cognitive linguistics essay

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Cognitive Linguistics

Introduction, foundational works.

• Reference Resources
• Bibliographies
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• Cognitive Grammar
• Construction Grammar
• Conceptual Integration Theory
• Conceptual Metaphor Theory
• Frame Semantics
• Image Schema Theory
• Theory of Lexical Concepts and Cognitive Models
• Mental Spaces Theory
• Prototype Theory
• Usage-Based Approaches to Language Learning

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Cognitive Linguistics by Vyvyan Evans LAST REVIEWED: 28 October 2011 LAST MODIFIED: 28 October 2011 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199772810-0059

Cognitive linguistics is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of language, mind, and sociocultural experience that first emerged in the 1970s. Cognitive linguistics is characterized by a commitment to the inseparability of meaning and form in the study of language. It also takes the view that language reflects general aspects of cognition rather than adopting a modular view of mind. A further feature of the approach is the view that language is best studied in the context of use and indeed emerges from it. Cognitive linguists have predominantly focused on two general areas of inquiry: the study of language organization (cognitive approaches to grammar) and language as a means of studying aspects of conceptual structure (cognitive semantics). Cognitive linguistics is an increasingly influential approach in cognitive science, social science, and applied linguistics.

Cognitive linguistics emerged from research conducted by prominent scholars working on the West Coast of the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. Most notable among these are Ronald W. Langacker ( Langacker 1987–1991 ), who developed the theory of cognitive grammar (see Cognitive Grammar ); George Lakoff ( Lakoff 1987 ), who applied work on categorization to metaphor, lexical semantics, and grammar; and Leonard Talmy ( Talmy 2000 ), who studied the conceptual basis of grammar. These three researchers are widely considered to be the founding fathers of the enterprise. Also foundational ware Lakoff and Johnson 1980 , which developed conceptual metaphor theory (see Conceptual Metaphor Theory ) and Johnson 1987 , which developed the theory of image schema (see Image Schema Theory ) that grew out of work on conceptual metaphors. Other important work that has proved to be foundational was developed in Fillmore 1982 on frame semantics (see Frame Semantics ) and Fillmore, et al. 1988 , which provided the basis for the theory of construction grammar (see Construction Grammar ). Fauconnier 1994 developed the theory of mental spaces (see Mental Spaces Theory ), which later gave rise to conceptual integration theory (see Conceptual Integration Theory ).

Fauconnier, Gilles. 1994. Mental spaces . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.

DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511624582

This work develops a cognitive linguistic approach to meaning construction and discourse semantics. This perspective was foundational for the later development of conceptual integration theory (see Conceptual Integration Theory ). Originally published by MIT Press in 1985.

Fillmore, Charles. 1982. Frame semantics. In Linguistics in the morning calm . Edited by the Linguistic Society of Korea, 111–137. Seoul, South Korea: Hanshin.

The best-developed early presentation of frame semantics. This has been seminal for encyclopedic approaches to lexical semantics and the later development of construction grammar (see Construction Grammar ).

Fillmore, Charles, Paul Kay, and Catherine O’Connor. 1988. Regularity and idiomaticity: The case of “let alone.” Language 64.3: 501–538.

DOI: 10.2307/414531

This paper presents the seminal statement on construction grammar (see Construction Grammar ).

Johnson, Mark. 1987. The body in the mind: The bodily basis of meaning, imagination, and reason . Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

This work develops the theoretical construct of the image schema, one of the most important ideas in cognitive linguistics.

Lakoff, George. 1987. Women, fire, and dangerous things: What categories reveal about the mind . Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

The seminal application of Eleanor Rosch’s work on categorization and prototype theory (see Prototype Theory ) to linguistic semantics, grammar, and metaphor.

Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. 1980. Metaphors we live by . Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

One of the most influential books in late 20th-century linguistics. This work argues for a conceptual basis for metaphor and metonymy and develops the framework of conceptual metaphor theory (see Conceptual Metaphor Theory ). It was one of the earliest works to argue for an embodied basis for conceptual and linguistic organization.

Langacker, Ronald W. 1987–1991. Foundations of cognitive grammar . 2 vols. Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ. Press.

These volumes develop the foundational assumptions (Vol. 1) and applications (Vol. 2) of the distinctive approach to grammatical structure, representation, and meaning that is cognitive grammar (see Cognitive Grammar ).

Talmy, Leonard. 2000. Toward a cognitive semantics . 2 vols. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

This is a collection of seminal articles by Talmy originally published in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s that have been highly influential in the development of cognitive linguistics.

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• DOI: 10.1590/S0102-44502007000200011
• Corpus ID: 262591201

Cognitive Linguistics: an introduction

• Francisco Gomes de Matos
• Published 2007
• Linguistics
• DELTA: Documentação de Estudos em Lingüística Teórica e Aplicada

8 Citations

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Cognitive Linguistics: Constructions and Conceptualizations Essay

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From the perspective of cognitive linguistics, grammar, i.e., the constructions used in the speech as the manifestations of grammatical structures, can be considered the conceptualization of an idea. Therefore, any representation of knowledge from a linguistic perspective, be it morphological, phonological, semantic, or syntactic one, is a conceptual structure, which does not allow for elucidating the connection between the semantic and the formal representation of a word to a basic truth-conditional representation. Therefore, by implying that grammatical constructions should be interpreted as the conceptualizations, one introduces a plethora of opportunities for uninhibited linguistic creativity into the language.

Cognitive linguistics allowed for merging the domains of truth-conditional (i.e., logical) and the phenomenon of generative syntax, therefore, helping understand how speech is produced and what role experience and subjective interpretation of reality play in the process of producing speech. The use of conceptualization as the amalgam of the speaker’s experience on which the process of generating speech is based can be considered a chance to refrain from the traditional usage of rigid linguistic patterns and bring expressivity and artistry into the language, therefore, creating prerequisites for its further evolution. For example, the word “see” can be used to denote not only the ability to observe something (e.g., “I see a beautiful flower”) but also as the means of denoting comprehension (as in “Oh, I see now what you mean”).

In other words, by introducing the conceptualist perspective into the modern linguistics, one is likely to build the foundation for language experimentations, as well as the inclusion of denotation-related meanings based on the experience of the speakers. Thus, in theory, the process of language development can be defined as not being based on any specific order or reality. The promotion of the intersubjective truth as the foundational concept for the further evolution of the language will imply that the latter is theoretically going to be represented by the speakers’ knowledge and use thereof. In other words, the further incorporation of new and innovative metaphors, constructions, and other elements of speech into the language is going to be derived from people’s experiences and the information that they will acquire. Consequently, given the immense range of opportunities for personal discoveries in the usage of language, one may assume that the further perspectives for the evolution of the language are basically endless. For example, one’s perception of the neutral word “outside” as the synonym for something that was not familiar and, therefore, hostile, triggered a negative connotation of the word “outsider.”

Put differently, the perspective through which cognitive linguistics views the process of producing a speech allows building an entirely new model of representing the grammar. Consequently, the number of tools for analyzing the stages of creating a specific idea and wording it increases significantly. Furthermore, the very process of creating a statement and putting it into words is no longer considered as merely the result of matching a certain grammatical framework with a specific idea. Instead, the introduction of the principles of conceptualization as the means of eliminating the boundaries between the linguistic structures and the personal interpretation of language as a continuously evolving phenomenon will be possible.

In other words, the idea of viewing the language development through the lens of conceptualization suggests that the experience acquired by the speaker should be incorporated with the knowledge about the language that they possess. It would be wrong to claim that the phenomenon of conceptualization immediately cancels the rules and principles of grammar, syntax, phonology, etc. Quite on the contrary, it invites new opportunities for the evolution of the said concepts. The idea of conceptualization serves as the catalyst for the development of the language. It pushes the envelope, helping make expressions used in a speech more memorable and powerful. As a result, the message conveyed by the speaker becomes all the more convincing, getting across the sense of urgency, necessity, and significance.

It should be borne in mind, though, that conceptualization is intrinsically visual in its nature and, therefore, implies that the speaker is going to incorporate their visual experiences primarily into forming the new concepts and phenomena with the help of traditional linguistics tools. As a result, a certain amount of chaos may be introduced into the language, making it a cluster of personal impressions shaped with the help of the set linguistic tools. Nevertheless, the fact that visual perceptions are typically homogenous among the speakers of a particular language and the representatives of a specific culture, it can be assumed that the generalized versions of new concepts and ideas will finally work their way into the language, contributing successfully to its further progress.

By claiming that constructions as the representation of grammatical structure should be interpreted as conceptualizations, one creates a myriad of possibilities for linguistic creativity and the further development of the language. Therefore, it is the array of options for expressing oneself creatively with the help of the traditional linguistic tools that the said statement permits. Despite the fact that the identified approach invites certain issues regarding the subjectivity of the language use, it provides a solid boost for the further evolution of thereof. Thus, the prerequisites for the creation of a richer and more expressive use of linguistic tools can be built.

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Cognitive Linguistics presents a forum for linguistic research of all kinds on the interaction between language and cognition. The journal focuses on language as an instrument for organizing, processing and conveying information. It is devoted to high-quality research on topics such as: the structural characteristics of natural language categorization (such as prototypicality, cognitive models, metaphor, and imagery); the functional principles of linguistic organization (such as iconicity); the conceptual interface between syntax and semantics; the relationship between language and thought, including matters of universality and language specificity; and the experiential background of language-in-use, including the cultural background, the discourse context, and the psychological environment of linguistic performance. Cognitive Linguistics is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal.

The Editor-in-Chief of the journal is Dagmar Divjak, Department of Modern Languages & Department of English and Linguistics, University of Birmingham. Contact: cogling AT degruyter DOT com.

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Cognitive Linguistics: An Approach to the Study of Language and Thought

2021, Journal for Research Scholars and Professionals of English Language Teaching

The present paper is an attempt to simplify and comprehend what Cognitive Linguistics deals. It helps the learners, students of linguistics and teachers of ELT understand the characteristics and phenomena of Cognitive Linguistics, providing a succinct overview of Cognitive Linguistics. It is an interdisciplinary branch of linguistics and a cluster of overlapping approaches to the study of language as a mental phenomenon. Linguistics basically focuses on the sounds, words, grammar rules and rules of a language consisting of phonology (the sound system), morphology (the structure of words), syntax (the arrangement of words into sentences) and semantics (meanings). Cognitive linguistics is an integrated model-a collection of comprehensive investigations of a wide range of cognitive and linguistic phenomena.

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Cognitive linguistics is the joint product of largely independent research programs begun in the late 1970s and early 1980s by scholars who shared the general goal of making grammatical and semantic theory responsible to the facts of usage and the flexibility of the human conceptual capacity. But what kind of product is it? To those outside the immediate spheres of influence of its major proponents (George Lakoff, Ronald Langacker, Gilles Fauconnier, Leonard Talmy, among others), it might appear to be nothing more than an inventory of disparate constructs (prototype-based categories, semantic frames, mental spaces, metaphorical mappings) or even a set of case studies of linguistic idiosyncrasies. It doesn’t seem to DO anything, or at least it does not provide a uniform grammatical or semantic formalism. Instead, cognitive linguistics is a worldview, in which words, rather than denoting things in the world, are points of entry into conceptual networks (Langacker 1987, 1991), and syntactic patterns, rather than merely grouping symbols together, are cognitive and even motor routines of varying degrees of entrenchment and internal complexity (Bybee 2001).

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The Cognitive Linguistics Reader. London: Equinox, 2006

In D. Geeraerts and H. Cuyckens (eds.) Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics. Oxford, Oxford University Press, pp. 1266-1294., 2012

Baku Slavic University, Scientific works, Baku, 2018

Functions of Language, 2009

Cognitive Semantics, 2015

International Journal of Progressive Sciences and Technologies (IJPSAT) , 2020

Cognitive linguistics today, 2002

Scientific notes of Taurida National V.I. Vernadsky University, series Philology. Social Communications, 2020

Yearbook of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association

Kwartalnik Neofilologiczny , 2000

International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 2019

Taylor, John R. & Jeannette Littlemore (eds.). The Bloomsbury Companion to Cognitive Linguistics. 253–276 , 2014

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About this Cambridge Elements series

Cognitive linguistics is an approach to language study that aims to explore and understand the interactions between language, cognition, and their intersections. An important underlying principle of this approach is that many, if not all, linguistic phenomena can be explained via general cognitive principles.

Grounded in the cognitive sciences, cognitive linguistics has been informed by and has also contributed to its neighbouring disciplines of psychology and philosophy. In more recent years, cognitive linguistics has begun to harness research from an expanding range of subject areas and theoretical backgrounds, and its methodological innovations have provided new tools to many branches of linguistic enquiry.

Cambridge Elements in Cognitive Linguistics  is a series comprised of high-quality, updatable, and rigorous yet accessible works written by experts in the field. The aim of the series is to extend the theoretical and methodological boundaries of cognitive linguistics. To do this, it will advance and develop established areas of research in the discipline, as well as address areas where cognitive linguistics has not traditionally been explored and areas where it has yet to become well-established.

Essentially, this series aims to address the question: how can cognitive linguistics better serve its sub-disciplines, as well as the discipline as a whole?

Elements in this series

Computational Construction Grammar

• Jonathan Dunn

Cognitive Linguistics and Language Evolution

• Michael Pleyer , Stefan Hartmann

Applied Cognitive Linguistics and L2 Instruction

• Reyes Llopis-García

Metaphor, Metonymy, the Body and the Environment

• Jeannette Littlemore , Marianna Bolognesi , Nina Julich-Warpakowski , Chung-hong Danny Leung , Paula Pérez Sobrino

The Many Faces of Creativity

• Sarah Turner , Jeannette Littlemore

Navigating the Realities of Metaphor and Psychotherapy Research

Language Change and Cognitive Linguistics

• Tore Nesset

Series topics

Cambridge Elements in Cognitive Linguistics seeks to build a dynamic collection of works that both spans the spectrum of the discipline and expands beyond its current confines.

Elements will be varied in nature, including those that:

• make significant advancements to theory and to methodologies in cognitive linguistics
• employ innovative approaches to the application of cognitive linguistics to new and established areas
• are tutorial-based, offering readers an interactive platform that employ practical examples

The Series will feature Elements, including but not limited to the application of cognitive linguistics to clinical linguistics, forensic linguistics, language teaching, neurolinguistics, pragmatics, reading and literacy, among others.

The series also benefits from the innovative online platform provided by Cambridge University Press, which includes the ability to host videos, data sets, and other interactive content.

About the editors

Sarah Duffy is Senior Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics at Northumbria University. She has published primarily on metaphor interpretation and understanding, and her forthcoming monograph for Cambridge University Press (co-authored with Michele Feist) explores Time, Metaphor, and Language from a cognitive science perspective. Sarah is Review Editor of the journal,  Language and Cognition , and Vice President of the UK Cognitive Linguistics Association.

Nick Riches is a Senior Lecturer in Speech and Language Pathology at Newcastle University. His work has investigated language and cognitive processes in children and adolescents with autism and developmental language disorders, and he is particularly interested in usage-based accounts of these populations. 

Contact the editors

If you are interesting in writing an Element for this series, or would like more information, contact Sarah Duffy at  [email protected] or Nick Riches at [email protected]

Editorial Board

• Heng Li, Sichuan International Studies University • John Newman, University of Alberta • Kimberley Pager-McClymont, University of Aberdeen • Katie J. Patterson, University of Granada  • James Street,  Northumbria University • Lexi Webster, University of Southampton • Xu Wen, Southwest University

Cognitive Linguistics: An Approach to the Study of Language and Thought

Journal for Research Scholars and Professionals of English Language Teaching, Vol. 5 | Issue 24 | March 2021

8 Pages Posted: 15 Apr 2021

V. Chandra Sekhar Rao

Independent

Date Written: 2021

The present paper is an attempt to simplify and comprehend what Cognitive Linguistics deals. It helps the learners, students of linguistics and teachers of ELT understand the characteristics and phenomena of Cognitive Linguistics, providing a succinct overview of Cognitive Linguistics. It is an interdisciplinary branch of linguistics and a cluster of overlapping approaches to the study of language as a mental phenomenon. Linguistics basically focuses on the sounds, words, grammar rules and rules of a language consisting of phonology (the sound system), morphology (the structure of words), syntax (the arrangement of words into sentences) and semantics (meanings). Cognitive linguistics is an integrated model - a collection of comprehensive investigations of a wide range of cognitive and linguistic phenomena.

Keywords: Cognitive Linguistics, Cognitive Approaches to Grammar, Cognitive Semantics, Symbolic Thesis, Usage-Based Thesis

JEL Classification: 12

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

V. Chandra Sekhar Rao (Contact Author)

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Cognitive psychology ejournal, linguistics education, language teaching & language acquisition ejournal, psycholinguistics & neurolinguistics ejournal, neurobiology of cognitive perception, learning & memory ejournal.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
• Copyright year: 2019
• Audience: Students, Researchers, Practitioners, General Readers
• Front matter: 6
• Main content: 314
• Keywords: Cognitive Linguistics ; Usage-based Linguistics ; Language ; Mind and Culture
• Published: July 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9783110626438
• ISBN: 9783110622997

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48 Cognitive Linguistics and Philosophy

Peter Harder (PhD 1996) is professor of English language at the University of Copenhagen. He is based in a European tradition of functional and structural linguistics, and living through the rise of generative and formal linguistics and the subsequent pragmatic and cognitive developments kindled his interest in foundational issues (see his 2003 article “The Status of Linguistic Facts,” Mind and Language). His research interests focus on relations between functional and cognitive dimensions of language, and his main work is Functional Semantics (1996). He was a visiting scholar at the University of California, San Diego, in 1994 and at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2003. His current research includes developmental patterns in the encoding of perspective and the nature of clausal embedding (see his forthcoming “Complement-Taking Predicates: Usage and Linguistic Structure,” with Kasper Boye, in Studies in Language). Peter Harder can be reached at [email protected].

• Published: 18 September 2012
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How one sees the relationship between cognitive linguistics and philosophy depends on what one takes to be the role and nature of philosophy. The approach followed in this article is the one presented by J. L. Austin: viewing philosophy as constituting the overarching arena for discussions about the nature of the world and our knowledge about it, within which independent disciplines have gradually crystallized into domains of their own. This article addresses some of the basic concerns of philosophy, including the relationship between ontology and epistemology. Thinking about the mind is historically bound up with dilemmas that span all these levels, with a rough polarity between, on the one hand, idealism and rationalism, which share a commitment to mental foundations of understanding, and on the other hand, empiricism, which takes actual experience, entering the mind via the senses, as the foundation of knowledge. This article also discusses linguistics and the philosophy of science in the twentieth century.

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