Cognitive Linguistic Studies - Volume 11, Issue 2, 2024

Abstract

Cognitive linguists have not paid much attention to the conceptual semantics of basic adjectives used predicatively about physical objects, concentrating mainly on attributive constructions (e.g., adjective ordering, interactions between adjective and noun) or on figurative uses. Among the exceptions are Anna Wierzbicka (2006) on ‘shape’ descriptors and Goddard & Wierzbicka (2007) on ‘physical quality’ descriptors, both conducted within the NSM framework of semantic-conceptual analysis. Building on this work, the present article proposes original semantic-conceptual explications for the basic physical meanings of ‘long’, ‘flat’, ‘round’, ‘hard’, ‘heavy’, and ‘sharp’. The project has high significance because it can be argued that these meanings function as conceptual building blocks in the semantics of innumerable other words and concepts in the realm of the physical. The article showcases cutting-edge work in NSM semantics, including introducing the notion of ‘visuospatial parsing’ into NSM research and emphasizing the importance of embodied experience in human conceptualization.

Abstract

This paper reflects on interjections in English. An interjection is a word or phrase that is used to express strong emotions, often suddenly, like oops when a small mistake happens, as in Oops! I typed two Ls by mistake. To provide a new picture of interjections, it embeds the analysis in Cognitive Grammar. In this regard, it attempts to verify three claims of Cognitive Grammar. One claim describes a linguistic expression as a cluster of distinct but related senses. In light of this claim, the paper argues that an interjection forms a category of numerous senses organized around a central one. Another claim characterizes the meanings of linguistic expressions with respect to the fields to which they belong. In virtue of this claim, the paper argues that interjections form domains in which they stand for a general concept but differ in specifics. A further claim ascribes the use of a linguistic expression to the particular construal imposed on its content. Given this claim, the paper argues that the use of an interjection results from the particular perspective in which the speaker takes on a situation. The aim is to highlight the extra touch of meaning that interjections flavor the utterances in which they occur. The gist is that interjections are purposeful choices for expressing sentiments.

Abstract

Inspired by the notions of body-based and culturally specific embodiment, this study sheds light on the interface between body and culture in the Amharic conceptualization of ayn ‘eye.’ Applying the “lexical approach”, this paper examines the eye-related metaphors in Amharic monolingual and bilingual dictionaries. At the bodily level, the widespread conceptual metaphors knowing/thinking is seeing and eyes are light sources, and the metonymies eye for person and physiological (eye) change stands for an emotion are present in Amharic. In the cultural dimension, ayn is related to the concept of the “evil eye”, which associates the eye with mystical powers. However, contrary to the widespread superstitious belief of the “evil eye” in other cultures, the notion of the “evil eye” in Amharic is associated with the concept of buda--a class of people socially segregated due to their economic status and their supposedly accursed lineage. This study shows that the presence of similar conceptual metaphors (“vision-light”, “vision-knowledge”, and “eye-emotion/personality” metaphors) and cultural beliefs (the “evil eye”) in different languages/cultures does not necessarily entail equivalent conceptualization.

Abstract

The present study probes into a comparative study of metaphorical expressions of money in English and Chinese. By hiring corpus-based methodology, this article aims to gain insight into the universality and variation of money-related conceptual metaphors manifested in corresponding linguistic expressions in English and Chinese. Drawing on the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, the findings unravel a significant overlay in money-related conceptual metaphors between English and Chinese, upholding a notch of acclaim. Additionally, a small part of money-related conceptual metaphors is specific in a certain kind of language, either in English or Chinese. Meanwhile, the present study tends to explore metaphorical conceptualizations of money primarily based on common bodily experiences, and thus, most money-related conceptual metaphors are universal in English and Chinese, while the variations in English and Chinese can be explained by cultural experiences. Consequently, this research contributes to our understanding of the interplay between conceptual unit schematicity and embodiment hierarchy. Moreover, it bids valued insights for future comparative studies on conceptual metaphors spanning diverse languages and cultures.

Abstract

The study aims to examine the syntactic and semantic behaviors of predicative possession (i.e., have-possessive constructions) in Malwai Punjabi, an underdocumented dialect within the Indo-Aryan language family. Data were collected from longitudinal online interviews with native speakers as consultants, with audio recordings for transcribed target sentences. The results revealed that all the alienable possession, either permanent/temporary or abstract/concrete, could be marked by the postposition koḷ ‘near/with’, whereas inalienable possession, such as whole-part relation and kinship, could not be encoded using koḷ. The prototypicality model and schema-based metaphors explained why koḷ was widely used to express alienable possession in Malwai Punjabi. The analysis of companion and proximity schemata also justified the extended semantics of predicative possession, suggesting a metaphorical mapping of accompaniment and location onto possession. From a typological angle, the case study can not only provide further evidence for the existence of split possession but also contribute to a cognitive understanding of predicative possession in relation to other languages.

Abstract

It is now well established that English phrasal verbs cause English as foreign language learners no small degree of confusion due to the semantic complexity. However, the influence of crosslinguistic transfer on learning phrasal verbs has remained unclear. There even has been little qualitative analysis of the crosslinguistic difference between literal and metaphorical meanings of particles. This paper proposes an instructional approach underpinned by metaphor and categorization in cognitive linguistics and highlights particles as a means of disentangling polysemous verb-particle constructions. Fifteen students from four universities in Taipei City and City of Newcastle upon Tyne participated in the study. Results of the qualitative data, i.e., discussion tasks, in-session tasks, and interviews, suggested that despite the difficulty of understanding some target items, the crosslinguistic similarities and differences generally aid the learning of the phrasal verbs via the proposed approach. Raising an awareness of crosslinguistic difference between metaphorical meanings of particles can be pedagogically useful.

Abstract

This paper attempts to usher in a cognitive linguistic theory into (cognitive) translation studies and offers a theoretical model of translation from the construal perspective. In this construal-based theory, translators are modelled as construers which are featured by subjectivity, and meaning decoding and encoding in translation are equated with construal which is manifested at two levels. At the cognitive level, translators construe the source text whereas at the linguistic level the construal established by the translators is packaged in the target language. Translation process involves translators’ construal operations such as perspective, selection, prominence and dynamicity, and imagination. Since construal is situated in context, it is impossible to recreate the construals of the source text author but optimal construal can be envisioned if the situated contexts for the source text author(s) as well as that for the target text are best accommodated.

This article reviews Visual and Multimodal Communication: Applying the Relevance Principle97801908452309780190845261£ 71

This article reviews Time, Metaphor, and Language: A Cognitive Science Perspective978-1-107-19403-8$ 125