’s conception of the basic structure and function of nominals and clauses.
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Subject–object switching and the Igbo lexicon
Author(s): Chinedu Uchechukwupp.: 55–76 (22)More LessIn her pioneering research on what she described as the subject–object switching (SOS) phenomenon of the Igbo language, U.walaka (1988) explains the phenomenon as the formation of a sentence pair with the same verb but involving a switch of subject and object between the two sentences. This paper takes up and strives to improve on this pioneering work. It is argued that while some of the earlier conclusions on the phenomenon could indeed be described as inappropriate, the conclusions might definitely have been influenced by two main factors. The first is the usual lexical gaps in translating from Igbo to English, while the second is most likely the transformational approach used in the analysis. A ‘new’ insight into the phenomenon is proposed through the application of Cognitive Grammar’s concept of construal, with the conclusion that the SOS phenomenon involves two construction specific orientations: an agent-orientation and a patient-orientation. It is further shown how the adopted approach not only contradicts the lexicon-OR-syntax approach in Igbo linguistics, but also provides an insight into the two different citation forms connected with the two orientations.
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Italian split intransitivity and image schemas: The cognitive linguistics–neuroscience interface
Author(s): Natalya I. Stolovapp.: 77–106 (30)More LessThis paper explores the choice between the auxiliaries BE and HAVE with Italian intransitive verbs. Most attempts to account for split intransitivity in Italian, as well as in other Romance languages, can be roughly grouped into two categories: the syntactic perspective and the semantic view. In this article I propose that instead of attempting to identify one single parameter responsible for the choice between BE and HAVE, the Romanists should, as our colleagues in other language families have already done, consider the auxiliary selection in terms of a combination of motivations related to the speakers’ conceptualization of the event and to their access to the relevant image schema. This proposition prompts us to reassess the conclusions previously reached by researchers working with aphasic subjects. In addition, it fosters integration between cognitive linguistics and neuroscience by providing a solution to the so-called “Granularity Mismatch Problem.”
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Confrontation or complementarity?: Metaphor in language use and cognitive metaphor theory
Author(s): Lynne Cameronpp.: 107–135 (29)More LessTheoretical and methodological challenges presented by studying metaphor in its discourse environment are addressed. Complex dynamic systems theory provides a theoretical ‘discourse dynamics’ framework for describing metaphor in face-to-face conversation, and more generally, as a phenomenon that is at once linguistic, cognitive, affective and socio-cultural. Empirical data from post-conflict reconciliation conversations illustrate the procedures of metaphor-led discourse analysis, using metaphor to investigate patterns of talking and thinking. Identification of linguistic metaphors is followed by the extraction of patterns of metaphor use, which include metaphor clusters and ‘systematic metaphors’. Connections are made between metaphor in on-line talk, patterns of metaphor use in discourse events and metaphor in socio-cultural life. The final section of this article discusses whether the differences found between metaphor as hypothesised in conceptual metaphor theory and metaphor in real-world discourse reflect an essential incompatibility or can be used more positively in developing cognitive approaches to metaphor.
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Lexical templates within a functional cognitive theory of meaning
Author(s): Ricardo Mairal Usón and Pamela Faberpp.: 137–172 (36)More LessWithin the context of the Lexical Constructional Model, which provides a comprehensive account of the relationship between syntax and all facets on meaning construction, this paper is concerned with one of the major representational modules of the model, viz. a lexical template. It is claimed that a lexical template consists of a semantic specification plus a logical structure. The logical structure formalism is constructed on the basis of Aktionsart distinctions proposed in Role and Reference Grammar (Van Valin & Lapolla, 1997; Van Valin, 2005). Aktionsart regularities are captured by the external variables of the template, specified in Roman characters, and by a set of high-level elements of structure that function as semantic primitives. Lexical templates also contain internal variables, marked with Arabic numerals, and formally expressed in terms of a catalogue of lexical functions. These variables capture world-knowledge elements that relate in a way specific to the predicate defined by the lexical template. In order to test the viability of lexical templates, a detailed analysis of a set of verbs within the lexical domain of cognition is included.
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“Image” metaphors and connotations in everyday language
Author(s): Alice Deignanpp.: 173–192 (20)More LessIn this paper, I argue that the general notion of an image metaphor, which has been traditionally confined to so-called “one-shot metaphors”, as used in literary and poetic language, could be expanded to describe many expressions that are found in everyday language. Following Caballero (2003a), I argue that the division in cognitive linguistics of metaphors into “image” and “conceptual” is over-simplistic. I show that many of the most frequent metaphors in my data have characteristics which would qualify them for inclusion in both categories. I also argue that connotational meaning is an important characteristic of these expressions, unifying their literal and non-literal meanings. A detailed analysis of the Bank of English corpus concordance for heel shows the numerical importance of such metaphors. I refer to research into metaphor that takes an emergentist perspective, and which has led a number of other existing distinctions to be questioned. I argue that these expressions, termed “metaphoremes”, which are difficult to classify using existing distinctions, should be regarded as prototypical on the grounds of their frequency, rather than as anomalous.
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‘Saved by the reflexive’: Evidence from coercion via reflexives in verbless complement clauses in English and Spanish
Author(s): Francisco Gonzálvez-Garcíapp.: 193–238 (46)More LessThis paper argues for the existence of a dynamic interaction between constructional polysemy and coercion in shaping lower-level configurations of the subjective-transitive construction in English and Spanish. In particular, a fine-grained analysis is provided of those configurations featuring coercion via a reflexive pronoun in the object slot. The corpus-based analysis provided here shows that the verbs in question, regardless of their inherent lexical semantics, are construed in this construction as expressing a personal assessment by the subject/speaker about himself/herself, thus providing incontrovertible evidence for a constructionist analysis of the type invoked here. Moreover, the coercion effects examined here lend further credence to the construction-specific and also language-specific nature of constructions, especially in the light of instances of the reflexive subjective-transitive construction after saber (‘know’) in Spanish. This paper also suggests that the explanatory power of the anatomy of a given construction can be further maximized if the morphosyntactic properties of the XPCOMP are mapped onto their inherent meaning properties.
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Light and heavy reflexive marking: The Middle Domain in Romanian
Author(s): Andreea S. Caludepp.: 239–269 (31)More LessIn Romanian, the middle marker se is employed to encode five distinct situation types: reflexive, reciprocal, (medio-)passive, inchoative and impersonal. This work identifies the relationships among the different uses of the marker and puts forward explanations for them within a cognitive, functional framework. Following studies such as those by Faltz (1985), Haiman (1983), Haspelmath (2005), Kemmer (1993ab), Lakoff (1977), Manoliu-Manea (1994, 2000), Maldonado (1992, 1999), Manney (2000), and Yoshimura and Taylor (2004), the current paper gives a synchronic account of the Romanian Middle Domain, its organization and the relationships between the various middle constructions found inside it. Findings suggest that the semantic property of low elaboration of events (introduced by Kemmer, 1993ab) constitutes the common denominator among the different uses explored. This work provides an insight into Romanian itself, as well as a contribution to cognitive theories of human language and responds to the call for more data and further investigations of middles cross-linguistically (see Smith, 2004).
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Moving OVER: The role of systematic semantic processes in defining individual lexemes
Author(s): Robert B. Dewellpp.: 271–288 (18)More LessThis article argues that OVER profiles the relation between a schematic path and a LM — even when it describes an objectively static scene. It situates OVER within the overall system of spatial prepositions in English, focusing primarily on the general semantic patterns that over shares with other route Ps (THROUGH, AROUND, ACROSS, …), i.e., prepositions that profile a path defined by its internal structure and location rather than by its endpoints. OVER thus contrasts systematically with locational Ps (IN, ON, ABOVE, IN FRONT OF, …) that profile the ordinary location of a trajector. These systematic contrasts consistently account for the differences between OVER and its paradigmatic alternatives. The analysis suggests adopting a more dynamic conception of a “semantic network” that consists mainly of interpretational processes that are shared with other expressions in the system.
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Motion events in Spanish L2 acquisition
Author(s): Teresa Cadierno and Lucas Ruiz
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