Linguistica inglese., Slide di Linguistica Inglese

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Inglese per le Scienze della Comunicazione

Lectures: 23 September 2024 – 12 December 2024 Mondays 9.30-11. Thursdays 12.30-14. Fridays 15.30-17. Semester break: 28 October – 3 November Office hours upon appointment A. Y. 2 0 2 4 - 2 0 2 5

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Part I

Linguistics – The scientific study of language NOT Prescriptive but Descriptive approach Linguistics’ branches Morphology- syntax- phonology- pragmatics- semantics Semantics -> Cognitive semantics · Language^ can not^ consider^ independent

Morphology Morphology is concerned with the internal structure of words and their creation (word formation) Play – Player Syntax Syntax is concerned with the way words are arranged together to form a sentence and their relationship within a sentence. SVOMPT Tom is baking a cake : How words^ is^ constitute : The (^) Order (^) of (^) The Word SUBJECT-VERB-OBJECT

WHAT IS

COGNITIVE

LINGUISTICS?

Cognitive Linguistics emerged as a cognitive approach to the study of language -early 70’s. Not a single theory of language but an interdisciplinary framework comprising a wide network of different theories. As a cognitive approach to the study of language, the core relationship that Cognitive Linguistics attempts to investigate is Language and Mind From a cognitive perspective, language is a real-time perception and production of a sequence of symbolic units. Language is assumed to reflect certain fundamental properties of the human mind, that is, the conceptual system. Through the study of language it’s possible to understand conceptual structure and organization. Cognitive Linguistics is dedicated to a natural description of language main field of investigation is everyday language produced by language users to draw hypotheses about human cognition. We e k 1 7 · (^) Investigate Languages^ and^ mind

Three main hypothesis guiding the cognitive linguistic approach (Croft & Cruse 2004, introduction):

1. Language is not an autonomous cognitive faculty
2. Grammar is conceptualization
3. Knowledge of language emerges from language use We e k 1 9

1. Language is not an autonomous cognitive faculty Language is not a separate module of the mind, the cognitive processes that govern language use are the same as those applying to other cognitive abilities.
   • Organization of linguistic knowledge is not different from the way other types of knowledge are organized in our mind. The cognitive abilities language users employ to speaking and understanding language are not significantly different from other cognitive tasks, such as visual perception, reasoning, motor activity. This configuration of abilities is probably unique to language, but the cognitive skills required are not.
   • Linguistic knowledge (semantic, syntax, morphology, phonology) is conceptual. Both sounds and utterances must be comprehended and produced, both speaking and understanding involve the mind. Linguistic structure is not independent from other systems and cognitive abilities such as perception, memory, and categorization. We e k 1 1 0 1 > (^) sindy toThe^ sound

2. Grammar is conceptualization

• Derived from Cognitive Grammar framework (Langacker)
• All aspects of linguistic knowledge (including grammar) are subject to conceptualization; one of the aspect of human cognitive ability is the conceptualization of experience to be communicated, all aspects of conceptual structure are subject to construal.
• Conceptual structure is organized into: frames/domains/spaces (e.g. mental spaces) Frame (Fillmore, Frame Semantics approach)= schematization of experience at conceptual level which relates elements and entities associated with a culturally embedded scene from human experience. A frame is made up of: A domain + participants Example: Restaurant +tables +menu +food Domain= complex knowledge structure which relates to coherent aspects of experience (central notion in CMT). Example: The Restaurant is a domain itself We e k 1 1 2 organization of (^) conceptual leare

3. Knowledge of language emerges from language use Categories and structures in syntax, morphology and phonology are built up from our cognition of specific utterances on specific occasions process of abstraction and schematization. Example, experiment: a child hears words and relates them to the places of the house where he heard them https://youtu.be/RE4ce4mexrU?si=6KffKMOwI9TtUCER

• Experiential grounding of meaning correlation in experience We e k 1 1 3

Cognitive Linguistics View of Meaning

• Meaning is a matter of conceptualization.
• Conceptualization is a mental phenomenon, however it can not be detached from physical activity/experience. A major assumption within cognitive approach is that meaning has an experiential ground Language – Mind –Body relationship Linguistic meaning is: a. Perspectival= Different perspectives are to be taken into account. We e k 1 1 5

Cognitive Linguistics View of Meaning b. Dynamic= Not fixed but dynamic, it changes as we live in the world and constantly update our knowledge through our experience. Example: Olives, vegetable or fruit? We e k 1 1 6

The process of conceptualization is dynamic, it encompasses any facet of experience. Example: “A line of trees extends from the highway to the river” “A line of trees extends from the river to the highway” Same scenario but DIFFERENT conceptual representations Construal= Our ability to conceptualize a same situation in different ways. We e k 1 1 8

Construal, definition A construal is the act of imposing some sort of structure on a body of conceptual content. Language users choose how to present a conceptual representation as encoded in language, which in turn has consequences for the conceptual representation that the utterance evokes in the mind of the hearer. There is a wide variety of construal operations that speakers employ in language. Examples: “Paul wrote the book” “The book was written by Paul” Active and passive constructions encode different construals We e k 1 1 9