1 The importance of cognitive linguistics

Cognitive linguistics is expected to be one of the most important approaches in the field of
linguistics in the 21 century. Some linguists even say that the 21 century will belong to cognitive
linguistics. Cognitive linguistics originated from America in 19!"s the last century. #any linguists
in China have turned to cognitive linguistics. $apers about cognitive linguistics% papers introducing
cognitive linguistics and papers analy&ing language structures with cognitive approaches can be
found in almost every academic 'ournal or maga&ine related to language study in China in recent
years. (f we pay little attention to this approach% we are sure to lag behind. That is why we offer you
the course of cognitive linguistics.
2.2 The definition of cognitive linguistics
As you )now% each linguistic school has its own attitudes towards language and its own approach to
language. So does cognitive linguistics. According to this textboo)% cognitive linguistics is an
approach to language that is based on our experience of the world and the way we perceive and
conceptuali&e our experience of the world *p.+,-.. */ho would li)e to explain 0conceptuali&e our
experience12 /hen we say 0conceptuali&e our experience1% we mean that we have the idea for our
experience or that we form concepts of our experience..
2., The ob'ective of cognitive linguistics
The ob'ective of cognitive linguistics is to investigate and to study 0cognitive or mental structure
and organi&ation by analy&ing cognitive strategies used by humans in thin)ing% storing information%
comprehending% and producing language1. *3ussmann% 4adumod. 2!!!. 5outledge 6ictionary of
7anguage and 7inguistics. p.8!. +oreign 7anguage Teaching and 5esearch $ress 9 5outledge.
2.: Two different meanings of the term 0cognitive linguistics1
(t is very important to notice that 0cognitive linguistics1 has two different meanings% which come
from the word 0cognitive1. (t has the following two meanings;
1. cognitive < related to )nowledge *This is the logical view. This view accepts logical rules and
ob'ective definitions..
2. cognitive < related to human experience based on practical and empirical )nowledge.*This is
the cognitive linguistics we mean. Such cognitive linguistics includes three views or approaches;
the experiential view% the prominence view and the attentional view..
3. Experiential view: Different explanations of
Our car has broken down
,.1 Traditional explanation
Traditionally% most teachers use the following methods in class;
1. paraphrasing the meanings of words
2. analy&ing the clause pattern
,. discussing the use of the present perfect tense
4ow do you help your students with this sentence2 Tal) about your teaching% please2
(f someone does not )now the word 0car1% the teacher 'ust tells him that it means 0:=wheeled motor
vehicle1. >sually the teacher ta)es into consideration the so=called 0difficult points1. (n this
sentence% the difficult point may be the phrasal verb 0brea) down1% which has at least as many as
,? meanings according to a dictionary. The first four meanings are;
1. to become separated into pieces or fragments
2. to become crac)ed or split
,. to give way@ collapse
:. to become unusable or inoperativeAstop operating or functioning e.g. The television bro)e down.
The :th meaning is suitable to explain the phrasal verb 0brea) down1% so the teacher chooses 0stop
operating or functioning1 to replace the original phrase% such as 0Bur car has stopped operating1 or
0Bur car has stopped functioning1.
,.2 Cxplanation with the logical view *of modern linguistics.
(n the logical view% some Dob'ective" semantic features must be found. The following are a set of
Dob'ective" semantic features of 0car1;
1. inanimate
2. concrete
,. movable
:. self=propelled
The meaning of 0car1 in this explanation eEuates 0ob'ective features.1 This explanation seems to be
Dcognitive"% because it is related to )nowledge. 3ut it is not the cognitive linguistics we are
studying. The cognitive linguistics we mean is not based on logical )nowledge% but on practical and
empirical )nowledge.
The logical view cannot explain the phrasal verb 0brea) down1% because the phrase is used as a
metaphor% which is excluded from the study of the logical view.
,., Cxplanation with the experiential view
1. #eaning is in our experience.
a. attribute
3efore we explain this sentences with the experiential view% we must first pay special attention to
the term 0attribute1% which is freEuently used in cognitive linguistics so it is a very important term
in cognitive linguistics% especially when we explain language with the experiential view. Simply to
say% 0attribute1 is characteristic of an entity */ord /eb.
/hat are the attributes of Dcar"2
The answer is on $. +,% where you can see that the concept 0car1 has 9 attributes in all. 3oth our
communal experience and personal or sub'ective experience are related to the word Dcar". Bf the 9
attributes% some are shared by most people"s experience and some others are very personal and
sub'ective. The attributes of Dfirst love affair" and Din'ury" are very personal and sub'ective. The
meaning of 0car1 in this explanation is communal experience F personal *sub'ective. experience.
These two types of experience eEuate attributes in all.
b. Two important aspects of attributes
a. Attributes are from laypersons
/e should notice that such attributes are collected from laypersons *common peopleA persons who
are not trained in linguistics. instead of dictionaries or scholars. So to a great extent% these attributes
can reflect the way every language user perceives the world and interacts with it.
b. Attributes help identify similar ob'ects
To every word dictionaries give definitions which are sometimes not helpful. The word 0car1% for
example% is defined as 0:=wheeled motor vehicle1. This definition cannot help people identify a ,=
wheeled motor vehicle when they see such a vehicle for the first time. 3ut it is obvious that
attributes from laypersons can do that. $eople can identify it as a car because it agrees with some of
the attributes. That is why the experiential view is superior to the logical view.
2. #eaning in figurative language.
The original meaning for 0brea) down1 is 0fall apart1% 0collapse1. /hen it is used to express the
event that the car suddenly stops wor)ing% it is a metaphorical use because the car does not become
separated into pieces or fragments. #etaphor is no longer regarded as 'ust a rhetorical device. (n
logical view% metaphor is excluded from the study of linguistics. 3ut the fact is that metaphor is
freEuently used by everyone in their utterances every day. (t goes without saying that 0heart1 as in
03ei'ing is the heart of China1 is a metaphor. So is the eye of heaven in Sonnet 18 by Sha)espeare.
Cverybody can identify this )ind of metaphor. 3ut metaphor in cognitive linguistics is in a much
broader sense. The following are also examples of metaphor;
*1. Gou appear at the head of the list.
*2. the leg of a table
*,. 4e got into trouble yesterday.
(n literature% 0get into trouble1 is no metaphor at all% but in cognitive linguistics it is because
0trouble1 is regarded as a container. Actually% people tend to ma)e use of metaphor. (n a
metaphorical way it is easier to express abstract ideas or unfamiliar things. So concrete concepts are
used to express abstract concepts and familiar things are used to indicate unfamiliar things. /e can
say% metaphor is pervasive in language% that is to say% figurative language is everywhere in
language. (f a linguistic theory pays no attention to metaphor or figurative language% such a theory
can be said not to be immature. A good linguistic theory should explain every phenomenon in
language. Cognitive linguistics is such a linguistic theory which ma)es a study of every aspect of
meanings in language.
4. Proinence view
The prominence view concerns the selection and arrangement of the information that is expressed.
(t is actually an explanation of how the information in a clause is selected and arranged. Compare
the following pairs of examples;
*:. a. The garden is swarming with bees.
b. 3ees are swarming in the garden.
(n traditional grammar% the two sentences are regarded as the same in meaning. 3ut in fact they do
not mean the same because prominence in the sentences are different. *:a. means that there are bees
everywhere in the garden% but *:b. means that there are bees in part of the garden.
!. "ttentional view
The attentional view is an approach based on the assumption that what we actually express reflects
which parts of an event attract our attention *p. +,9.. That is% an utterance reflects what is paid
attention to. (n language the same event can be expressed in different ways because of our different
attentions. Ta)e learn and teach for example;
*?. a. Hiao 7i learned Cnglish from #r. Smith.
b. #r. Smith taught Hiao 7i Cnglish.
/hen the spea)er"s attention is on Hiao 7i% he uses the first sentence% but when his attention is on
#r. Smith% he uses the second one. (n paraphrase% we usually tell the students that the two
sentences are in the same meaning% but in the attentional view% their meanings are in fact different.
#. $he contents of this book
1. This boo) contains six chapters% with Chapters 1% 2% , introducing the experiential view% Chapter
: dealing with the prominence view% Chapter ? discussing the attentional view and Chapter -
briefing iconicity% grammaticali&ation% lexical change and language teaching.
2. This boo) tal)s chiefly about the three views of cognitive linguistics.
(t is important for you to ma)e clear the three views first% because they are initiated by cognitive
linguistics and therefore they are basic theories of cognitive linguistics. And then you should also
go on to study iconicity% grammaticali&ation% lexical change and language teaching. Though
iconicity and grammaticali&ation are not initiated by cognitive linguistics% many scholars are
wor)ing at them because the two approaches can also explain many language problems. The last
section of this boo) also tal)s about foreign language learning and teaching. +or us% this section
may be helpful. 3ut until now% few people have discussed this topic% so what is presented in the last
section of this boo) is 'ust the potential of cognitive approach to foreign language teaching. /e can
benefit from the discussion about foreign language learning and teaching in this boo) so as to begin
with our own researches of Cnglish teaching and learning.
Exercises:
/hat is cognitive linguistics2 /hat"s the difference between the logical view and the experiential
view2
4ow do you understand the term 0attribute1 in cognitive linguistics2 Tal) about attributes of
0bicycle1.
(f you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have the essay published on the
>I Cssays website then please clic) on the lin) below to reEuest removal;
5eEuest the removal of this essay.
%ore fro &' Essa(s
+ree Cssays (ndex = 5eturn to the +5CC Cssays (ndex
#ore Cnglish 7anguage Cssays = #ore +ree Cnglish 7anguage Cssays *submitted by
students.
Cnglish 7anguage Cssay /riting Service =find out more about how we can help you
Cxample Cnglish 7anguage Cssays = See examples of Cnglish 7anguage Cssays *written
by our in=house experts.
Paid Writing Services
Cssay writing
Read more:http;AAwww.u)essays.comAessaysAenglish=languageAcognitive=linguistics=
english=langua ge=essay.phpJix&&,:/4pls