The Cognitive Perspective on the Polysemy of the English Spatial Preposition Over

The Cognitive Perspective on the Polysemy of the English Spatial Preposition Over PDF Author: Maria Brenda
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 144386725X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
This volume investigates the English spatial preposition over and prepositions in general, frequently regarded as function words with little semantic content, and shows that they encode rich and diverse information, both grammatical and semantic. An important research endeavor which the present study undertakes is an examination of whether the meaning of the preposition over is in fact complex enough for the preposition to be treated as a lexical unit rather than merely a functional one. In order to achieve that goal, the gathered linguistic material is analyzed first and foremost in terms of its semantic content; that is, the geometric relations between the trajector and landmark, and the functional consequences of such relations. The research into the morphology of prepositions reveals a considerable area of overlap between prepositions and adverbs, adverbial particles, and prefixes, as well as nouns, verbs and adjectives. The discussion of the syntax of prepositions is illustrated with labeled tree diagrams of selected sentences to show how the preposition over and the prepositional phrases it heads are embedded in larger structures of the English sentence. An important finding of the present study is the confirmation that the spatial preposition over encodes a broad range of geometrical and functional relations, as well as rich grammatical information. This book will be of interest to students and researchers interested in semantic and conceptual aspects of prepositions, meaning construction, human cognition, and management of space.

The Cognitive Perspective on the Polysemy of the English Spatial Preposition Over

The Cognitive Perspective on the Polysemy of the English Spatial Preposition Over PDF Author: Maria Brenda
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 144386725X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 311

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume investigates the English spatial preposition over and prepositions in general, frequently regarded as function words with little semantic content, and shows that they encode rich and diverse information, both grammatical and semantic. An important research endeavor which the present study undertakes is an examination of whether the meaning of the preposition over is in fact complex enough for the preposition to be treated as a lexical unit rather than merely a functional one. In order to achieve that goal, the gathered linguistic material is analyzed first and foremost in terms of its semantic content; that is, the geometric relations between the trajector and landmark, and the functional consequences of such relations. The research into the morphology of prepositions reveals a considerable area of overlap between prepositions and adverbs, adverbial particles, and prefixes, as well as nouns, verbs and adjectives. The discussion of the syntax of prepositions is illustrated with labeled tree diagrams of selected sentences to show how the preposition over and the prepositional phrases it heads are embedded in larger structures of the English sentence. An important finding of the present study is the confirmation that the spatial preposition over encodes a broad range of geometrical and functional relations, as well as rich grammatical information. This book will be of interest to students and researchers interested in semantic and conceptual aspects of prepositions, meaning construction, human cognition, and management of space.

The Semantics of English Prepositions

The Semantics of English Prepositions PDF Author: Andrea Tyler
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139436163
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
Using a cognitive linguistics perspective, this book provides a comprehensive, theoretical analysis of the semantics of English prepositions. All English prepositions originally coded spatial relations between two physical entities; while retaining their original meaning, prepositions have also developed a rich set of non-spatial meanings. In this study, Tyler and Evans argue that all these meanings are systematically grounded in the nature of human spatio-physical experience. The original 'spatial scenes' provide the foundation for the extension of meaning from the spatial to the more abstract. This analysis articulates an alternative methodology that distinguishes between a conventional meaning and an interpretation produced for understanding the preposition in context, as well as establishing which of several competing senses should be taken as the primary sense. Together, the methodology and framework are sufficiently articulated to generate testable predictions and allow the analysis to be applied to additional prepositions.

Polysemy in Cognitive Linguistics

Polysemy in Cognitive Linguistics PDF Author: H. Cuyckens
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027236836
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
In Cognitive Linguistics, polysemy is regarded as a categorizing phenomenon; i.e., related meanings of words form categories centering around a prototype and bearing family resemblance relations to one another. Under this polysemy = categorization view, the scope of investigation has been gradually broadened from categories in the lexical and lexico-grammatical domain to morphological, syntactic, and phonological categories. The papers in this volume illustrate the importance of polysemy in describing these various categories. A first set of papers analyzes the polysemy of such lexical categories as prepositions and scalar particles, and looks at the import of polysemy in frame-based dictionary definitions. A second set shows that noun classes, case, and locative prefixes constitute meaningful and polysemous categories. Three papers, then, pay attention to polysemy from a psychological perspective, looking for psychological evidence of polysemy in lexical categories.

Spatial Prepositions

Spatial Prepositions PDF Author: Claude Vandeloise
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226847283
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
This striking study of the meaning and use of the major spatial prepositions in French provides valuable insight into how the human mind organizes spatial relationships. Most previous analyses of spatial prepositions have assumed that their semantic properties can be adequately explained by familiar logical and geometrical concepts. Thus, the standard view of the preposition "in" as it appears in the sentence "the ball is in the bag" postulates that it refers to the geometrical relation of inclusion. This paradigm, however, falters when faced with the contrast in acceptability between sentences such as "the bulb is in the socket" and "the bottle is in the cap." The force exerted by the "landmark" (a conceptually fixed object) on the "target" (a moveable object) is crucial in this difference: the functional notion of containment seems more operational in the use of the preposition "in" than inclusion. That is, what are taken to be the landmark and the target depend greatly on the functions these objects serve in the human scheme. This offers important clues to otherwise problematic linguistic quirks, such as why one sleeps in one's bed, while one is said to lie on one's deathbed. While many of the examples apply in English as well as French, there are some noteworthy differences—in French one sits on a chair, but in a couch. Vandeloise convincingly argues that it is precisely this subjective element which makes a standard geometrical account unfeasible.

English Prepositions Explained

English Prepositions Explained PDF Author: Seth Lindstromberg
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027287899
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
This completely revised and expanded edition of English Prepositions Explained (EPE), originally published in 1998, covers approximately 100 simple, compound, and phrasal English prepositions of space and time – with the focus being on short prepositions such as at, by, in, and on. Its target readership includes teachers of ESOL, pre-service translators and interpreters, undergraduates in English linguistics programs, studious advanced learners and users of English, and anyone who is inquisitive about the English language. The overall aim is to explain how and why meaning changes when one preposition is swapped for another in the same context. While retaining most of the structure of the original, this edition says more about more prepositions. It includes many more figures – virtually all new. The exposition draws on recent research, and is substantially founded on evidence from digitalized corpora, including frequency data. EPE gives information and insights that will not be found in dictionaries and grammar handbooks.

Polysemy

Polysemy PDF Author: Brigitte Nerlich
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110895692
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 437

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Book Description
About fifty years ago, Stephen Ullmann wrote that polysemy is 'the pivot of semantic analysis'. Fifty years on, polysemy has become one of the hottest topics in linguistics and in the cognitive sciences at large. The book deals with the topic from a wide variety of viewpoints. The cognitive approach is supplemented and supported by diachronic, psycholinguistic, developmental, comparative, and computational perspectives. The chapters, written by some of the most eminent specialists in the field, are all underpinned by detailed discussions of methodology and theory.

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.

Multidisciplinary Research on Teaching and Learning

Multidisciplinary Research on Teaching and Learning PDF Author: W. Schnotz
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137467746
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
This collection indicates how research on teaching and learning from multiple scientific disciplines such as educational science and psychology can be successfully pursued by a co-operation between researchers and school teachers. The contributors adopt different methodological approaches, ranging from field research to laboratory experiments.

The Grammar Network

The Grammar Network PDF Author: Holger Diessel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108498817
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
Provides a dynamic network model of grammar that explains how linguistic structure is shaped by language use.

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).