35 years of Cognitive

Linguistics
Session 8: Cognitive Grammar

Martin Hilpert
 your questions
constituency
relational expressions
salience
schema
semantic pole / phonological pole
open-ended knowledge systems
Langacker 1987 Langacker 1991
 lang
ap es lang uage u
use sh ge uag s
e ch e shap
ua ge ow led ang es
lang istic kn e
u
ling

usage-based linguistics

langua
communicative functions ge is g
genera rounde
l cogni di
shape language form tive pro n
cesses
ideas from Cognitive Grammar,
now widely held in Cognitive
Linguistics
 Knowledge of language is knowledge
of a network of symbolic units that
pair sounds with meanings.
 Lexicon and grammar are not distinct
modules: there is a continuum from
very concrete symbols (chair, dog) to
very schematic symbols (subject,
relative clause).
 Knowledge of language is usage-
based: speakers know symbolic units
because they make abstractions over
usage events.
 Langackers project: a cognitive
grammar
All linguistic structures are meaningful.
subject, noun, preposition, relative clause,
progressive aspect, infinitive, past tense,
finiteness, modal auxiliary, ...
The meanings of these structures can be
fully described in cognitive terms.

to walk

the preposition into

the present progressive a walk
 job of the cognitive
grammarian
Describe all grammatical structures
in terms of their meanings.
Analyze those meanings in terms of
general cognitive processes.
 the content requirement
The stuff grammars are made of:
1. sounds and structures youve heard
before
tree, I dont know, Could you pass the salt?
2. schemas on the basis of the sounds
and structures that youve heard
before
NOUN, SUB VP, AUX, SUB, VP
3. categorizing relationships between 1
and 2
tree is a NOUN
 the content requirement
The only units permitted in the grammar
of a language are (i) semantic,
phonological, and symbolic structures that
occur overtly in linguistic expressions; (ii)
structures that are schematic for the those
in (i); and (iii) categorizing relationships
involving the structures in (i) and (ii).
technical terms
 domains
All linguistic units are context-dependent
to some degree. A context for that
characterization of a semantic unit is
referred to as a domain. Domains are
necessarily cognitive entities: mental
experiences, representational spaces,
concepts, or conceptual complexes.
 profile and base
All expressions are characterized
semantically by the imposition of a profile
on a base.
Linguistic expressions evoke a frame
(base) and highlight a part of that frame
(profile).
 trajectory and landmark
A relational predication elevates one of
its participants to the status of figure. I
refer to this participant as its trajector;
other salient participants are referred to as
landmarks.

the preposition into

 thing
a region in some domain of conceptual
space
a noun is a symbolic structure that
designates a thing
cube (a bounded region in 3D space)
moment (a bounded region in time)
paragraph (a portion of a written work)
B-flat (a point-like region on the musical scale)
electricity (a bounded region in the space of
physical characteristics)
 relation
relational expressions profile the
interconnections among conceived
entities
prepositions (above)
adjectives (red)
adverbs (quickly)
verbs (run)
cube
above
into
grow
 construal
Construal is our ability to conceive and
portray the same situation in alternate
ways. Every lexical and grammatical
element incorporates, as an inherent
aspect of its meaning, a certain way of
construing the conceptual content
evoked.
 construal
The table is under the lamp.
The lamp is over the table.
reversal of trajectory and landmark

lm tr

tr lm

The table is under the lamp. The lamp is above the table.
 construal
The neighbors are gone.
The neighbors are away.
same profile, different base
 construal
Bill sent a walrus to Joyce.
Bill sent Joyce a walrus.
same base, different profiles
 construal

different levels of schematicity

The boy opened the door.
The boy did something.
Something happened.
 construal
I saw how the bridge collapsed.
I saw the collapse of the bridge.
process vs. thing
 sequential scanning vs. summary
scanning
The same content can be construed as
either a process or a non-processual
relationship, depending on whether it is
accessed via sequential scanning or
summary scanning
summary scanning.
sequential scanning
 linguistic units
The term unit is employed in a technical
sense to indicate a thoroughly mastered
structure, i.e. a cognitive routine.
 linguistic units
Only three basic types of units are
posited: semantic, phonological, and
symbolic. A symbolic unit is said to be
bipolar, consisting of a semantic unit
defining one pole and a phonological pole
defining the other.
 linguistic units
Symbolic units vary along the parameters
of complexity and specificity.
Complexity:

cat blackboard football coach

 linguistic units
Symbolic units vary along the parameters
of complexity and specificity.
Schematicity:

tree noun verb

 linguistic units
Units are conventionalized:

conventionalized unit novel expression

 linguistic units
Units can be combined:

composite expression conventionalized schema

 constituency
the order in which symbolic structures are
progressively assembled into larger and
larger composite expressions

above the table the lamp above the table

 elaboration
It is typical in a construction for one
component structure to contain a
schematic substructure which the
other component serves to elaborate
, i.e. characterize in finer- grained
detail.
A schematic element elaborated by
another component is called an
elaboration site, or e-site for short.
 elaboration
Prepositions such as near occur with
nominals that provide a more
detailed description of the speakers
idea:
the door elaborates near
 elaboration
Elaboration sites: open slots in
complex constructions
the nominal in a prepositional phrase
near the door
the noun in a noun phrase with a
determiner
the door
the object nominal in a transitive verb
phrase
open the door
 grounding
Grounding is proposed as a technical term in
Cognitive Grammar to characterize grammatical
predications that indicate the relationship of a
designated entity to the ground or situation of
speech, including the speech event itself, its
participants, and their respective spheres of
knowledge.
Grounding predications are obligatory
grammatical elements needed to turn nouns
into full nominals, and verbs into finite clauses.
 grounding elements
nominal:
a, the, this, my, his, some, many, ...
(in)definiteness, quantification, deixis
 grounding elements
verbal:
-s, -ed, would, will, be ing, ...
clausal grounding is mainly
concerned with the status of events
with respect to their actual or
potential occurrence
When did it take place? Are we sure
that it took place? How did it take
place?
Modality, Aspect, Tense
Summing up
 lang
ap es lang uage u
use sh ge uag s
e ch e shap
ua ge ow led ang es
lang istic kn e
u
ling

usage-based linguistics

langua
communicative functions ge is g
genera rounde
l cogni di
shape language form tive pro n
cesses
general cognitive processes
figure-ground perception
seeing things and relations instead of a chaotic mixture of
impressions
categorization
seeing a word like cat as a noun
schematization
seeing the similarities between He ate it and Mary baked a
cake
automatization
remembering pencil sharpener as a unit
perspective-taking
adopt different points of view upon hearing The cat was
chased away vs. The dog chased the cat away
 Can we come up with a description of
grammar that is based exclusively on
sounds and meanings?

nouns, verbs, the present tense, the

progressive aspect, relative clauses,
demonstratives, accusative case, ...
See you next time!
martin.hilpert@unine.ch