Cambridge University Press
0521661145 - Cognitive Linguistics - by - William Croft and D. Alan Cruse
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Cognitive Linguistics

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 organized 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 behavior, 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.

WILLIAM CROFT is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Manchester, where he has taught since 1994. His primary areas of research are typology, cognitive linguistics, construction grammar, language change and verbal semantics. He has previously published in this series Typology and Universals, 1st edition (1990), and 2nd edition (2003), and is also the author of Radical Construction Grammar (2001).

D. ALAN CRUSE was Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Manchester, until he retired in 2001. He taught semantics, pragmatics and psycholinguistics, and his primary areas of research are lexical semantics and metaphor. He has previously published in this series Lexical Semantics (1986), and is also the joint editor of Handbook of Lexicology (2002).

CAMBRIDGE TEXTBOOKS IN LINGUISTICS

General editors: S. R. ANDERSON, J. BRESNAN, B. COMRIE, W. DRESSLER, C. EWEN, R. HUDDLESTON, R. LASS, D. LIGHTFOOT, J. LYONS, P. H. MATTHEWS, R. POSNER, S. ROMAINE, N. V. SMITH, N. VINCENT

In this series:

P. H. MATTHEWS Morphology Second edition

B. COMRIE Aspect

R. M. KEMPSON Semantic Theory

T. BYNON Historical Linguistics

J. ALLWOOD, L.-G. ANDERSON and ö. DAHL Logic in Linguistics

D. B. FRY The Physics of Speech

R. A. HUDSON Sociolinguistics Second edition

A. J. ELLIOT Child Language

P. H. MATTHEWS Syntax

A. REDFORD Transformational Syntax

L. BAUER English Word-Formation

S. C. LEVINSON Pragmatics

G. BROWN and G. YULE Discourse Analysis

R. HUDDLESTON Introduction to the Grammar of English

R. LASS Phonology

A. COMRIE Tense

W. KLEIN Second Language Acquisition

A. J. WOODS, P. FLETCHER and A. HUGHES Statistics in Language Studies

D. A. CRUSE Lexical Semantics

A. RADFORD Transformational Grammar

M. GARMAN Psycholinguistics

G. G. CORBETT Gender

H. J. GIEGERICH English Phonology

R. CANN Formal Semantics

J. LAVER Principles of Phonetics

F. R. PALMER Grammatical Roles and Relations

M. A. JONES Foundations of French Syntax

A. RADFORD Syntactic Theory and the Structure of English: A Minimalist Approach

R. D. VAN VALIN, JR, and R. J. LAPOLLA Syntax: Structure, Meaning and Function

A. DURANTI Linguistic Anthropology

A. CRUTTENDEN Intonation Second edition

J. K. CHAMBERS and P. TRUDGILL Dialectology Second edition

C. LYONS Definiteness

R. KAGER Optimality Theory

J. A. HOLM An Introduction to Pidgins and Creoles

C. G. CORBETT Number

C. J. EWEN and H. VAN DER HULST The Phonological Structure of Words

F. R. PALMER Mood and Modality Second edition

B. J. BLAKE Case Second edition

E. GUSSMAN Phonology: Analysis and Theory

M. YIP Tone

W. CROFT Typology and Universals Second edition

F. COULMAS Writing Systems: an Introduction to their Linguistic Analysis

P. J. HOPPER and E. C. TRAUGOTT Grammaticalization Second edition

L. WHITE Second Language Acquisition and Universal Grammar

I. PLAG Word-formation in English

W. CROFT and D. A. CRUSE Cognitive Linguistics

A. SIEWIERSKA Person

A. RADFORD Minimalist Syntax: Exploring the Structure of English

D. BüRING Binding Theory

Cognitive Linguistics

WILLIAM CROFT

University of Manchester

and

D. ALAN CRUSE

University of Manchester

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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2004

Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge

Typeface Times 10/13 pt. System LATEX 2_e [TB]

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 0 521 66114 5 hardback
ISBN 0 521 66770 4 paperback

	List of figures			page xii
	List of tables			xiii
	Preface			xv

1	Introduction: what is cognitive linguistics?			1

Part I: A conceptual approach to linguistic analysis

2	Frames, domains, spaces: the organization of conceptual structure			7
	2.1	Arguments for frame semantics		7
	2.2	Concepts: profile-frame organization		14
	2.3	Some consequences of the profile-frame/domain distinction		16
	2.4	Extensions of the basic profile-frame/domain distinction		22
		2.4.1	Locational and configurational profiles	22
		2.4.2	Scope of predication	23
		2.4.3	Relationships between domains	24
	2.5	Domains and idealized cognitive models		28
	2.6	Mental spaces		32

3	Conceptualization and construal operations			40
	3.1	Introduction		40
	3.2	Attention/salience		46
		3.2.1	Selection	47
		3.2.2	Scope of attention (dominion)	50
		3.2.3	Scalar adjustment	51
		3.2.4	Dynamic attention	53
	3.3	Judgement/comparison		54
		3.3.1	Categorization	54
		3.3.2	Metaphor	55
		3.3.3	Figure-ground alignment	56
	3.4	Perspective/situatedness		58
		3.4.1	Viewpoint	59
		3.4.2	Deixis	59
		3.4.3	Subjectivity	62
	3.5	Constitution/Gestalt		63
		3.5.1	Structural schematization	63
		3.5.2	Force dynamics	66
		3.5.3	Relationality (entity/interconnection)	67
	3.6	Conclusion		69

4	Categories, concepts and meanings			74
	4.1	Introduction		74
	4.2	The classical model of category structure		76
	4.3	The prototype model of category structure		77
		4.3.1	Graded centrality	77
		4.3.2	The representation of conceptual categories	81
		4.3.3	Levels of categorization	82
		4.3.4	Shortcomings of prototype theory	87
		4.3.5	The frame-based account of prototype effects	91
	4.4	A dynamic construal approach to conceptual categories		92
		4.4.1	Category boundaries	93
		4.4.2	Frames	95
		4.4.3	Levels of categorization	96
	4.5	The dynamic construal of meaning		97
		4.5.1	Contextualized interpretation	98
		4.5.2	Purport	100
		4.5.3	Constraints	101
		4.5.4	Construal	103
	4.6	Structural and logical aspects of meaning		104
	4.7	Part I: Concluding remarks		105

Part II: Cognitive approaches to lexical semantics

5	Polysemy: the construal of sense boundaries			109
	5.1	Introduction		109
	5.2	Full sense boundaries		110
		5.2.1	Homonymy and polysemy	111
		5.2.2	Entrenchment	111
		5.2.3	Boundary effects	112
		5.2.4	The nature of full sense units	115
	5.3	Sub-sense units with near-sense properties		116
		5.3.1	Facets	116
		5.3.2	Microsenses	126
		5.3.3	Ways-of-seeing	137
		5.3.4	Semantic components and low-autonomy active zones	138
		5.3.5	Contextual modulation	140
	5.4	Autonomy: summary		140

6	A dynamic construal approach to sense relations I: hyponymy and meronymy			141
	6.1	Hyponymy		141
		6.1.1	Introductory	141
		6.1.2	Hyponymy and context	143
		6.1.3	Relations between lexical items	146
		6.1.4	Taxonymy	147
	6.2	Lexical aspects of the part-whole relation		150
		6.2.1	The part-whole relation	151
		6.2.2	Meronymy	159

7	A dynamic construal approach to sense relations II: antonymy and complementarity			164
	7.1	Oppositeness		164
		7.1.1	Aspects of the construal of oppositeness	164
		7.1.2	Main varieties of opposite	165
		7.1.3	Goodness-of-exemplar in opposites	166
	7.2	Complementarity		167
		7.2.1	Gradable vs. non-gradable construal of properties	167
		7.2.2	Profiling against domains	167
	7.3	Antonymy		169
		7.3.1	A survey of antonym types	169
		7.3.2	Monoscalar systems: polar antonyms	172
		7.3.3	Bi-scalar systems	181
	7.4	Variable construal of antonyms and complementaries		185
		7.4.1	Absolute vs. relative construal	185
		7.4.2	Scale features	189
	7.5	Conclusion		192

8	Metaphor			193
	8.1	Figurative language		193
	8.2	The conceptual theory of metaphor		194
		8.2.1	Introduction	194
		8.2.2	Issues in the conceptual theory of metaphor	198
	8.3	Novel metaphor		204
		8.3.1	The life history of a metaphor	204
		8.3.2	How do we recognize metaphors?	206
		8.3.3	Blending Theory and novel metaphors	207
		8.3.4	Context sensitivity	209
		8.3.5	Asymmetry of vehicle and target	210
	8.4	Metaphor and simile		211
		8.4.1	Two types of simile	211
		8.4.2	Theories of the relation between simile and metaphor	211
		8.4.3	Metaphor-simile combinations	215
	8.5	Metaphor and metonymy		216
		8.5.1	Characterizing metonymy	216
		8.5.2	Metaphor-metonymy relations	217
		8.5.3	Types of indeterminacy	219
	8.6	Conclusion		220

Part III: Cognitive approaches to grammatical form

9	From idioms to construction grammar			225
	9.1	Introduction		225
	9.2	The problem of idioms		229
	9.3	Idioms as constructions		236
	9.4	From constructions to construction grammar		247

10	An overview of construction grammars			257
	10.1	Essentials of construction grammar theories		257
		10.1.1	Grammatical representation: the anatomy of a construction	257
		10.1.2	The organization of constructional knowledge	262
	10.2	Some current theories of construction grammar		265
		10.2.1	Construction Grammar (Fillmore, Kay et al.)	266
		10.2.2	Lakoff (1987) and Goldberg (1995)	272
		10.2.3	Cognitive Grammar as a construction grammar	278
		10.2.4	Radical Construction Grammar	283
	10.3	Conclusion		290

11	The usage-based model			291
	11.1	Grammatical representation and process		291
	11.2	The usage-based model in morphology		292
		11.2.1	Entrenchment and representation of word forms	292
		11.2.2	Regularity, productivity and default status	295
		11.2.3	Product-oriented schemas	300
		11.2.4	Network organization of word forms	302
		11.2.5	Conclusion	307
	11.3	The usage-based model in syntax		308
		11.3.1	Type/token frequency, productivity and entrenchment	308
		11.3.2	Product-oriented syntactic schemas	313
		11.3.3	Relevance and the organization of construction networks	318
		11.3.4	The acquisition of syntax and syntactic change	323
	11.4	Conclusion		326

12	Conclusion: cognitive linguistics and beyond			328

	References			330
	Author index			344
	Subject index			347

Figures

2.1	RADIUS and CIRCLE	page 15
2.2	NIECE	23
2.3	Domain structure underlying the concept of the letter T	26
2.4	Specific and nonspecific indefinites	35
2.5	Mental space diagram for example (29)	36
4.1	Boundaries of AIRPLANE, GLIDER and HANG GLIDER	90
7.1	A simplified monoscalar system	170
7.2	A disjunct equipollent system	170
7.3	A parallel equipollent system	170
7.4	An overlapping system	171
7.5	A full monoscalar system	173
10.1	The symbolic structure of a construction	258
10.2	The relation between form and function in a componential syntactic theory	258
10.3	The relation between form and function in construction grammar	259
10.4	Simplified generative grammar and construction grammar representations of Heather sings	260
10.5	Elements, components and units of a construction	261

Tables

3.1	Linguistic construal operations as instances of general cognitive processes	page 46
9.1	Types of idioms compared to regular syntactic expressions	236
9.2	The syntax-lexicon continuum	255

Preface

This book provides an overview of the basic principles and methods of cognitive linguistics, in particular as they are applied to semantic and syntactic issues. It is intended to be used as a textbook for a course on cognitive linguistics for advanced undergraduates and postgraduate students, as well as functioning as an introduction to this approach to language for linguists and researchers in neighboring disciplines. Parts I and II may also function as a textbook for a course on cognitive semantics, supplemented by case studies from the cognitive linguistic literature. Part III may also function as introductory reading for a course on construction grammar, followed by readings from the literature that delve into the details of particular theories of construction grammar and the analyses of particular constructions.

The chapters of the book were independently written, but jointly discussed. Croft is responsible for chapters 1–3 and 9–12, and Cruse for chapters 4–8 (this fact will no doubt be obvious to the reader). Cruse also contributed to §3.2.1, and Croft to §8.2. Although we have written our chapters independently, the book represents a single coherent perspective on cognitive linguistics. We agree on all of the major points, and most of the minor ones; what minor disagreements remain do not compromise the integrity of the analysis as a whole.

Croft would like to thank members of the linguistics and psychology departments at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany, and Jóhanna Bardal, Chuck Fillmore, Laura Janda, Paul Kay and Ron Langacker for their comments on earlier versions of Part III, and Liliana Albertazzi and the participants in the Workshop on ‘Which Semantics?,’ Bolzano, Italy, 1995 for their comments on topics dealt with in Part I. Cruse would like to thank Liliana Albertazzi and fellow-participants (George Lakoff, Ron Langacker and Len Talmy) at the Summer School on Cognitive Semantics, Bolzano, Italy, 1999; Arie Verhagen and the students at the LOT Winter School, Leiden, Holland, 2002; and members of the Equipe Rhéma, University of Lyon, France, for their comments on various topics dealt with in the book. Last but not least, we both thank the students of successive classes on cognitive linguistics at the University of Manchester, who used materials that eventually became the chapters presented here. Of course, all responsibility for the final product remains with us.