语言学原著研读材料1

语言学原著研读材料1

AroughguidetoCognitiveLinguisticsSothisisthefirsttimeyouvisitthefieldofCognitiveLinguistics,no?Youmayneedaguidethen.Sure,whenyoumovethroughthefollowingchaptersofthisvolume,yougettoseeatoptwelveofsightsthatyoushouldnotmiss:adelightfuldozenofarticleswrittenbyauthoritiesinthefieldthateachintroduceoneoftheconceptualcornerstonesofthetheoreticalframeworkofCognitiveLinguistics.Still,togiveyouafirmreferencepointforyourtour,youmayneedsomeinitiateontowhatCognitiveLinguisticsisabout.That5swhatthepresentchapterisfor:itprovidesyouwitharoadmapandatravelbooktoCognitiveLinguistics.It'sonlyaroughguide,tobesure:itgivesyoutheminimalamountofbackgroundthatyouneedtofigureoutthestepstobetakenandtomakesurethatyouarenotrecognizedasatotalforeigneroranameapprentice,butitdoesnotpretendtosupplymorethanthat.Tounderstandwhatyoumayexpecttofindinthisbrieftravelguide,weneedtointroduceoneofthecharacteristicideasofCognitiveLinguisticsfirst一theidea,thatis,thatweshouldnotjustdescribeconceptsandcategoriesbymeansofanabstractdefinition,butthatweshouldalsotakeintoaccountthethingsthatthedefinitionisabout,ifwearetoachieveanadequatelevelofknowledge.Takebirds:youcandefinebirdsasacertaintypeofanimalwithcertaincharacteristics(likehavingwings,beingabletofly,andbeingbornfromeggs),butifyouwanttogetagoodcognitivegriponwhatbirdsare,youwillwanttohavealookatsometypicalbirdslikerobinsandsparrowsanddoves,andthenmaybealsoatsomelesstypicalones,likechickensandostriches.IFsnodifferentwhenyouaredealingwithlinguistictheories.Youhavetoknowaboutthescientificcontentofthetheory,thatistosay,theabstractdefinitionoftheapproach:thetopicsitdealswith,thespecificperspectiveittakes,andtheobservationsitmakes.Butyoualsohavetoknowaboutthesociologyofthetheory:thepeopleitinvolves,theconferenceswheretheymeet,thechannelsinwhichtheypublish.Introductionstolinguisticstendtofocusonthefirstperspectiveonly,butthepresentguidewilltakethesecondintoaccountjustasmuchasthefirst.LWhatissospecialaboutthisplace?\nTheoriesinlinguisticstendtobefairlyinsularaffairs:eachtheoreticalframeworktendstoconstituteaconceptualandsociologicalentityinitsownright,withonlyalimitednumberofbridges,marketplacesorevenbattlegroundssharedwithotherapproaches.CognitiveLinguistics,whenconsideredinthelightofthismetaphor,takestheformofanarchipelagoratherthananisland.Itisnotoneclearlydelimitedlargeterritory,butratheraconglomerateofmoreorlessextensive,moreorlessactivecentersoflinguisticresearchthatarecloselyknittogetherbyasharedperspective,butthatarenot(yet)broughttogetherunderthecommonruleofawell-definedtheory.Thepresentvolumecontainsanintroductiontotwelvefundamentalpartsofthattheoreticalconglomerate-atouroftwelvecentralislands,ifyouwish:CognitiveGrammar,grammaticalconstrual,radialnetwork,prototypetheory,schematicnetwork,conceptualmetaphor,imageschema,metonymy,mentalspaces,framesemantics,constructiongrammar,andusage-basedlinguistics.Wewilldefineinamomentwhatlinksholdtheseconceptstogetherandwhyeachofthemseparatelyisimportant,butatthispoint,thechiefthingistorealizethatthereisnosingle,uniformtheoreticaldoctrineaccordingtowhichtheseresearchtopicsbelongtogether:CognitiveLinguisticsisaflexibleframeworkratherthanasingletheoryoflanguage.Fromthepointofviewofcategorystructure(oneofthestandardtopicsforanalysisinCognitiveLinguistics),thisrecognitionisagainonewayinwhichCognitiveLinguisticsillustratesitsownconcepts・Aswementionedamomentago,CognitiveLinguisticsemphasizesthefactthatdefiningacategorymayinvolvedescribingsomeofitsprincipalmembersratherthanjustgivinganabstractdefinition.Butitalsostressesthattheabstractdefinitionneednotconsistofasinglesetofdefiningcharacteristicsthatbelonguniquelyanddistinctivelytothatcategory・Thinkofbirdsagain:whenwedescribethefeaturesofbirds,wesoonnoticethatthefeatureswewouldliketothinkofasdefinitionalforbirdsarenotsharedbyallmembersofthespecies:wemayevenfindbirdslikethepenguinorthekiwi,thathavenowingstospeakof,cannotfly,anddon^thavefeathersbutthatarerathercoveredwithsomekindoffluff.Insuchcases,wesaythatacategoryhasafamilyresemblancestructure:differenttypesofbirdsresembleeachotherlikethemembersofafamilywould,butthereisnosinglesetofattributesthat\nnecessarilyshowsupinallthemembersofthefamily.Again,itisnodifferentwithalinguisticframeworklikeCognitiveLinguistics:itconstitutesaclusterofmanypartiallyoverlappingapproachesratherthanasinglewell-definedtheorythatidentifiesinanall-or-nonefashionwhethersomethingbelongstoCognitiveLinguisticsornoLThenagain,therecognitionthatCognitiveLinguisticshasnotyetstabilizedintoasingleuniformtheoryshouldnotpreventusfromlookingforfundamentalcommonfeaturesandsharedperspectivesamongthemanyformsofresearchthatcometogetherunderthelabelofCognitiveLinguistics.Anobviousquestiontostartfromrelatestothe'cognitive，aspectofCognitiveLinguistics:inwhatsenseexactlyisCognitiveLinguisticsacognitiveapproachtothestudyoflanguage?Terminologicallyspeaking,wenowneedtomakeadistinctionbetweenCognitiveLinguistics(theapproachrepresentedinthisreader),anduncapitalizedcognitivelinguistics一referringtoallapproachesinwhichnaturallanguageisstudiedasamentalphenomenon.CognitiveLinguisticsisbutoneformofcognitivelinguistics,tobedistinguishedfrom,forinstance,generativegrammarandmanyotherformsoflinguisticresearchwithinthefieldofcognitivescience.What,then,determinesthespecificityofCognitiveLinguisticswithincognitivelinguistics?Thereareanumberofcharacteristicsthatneedtobementioned:onebasicprinciplethatisreally,reallyfoundational,andfourtenetsthatspelloutthisfundamentalnotion.Thefoundationalpointissimplythatlanguageisallaboutmeaning.AsitsaysintheEditorialStatementoftheveryfirstissueofthejournalCognitiveLinguistics,publishedin1990,thisapproachseeslanguage"asaninstrumentfororganizing,processing,andconveyinginformation"一assomethingprimarilysemantic,inotherwords.Now,itmayseemself-evidenttoyouthata'cognitive9approachtolanguagefocusesonmeaning,butifyouarefamiliarwithgenerativegrammar(i.e>Chomskyanlinguistics),youwillknowthatthisisatheorythatthinksoflanguageprimarilyinformalterms:asacollectionofformal,syntacticstructuresandrules(orconstraintsonsuchstructuresandrules).Andgenerativegrammarisdefinitelyalsoa'cognitive9conceptionoflanguage,onethatattributesamentalstatustothelanguage.Sowehavetobecarefulwiththeterm\ncognitiveinCognitiveLinguistics.Itdoesnotonlysignalthatlanguageisapsychologicallyrealphenomenon(andthatlinguisticsispartofthecognitivesciences),butalsothattheprocessingandstorageofinformationisacrucialdesignfeatureoflanguage.Linguisticsisnotjustaboutknowledgeofthelanguage(that9sthefocusofgenerativegrammar),butlanguageitselfisaformofknowledge一andhastobeanalyzedaccordingly,withafocusonmeaning.Conversely,CognitiveLinguisticsisnottheonlylinguisticapproachfocusingonmeaning:therearediverseformsoffunctionalapproachestolanguagethatgointhesamedirection.Andfurther,formalsemanticsisclearlyasemanticallyorientedapproachaswell.Itliesbeyondthescopeofthisintroductiontoprovideasystematiccomparisonwiththeseothersemanticapproaches,butyouwillcertainlybeinterestedinwhatisparticularaboutthewayinwhichCognitiveLinguisticsdealswithmeaning.Sothatbringsustothefourspecificcharacteristicsthatweannouncedearlier:eachofthemsayssomethingspecificaboutthewayCognitiveLinguisticsthinksaboutmeaning.(Bytheway,thecaptionsweusetointroducethefeaturesmaysoundformidable,butdon'tworry:anexplanationfollows.)Meaningisnotjustanobjectivereflectionoftheoutsideworld,itisawayofshapingthatworld.Youmightsaythatitconstruestheworldinaparticularway,thatitembodiesaperspectiveontotheworld.Theeasiestwaytounderstandthepointistothinkofspatialperspectivesshowingupinlinguisticexpressions,andthewayinwhichthesameobjectivesituationcanbeconstruedlinguisticallyindifferentways.Thinkofasituationinwhichyouarestandinginyourbackgardenandyouwanttoexpresswhereyouleftyourbicycle.YoucouldthenbothsayIt'sbehindthehouseandIt'sinfrontofthehouse.Thesewouldseemtobecontradictorystatements,exceptthattheyembodydifferentperspectives-Inthefirstexpression,theperspectiveisdeterminedbythewayyoulook:theobjectthatissituatedinthedirectionofyourgazeisinfrontofyou,butifthereisanobstaclealongthatdirection,thethingisbehindthatobstacle.Inthiscase,you9relookinginthedirectionofyourbicyclefromthebackgarden,butthehouseblockstheview,andsothebikeisbehindthehouse.\nInthesecondexpression,however,thepointofviewisthatofthehouse:ahousehasacanonicaldirection,withafrontthatissimilartothefaceofaperson.Thewayahouseisfacing,then,isdeterminedbyitsfront,andthesecondexpressiontakesthepointofviewofthehouseratherthanthespeaker,asifthehousewereapersonlookinginacertaindirection.Suchmultipleperspectivizations(andnotjustspatialones!)areeverywhereinthelanguage,andCognitiveLinguisticsattemptstoanalyzethem.Meaningschange,andthereisagoodreasonforthat:meaninghastodowithshapingourworld,butwehavetodealwithachangingworld.Newexperiencesandchangesinourenvironmentrequirethatweadaptoursemanticcategoriestotransformationsofthecircumstances,andthatweleaveroomfornuancesandslightlydeviantcases.Foratheoryoflanguage,thismeansthatwecannotjustthinkoflanguageasamoreorlessrigidandstablestructure-atendencythatisquiteoutspokenintwentiethcenturylinguistics.Ifmeaningisthehallmarkoflinguisticstructure,thenweshouldthinkofthosestructuresasflexible.Again,wedon'thavetolookfarforanexample.Thinkbacktowhatwesaidaboutbirds:thereisnosingle,rigidsetofdefiningfeaturesthatappliestoallandonlybirds,butwehaveaflexiblefamilyresemblancestructurethatisabletodealwithmarginalcases.Ifmeaninghastodowiththewayinwhichweinteractwiththeworld,itisnaturaltoassumethatourwholepersonisinvolved・Themeaningweconstructinandthroughthelanguageisnotaseparateandindependentmoduleofthemind,butitreflectsouroverallexperienceashumanbeings.Linguisticmeaningisnotseparatefromotherformsofknowledgeoftheworldthatwehave,andinthatsenseitisencyclopedicandnon-autonomous:itinvolvesknowledgeoftheworldthatisintegratedwithourothercognitivecapacities.Thereareatleasttwomainaspectstothisbroaderexperientialgroundingoflinguisticmeaning.First,weareembodiedbeings,notpureminds.Ourorganicnatureinfluencesourexperienceoftheworld,andthisexperienceisreflectedinthelanguageweuse.Thebehind/infrontofexampleagainprovidesaclearandsimpleillustration:theperspectivesweusetoconceptualizethescenederivefromthefactthat\nourbodiesandourgazehaveanaturalorientation,anorientationthatdefineswhatisinfrontofusandthatwecanprojectontootherentities,likehouses.Second,however,wearenotjustbiologicalentities:wealsohaveaculturalandsocialidentity,andourlanguagemayrevealthatidentity,i.e.languagesmayembodythehistoricalandculturalexperienceofgroupsofspeakers(andindividuals).Again,thinkofbirds.Theencyclopedicnatureoflanguageimpliesthatwehavetotakeintoaccounttheactualfamiliaritythatpeoplehavewithbirds:itisnotjustthegeneraldefinitionofbirdthatcounts,butalsowhatweknowaboutsparrowsandpenguinsandostrichesetc.Buttheseexperienceswilldifferfromculturetoculture:thetypical,mostfamiliarbirdsinoneculturewillbedifferentfromthoseinanother,andthatwillaffecttheknowledgepeopleassociatewithacategorylike6bird\Theideathatlinguisticmeaningisnon-autonomouslyintegratedwiththerestofexperienceissometimesformulatedbysayingthatmeaningisexperientiallygrounded一rootedinexperience.Theexperientialnatureoflinguisticknowledgecanbespecifiedinyetanotherway,bypointingtotheimportanceoflanguageuseforourknowledgeofalanguage.Notethatthereisalotofabstractstructureinalanguage:thinkforinstanceofthepatternSubject一Verb一DirectObject一IndirectObjectthatyoufindinasentencelikeMarysentPeteramessage.Inmanylanguages,suchstructuresarenotdirectlyobservable:whatwedoobserve,i.e.whatconstitutestheexperientialbasisforourknowledgeofthelanguage,ismerelyasuccessionofwords(andeventhatisnotentirelywithoutproblems,butlet'spassoverthose).Sothequestionarises:howdoesthismoreconcretelevelofwordsrelatetotheabstractlevelwhereyoufindfunctionalcategorieslikeSubjectandDirectObject?Inmoretraditionalterms,thequestionreads:howdoesthelexiconrelatetothesyntax?Butifwethinkofgrammaticalpatternsashavinganexperientialbasisinconcrete,observablestringsofwords,thereisyetanotherstepwehavetotake:the"observablestringsofwords?donotexistintheabstract;theyarealwayspartofactualutterancesandactualconversations.Theexperienceoflanguageisanexperienceofactuallanguage\nuse,notofwordslikeyouwouldfindtheminadictionaryorsentencepatternslikeyouwouldfindtheminagrammar.ThatiswhywesaythatCognitiveLinguisticsisausage-basedmodelofgrammar:ifwetaketheexperientialnatureofgrammarseriously,wewillhavetotaketheactualexperienceoflanguageseriously,andthatisexperienceofactuallanguageuse・Again,fromthepointofviewofmainstreamtwentiethcenturylinguistics,thatisafairlyrevolutionaryapproach・Anexistingtraditiontendedtoimposeadistinctionbetweentheleveloflanguagestructureandtheleveloflanguageuse一inthetermsofFerdinanddeSaussure(generallyknownasthefounderofmodemlinguistics),betweenlangueandparole.Generally(andspecificallyinthetraditionofgenerativegrammar),parolewouldberelativelyunimportant:thestructurallevelwouldbeessential,theusagelevelepiphenomenal.Inausage-basedmodelthatconsiderstheknowledgeoflanguagetobeexperientiallybasedinactualspeech,thathierarchyofvaluesisobviouslyrejected.