Cognitive Linguistics: An Introduction (review)

The aim of this textbook is to offer readers from a wide variety of backgrounds an introduction to cognitive linguistics, now a ‘mature, autonomous theory of language in its right’ (1), which started as a rival to generative grammar by assigning meaning a central role in the theory and by assuming a close relationship between language and cognition. The book has thirteen chapters. The first ten are dedicated to different aspects of the nature of the relationship between form and meaning; the last chapters turn to discourse analysis and the possible implications for cognitive linguistics in this area.

After introducing some concepts central to cognitive linguistics, such as construal, perspective, foregrounding, metaphor, and frame, Lee explores the encoding of spatial relationships through three English prepositions—in, on, and at—and the extended and metaphorical uses of spatial terms and concepts accompanied by the prepositions out, up, and through to structure nonspatial domains. In association with these basic concepts, L discusses Gilles Fauconnier’s theory of mental spaces as an authoritative theoretical instrument in providing unitary explanations for both formal and semantic phenomena.

The next chapter discusses radiality and the prototype-based model and their relevance to cognitive linguistics both in the association of semantic networks with words and morphemes and with syntactic constructions.

As an alternative approach to syntactic theories (generative grammar in particular), the principles governing language acquisition, traditionally thought of as involving ‘grammatical’ processes, are held to be part of more general principles of cognitive development. L also observes the implications of cognitive linguistics for the principles of language change, particularly semantic changes involving extension from a relatively concrete domain to more abstract meanings, as exemplified by the English modal verbs may and can.

In discussing aspects of nominal and verbal structures (count and mass nouns and perfective and imperfective uses of verbs), L brings forth the concept of arbitrariness in language and argues that the notion of construal, as defined earlier in the book, is crucial for a proper understanding of perceptually similar phenomena. The chapter on causation and agency discusses the encoding of causation and the issues it entails, like the nature of categories, the relationship between language and cognition, and the role of cultural norms in the construction of agency.

The next chapter sustains the view that cognitive linguistics can function as a consistent theory in discourse analysis, and L supports the idea with a thorough analysis of family arguments from a television series and from literature. Moreover, the potential of cognitive linguistic applications for discourse analysis is explored through the relationship between the notion of construal and that of constructivism as generally defined in conversation analysis.

This fascinating journey into the world of cognitive linguistics ends with some considerations on creativity in language and the nature of meaning. Through the variety of topics discussed and their carefully organized presentation, this book represents a unique introduction to a new theory that challenges many traditional approaches. L endeavors to make it accessible to readers with no prior knowledge of the field as he strongly believes that the cognitive model is worthy of being disseminated to scholars in other disciplines as well.