Cognitive Grammar - MA Seminar 4 3301-JFS4KO
The seminar is devoted to a discussion of selected topics in cognitive linguistics, with special emphasis on the following issues:
- the general overview of the theoretical foundations of cognitive linguistics
- the idea of the embodied mind and its consequences for the study of meaning
- the idea that linguistic meaning is encyclopedic in nature
- metonymy as a conceptual mechanism: the reference-point ability; different levels of manifestations of metonymy; the mechanism of conceptual metonymy and indirect speech acts
- metaphor as a conceptual mechanism: metaphor as a tool which both shapes and misshapes human understanding of the world; metaphor as a tool of manipulation- conceptual blending: the mechanism of blending; the conceptual effects of blending; blending as a tool of manipulation; blending as a tool for achieving humorous effects
- grammar as image - the case of grammatical voice (billiard-ball model; transitive event model; canonical event model; an analysis of diverse voice phenomena from cognitive grammar's perspective)
- usage-based approach to language.
The seminar concentrates on the topic of grounding in language. One of the aims is to elucidate the semantic difference between nouns and verbs on the one hand, and nominals and finite clauses on the other. The second important aim is to characterize in detail the meanings of English grounding predications, with special emphasis on those that effect clausal grounding. Their semantic import will be analyzed via reference to the epistemic models proposed by Langacker, as well as his control cycle model in the epistemic sphere. The notions of virtual and actual grounding will be discussed. The remaining part of the course will be devoted to discussing aspects of MA theses that the students are preparing.
Type of course
Learning outcomes
A student will acquire advanced information about : Cognitive Grammar - MA Seminar 4 and will develop his/her analytical skills.
Bibliography
Evans, Vyvyan and Melanie Green. 2006. Cognitive linguistics: an introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. (sections 9.1 - 9.3)
Fauconnier, Gilles and Mark Turner. 1998. "Conceptual integration networks". Cognitive science 22 (2). 133 - 187.
Langacker Ronald W. 2004. "Grammar as image: the case of voice". In Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk, Barbara and Alina Kwiatkowska (eds.). Imagery in language. Festschrrift in honour of Professor Ronald W. Langacker. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. 63 - 114.
Langacker, Ronald W. 1991. Foundations of Cognitive Grammar. Vol. 2. Descriptive Application. Stanford; Stanford University Press. (sections 1.1, 2.2.1, 2.3.1, 2.4, 3.1; ch. 6 without section 6.2.2)
Langacker, Ronald W. 2000. "A dynamic usage-based model". In Barlow, Michael and Suzanne Kemmer (eds.). Usage-based models of language. Stanford, Ca.: CSLI Publications. 1 - 63.
Langacker, Ronald W. 2002. "The control cycle: why grammar is a matter of life and death". Proceedings of the Second Annual Meeting of the Japanese Cognitive Linguistics Association: 193-220.
Langacker, Ronald W. 2004. "Aspects of the Grammar of Finite Clauses" In Achard, Michel and Suzanne Kemmer (eds.). Language, Culture, and Mind. Stanford: CSLI Publications. 535-577.
Panther, Klaus-Uwe and Linda Thornburg. 1998. "A cognitive approach to inferencing in conversation". Journal of pragmatics 30. 755 - 769.
Turner, Mark. 1992. "Design for a theory of meaning". In Overton, W and D. Palermo (eds.). 1994. The nature and ontogenesis of meaning. Hillsdale, N.J. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 91 - 107.
Wierzbicka, Anna. 1995. "Dictionaries vs. encyclopaedias: how to draw the line". In Davis, Philip (ed.). Alternative linguistics. Descriptive and theoretical modes. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 289 - 315.
Additional information
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