Contexts and Constructions

Contexts and Constructions PDF Author: Alexander Bergs
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 902728878X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
This collection of original articles focuses on the function, role, and structure of linguistic and extralinguistic “context(s)” in relation to the notion of “constructions” and in construction grammar. It thus takes up and brings together two equally complex concepts of linguistics, which both encompass structural as well as pragmatic and discourse-oriented aspects. Although both notions – contexts as well as constructions – have been under intense discussion in linguistics during the last decades with a wide span of research interests, integrative studies of these aspects have been largely missing. The eight papers presented in this volume explore the possibilities and risks of integrating context(s) into particular constructions and construction grammar in general. Topics range from particular language and construction-specific problems such as the "polysemy" of modal verbs in relation to context-sensitive constructions, to general technical analyses and proposals, including proposals for formalizing contextual features in constructional representations. The volume will be of interest to scholars and advanced undergraduates interested in linguistic theory in general and in constructional, pragmatic and discourse-analytic approaches in particular.

Construction Grammars

Construction Grammars PDF Author: Jan-Ola Östman
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9789027218230
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
Addressing a number of issues (such as coercion, discourse patterning, language change), the contributions show how CxG must be part and parcel of cognitively oriented studies of language, including language universals."--Jacket.

Contexts and Constructions

Contexts and Constructions PDF Author: Alexander Bergs
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 902728878X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Get Book Here

Book Description
This collection of original articles focuses on the function, role, and structure of linguistic and extralinguistic “context(s)” in relation to the notion of “constructions” and in construction grammar. It thus takes up and brings together two equally complex concepts of linguistics, which both encompass structural as well as pragmatic and discourse-oriented aspects. Although both notions – contexts as well as constructions – have been under intense discussion in linguistics during the last decades with a wide span of research interests, integrative studies of these aspects have been largely missing. The eight papers presented in this volume explore the possibilities and risks of integrating context(s) into particular constructions and construction grammar in general. Topics range from particular language and construction-specific problems such as the "polysemy" of modal verbs in relation to context-sensitive constructions, to general technical analyses and proposals, including proposals for formalizing contextual features in constructional representations. The volume will be of interest to scholars and advanced undergraduates interested in linguistic theory in general and in constructional, pragmatic and discourse-analytic approaches in particular.

The Oxford Handbook of Construction Grammar

The Oxford Handbook of Construction Grammar PDF Author: Thomas Hoffmann
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195396685
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 609

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Book Description
This Handbook is the first authoritative reference work solely dedicated to the theory, method, and applications of Construction Grammar, and will be a resource that students and scholars alike can turn to for a representative overview of its many sub-theories and applications.

Applying Cognitive Linguistics

Applying Cognitive Linguistics PDF Author: Ana María Piquer-Píriz
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027263450
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
In recent years, Cognitive Linguistics (CL) has established itself not only as a solid theoretical approach but also as an important source from which different applications to other fields have emerged. In this volume we identify some of the current, most relevant topics in applied CL-oriented studies – analyses of figurative language (both metaphor and metonymy) in use, constructions and typology –, and present high-quality research papers that illustrate best practices in the research foci identified and their application to different fields including intercultural communication, the psychology of emotions, second and first language acquisition, discourse analysis and translation studies. It is also shown how different methodologies –the use of linguistic corpora, psycholinguistic experiments or discourse analytic procedures– can shed some light on the basic premises of CL as well as providing insights into how CL can be applied in real world contexts. Finally, all the studies included in the volume are based on empirical data and there are some analyses of languages other than English (Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Danish, German and Polish), thus overcoming the contentions that CL-theoretically-based research is often based on linguistic intuition and focused only on the English language. We hope that the present volume will not only contribute to a better understanding of how CL can be applied but that it will also help to encourage, even further, more robust empirical research in this field. Originally published as a special issue of Review of Cognitive Linguistics 14:1 (2016).

How Words Mean

How Words Mean PDF Author: Vyvyan Evans
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199234663
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 396

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Book Description
How Words Mean introduces a new approach to the role of words and other linguistic units in the construction of meaning. It does so by addressing the interaction between non-linguistic concepts and the meanings encoded in language. It develops an account of how words are understood when we produce and hear language in situated contexts of use. It proposes two theoretical constructs, the lexical concept and the cognitive model. These are central to the accounts of lexicalrepresentation and meaning construction developed, giving rise to the Theory of Lexical Concepts and Cognitive Models (or LCCM Theory).Vyvyan Evans integrates and advances recent developments in cognitive science, particularly in cognitive linguistics and cognitive psychology. He builds a framework for the understanding and analysis of meaning that is at once descriptively adequate and psychologically plausible. In so doing he also addresses current issues in lexical semantics and semantic compositionality, polysemy, figurative language, and the semantics of time and space, and writes in a way that will be accessible tostudents of linguistics and cognitive science at advanced undergraduate level and above.

The Social Context of Cognitive Development

The Social Context of Cognitive Development PDF Author: Mary Gauvain
Publisher: Guilford Press
ISBN: 9781572306103
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Traditional approaches to cognitive development can tell us a great deal about the internal processes involved in learning. Sociocultural perspectives, on the other hand, provide valuable insights into the influences on learning of relationship and cultural variables. This volume provides a much-needed bridge between these disparate bodies of research, examining the specific processes through which children internalize the lessons learned in social contexts. The book reviews current findings on four specific domains of cognitive development--attention, memory, problem solving, and planning. The course of intellectual growth in each domain is described, and social factors that support or constrain it are identified. The focus throughout is on how family, peer, and community factors influence not only what a child learns, but also how learning occurs. Supporting her arguments with solid empirical data, the author convincingly shows how attention to sociocultural factors can productively complement more traditional avenues of investigation.

Cognitive Linguistics

Cognitive Linguistics PDF Author: William Croft
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139445227
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 374

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Book Description
Cognitive Linguistics argues that language is governed by general cognitive principles, rather than by a special-purpose language module. This introductory textbook surveys the field of cognitive linguistics as a distinct area of study, presenting its theoretical foundations and the arguments supporting it. Clearly organised and accessibly written, it provides a useful introduction to the relationship between language and cognitive processing in the human brain. It covers the main topics likely to be encountered in a course or seminar, and provides a synthesis of study and research in this fast-growing field of linguistics. The authors begin by explaining the conceptual structures and cognitive processes governing linguistic representation and behaviour, and go on to explore cognitive approaches to lexical semantics, as well as syntactic representation and analysis, focusing on the closely related frameworks of cognitive grammar and construction grammar. This much-needed introduction will be welcomed by students in linguistics and cognitive science.

Cognitive Sociolinguistics

Cognitive Sociolinguistics PDF Author: Gitte Kristiansen
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110199157
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 557

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Book Description
A union of Cognitive Linguistics and Sociolinguistics was bound to happen. Both proclaim a usage-based approach to language and aim to analyse actual language use in objective ways. Whereas Sociolinguistics is by nature on the outlook for language in its variety, CL can no longer afford to ignore social variation in language as it manifests itself in the usage data. Nor can it fail to adopt an empirical methodology that reflects variation as it actually occurs, beyond the limited knowledge of the individual observer. Conversely, while CL can only benefit from a heightened sensitivity to social aspects, the rich, bottom-up theoretical framework it has developed is likely to contribute to a much better understanding of the meaning of variationist phenomena. The volume brings together fifteen chapters written by prominent scholars testifying of rich empirical and theoretizing research into the social aspects of language variation. Taking a broad view on Cognitive Sociolinguistics, the volume covers three main areas: corpus-based research on language variation, cognitive cultural models, and the ideologies of sociopolitical and socio-economic systems.

What is a Context?

What is a Context? PDF Author: Rita Finkbeiner
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027255792
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
Context is a core notion of linguistic theory. However, while there are numerous attempts at explaining single aspects of the notion of context, these attempts are rather diverse and do not easily converge to a unified theory of context. The present multi-faceted collection of papers reconsiders the notion of context and its challenges for linguistics from different theoretical and empirical angles. Part I offers insights into a wide range of current approaches to context, including theoretical pragmatics, neurolinguistics, clinical pragmatics, interactional linguistics, and psycholinguistics. Part II presents new empirical findings on the role of context from case studies on idioms, unarticulated constituents, argument linking, and numerically-quantified expressions. Bringing together different theoretical frameworks, the volume provides thought-provoking discussions of how the notion of context can be understood, modeled, and implemented in linguistics. It is essential for researchers interested in theoretical and applied linguistics, the semantics/pragmatics interface, and experimental pragmatics.

Constructions in Cognitive Contexts

Constructions in Cognitive Contexts PDF Author: Franziska Günther
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 311046134X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 514

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Book Description
In what ways are language, cognition and perception interrelated? Do they influence each other? This book casts a fresh light on these questions by putting individual speakers’ cognitive contexts, i.e. their usage-preferences and entrenched patterns of linguistic knowledge, into the focus of investigation. It presents findings from original experimental research on spatial language use which indicate that these individual-specific factors indeed play a central role in determining whether or not differences in the current and/or habitual linguistic behaviour of speakers of German and English are systematically correlated with differences in non-linguistic behaviour (visual attention allocation to and memory for spatial referent scenes). These findings form the basis of a new, speaker-focused usage-based model of linguistic relativity, which defines language-perception/cognition effects as a phenomenon which primarily occurs within individual speakers rather than between speakers or speech communities.