Cognitive Linguistics
An Introduction
Vyvyan Evans and Melanie Green

Cognitive Linguistics

This book is dedicated to the memory of Larry Trask, 1944–2004, linguist,
scholar, teacher, colleague, mentor and friend.

COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS
AN INTRODUCTION

Vyvyan Evans and Melanie Green

EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS

© Vyvyan Evans and Melanie Green, 2006
Edinburgh University Press Ltd
22 George Square, Edinburgh
Typeset in Sabon and Gill Sans
by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Manchester, and
printed and bound in Great Britain by
Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wilts
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0 7486 1831 7 (hardback)
ISBN 0 7486 1832 5 (paperback)
The right of Vyvyan Evans and Melanie Green
to be identified as authors of this work
has been asserted in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations, symbols and transcription
Part I Overview of the Cognitive Linguistics Enterprise
Introduction
1 What does it mean to know a language?
1.1 What is language for?
1.1.1 The symbolic function of language
1.1.2 The interactive function of language
1.2 The systematic structure of language
1.2.1 Evidence for a system
1.2.2 The systematic structure of thought
1.3 What do linguists do?
1.3.1 What?
1.3.2 Why?
1.3.3 How?
1.3.4 Speaker intuitions
1.3.5 Converging evidence
1.4 What it means to know a language
1.5 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS: AN INTRODUCTION

2 The nature of cognitive linguistics: assumptions and
commitments
2.1 Two key commitments
2.1.1 The 'Generalisation Commitment'
2.1.2 The 'Cognitive Commitment'
2.2 The embodied mind
2.2.1 Embodied experience
2.2.2 Embodied cognition
2.2.3 Experiential realism
2.3 Cognitive semantics and cognitive approaches to grammar
2.4 Summary
Further reading
Exercises
3 Universals and variation in language, thought and
experience
3.1 Universals in thought and language
3.1.1 Typological universals
3.1.2 Universals in formal linguistics
3.1.3 Universals in cognitive linguistics
3.2 Cross-linguistic patterns in semantic systems
3.2.1 Patterns in the conceptualisation of space
3.2.2 Patterns in the conceptualisation of time
3.3 Cross-linguistic variation in semantic systems
3.3.1 Variation in the conceptualisation of space
3.3.2 Variation in the conceptualisation of time
3.4 Linguistic relativity and cognitive linguistics
3.4.1 Whorf and the Linguistic Relativity Principle
3.4.2 Language as a shaper of thought
3.4.3 The cognitive linguistics position
3.5 Summary
Further reading
Exercises
4 Language in use: knowledge of language, language change
and language acquisition
4.1 Language in use
4.1.1 A usage event
4.1.2 The relationship between usage and linguistic
structure
4.1.3 Comprehension and production
4.1.4 Context
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CONTENTS

4.1.5 Frequency
Cognitive Grammar
4.2.1 Abstraction, schematisation and language use
4.2.2 Schemas and their instantiations
4.2.3 Partial sanction
4.2.4 The non-reductive nature of schemas
4.2.5 Frequency in schema formation
4.3 A usage-based approach to language change
4.3.1 Historical linguistics and language change
4.3.2 The Utterance Selection Theory of language
change
4.3.3 The Generalised Theory of Selection and the
Theory of Utterance Selection
4.3.4 Causal mechanisms for language change
4.4 The usage-based approach to language acquisition
4.4.1 Empirical findings in language acquisition
4.4.2 The cognitive view: socio-cognitive mechanisms
in language acquisition
4.4.3 Comparing the generative view of language
acquisition
4.5 Summary
Further reading
Exercises
4.2

Part II Cognitive Semantics
Introduction
5 What is cognitive semantics?
5.1 Guiding principles
5.1.1 Conceptual structure is embodied
5.1.2 Semantic structure is conceptual structure
5.1.3 Meaning representation is encyclopaedic
5.1.4 Meaning construction is conceptualisation
5.2 Phenomena investigated within cognitive semantics
5.2.1 The bodily basis of meaning
5.2.2 Conceptual structure
5.2.3 Encyclopaedic semantics
5.2.4 Mappings
5.2.5 Categorisation
5.2.6 Word meaning and polysemy
5.3 Methodology
5.4 Some comparisons with formal approaches to semantics

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COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS: AN INTRODUCTION

5.5 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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6 Embodiment and conceptual structure
6.1 Image schemas
6.1.1 What is an image schema?
6.1.2 Properties of image schemas
6.1.3 Image schemas and linguistic meaning
6.1.4 A provisional list of image schemas
6.1.5 Image schemas and abstract thought
6.2 Conceptual structure
6.2.1 Semantic structure
6.2.2 Schematic systems
6.3 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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7 The encyclopaedic view of meaning
7.1 Dictionaries versus encylopaedias
7.1.1 The dictionary view
7.1.2 Problems with the dictionary view
7.1.3 Word meaning versus sentence meaning
7.1.4 The encyclopaedic view
7.2 Frame semantics
7.2.1 What is a semantic frame?
7.2.2 Frames in cognitive psychology
7.2.3 The   frame
7.2.4 Speech event frames
7.2.5 Consequences of adopting a frame-based model
7.3 The theory of domains
7.3.1 What is a domain?
7.3.2 Basic, image-schematic and abstract domains
7.3.3 Other characteristics of domains
7.3.4 Profile/base organisation
7.3.5 Active zones
7.4 The perceptual basis of knowledge representation
7.5 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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CONTENTS

8 Categorisation and idealised cognitive models
8.1 Categorisation and cognitive semantics
8.1.1 The classical theory
8.1.2 The definitional problem
8.1.3 The problem of conceptual fuzziness
8.1.4 The problem of prototypicality
8.1.5 Further problems
8.2 Prototype theory
8.2.1 Principles of categorisation
8.2.2 The categorisation system
8.2.3 The vertical dimension
8.2.4 The horizontal dimension
8.2.5 Problems with prototype theory
8.3 The theory of idealised cognitive models
8.3.1 Sources of typicality effects
8.3.2 Radial categories as a further source of typicality
effects
8.3.3 Addressing the problems with prototype theory
8.4 The structure of ICMs
8.5 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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9 Metaphor and metonymy
9.1 Literal versus figurative language
9.1.1 Literal and figurative language as complex concepts
9.1.2 Can the distinction be maintained?
9.2 What is metaphor?
9.3 Conceptual Metaphor Theory
9.3.1 The unidirectionality of metaphor
9.3.2 Motivation for target and source
9.3.3 Metaphorical entailments
9.3.4 Metaphor systems
9.3.5 Metaphors and image schemas
9.3.6 Invariance
9.3.7 The conceptual nature of metaphor
9.3.8 Hiding and highlighting
9.4 Primary Metaphor Theory
9.4.1 Primary and compound metaphors
9.4.2 Experiential correlation
9.4.3 Motivating primary metaphors
9.4.4 Distinguishing primary and compound metaphors

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COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS: AN INTRODUCTION

9.5
9.6

What is metonymy?
Conceptual metonymy
9.6.1 Metonymy as an access mechanism
9.6.2 Metonymy-producing relationships
9.6.3 Vehicles for metonymy
9.7 Metaphor-metonymy interaction
9.8 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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10 Word meaning and radial categories
10.1 Polysemy as a conceptual phenomenon
10.2 Words as radial categories
10.3 The full-specification approach
10.3.1 Image schema transformations
10.3.2 Metaphorical extensions
10.4 Problems with the full-specification approach
10.5 The Principled Polysemy approach
10.5.1 Distinguishing between senses
10.5.2 Establishing the prototypical sense
10.5.3 Illustration of a radial category based on Principled
Polysemy
10.5.4 Beyond prepositions
10.6 The importance of context for polysemy
10.6.1 Usage context: subsenses
10.6.2 Sentential context: facets
10.6.3 Knowledge context: ways of seeing
10.7 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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11 Meaning construction and mental spaces
11.1 Sentence meaning in formal semantics
11.2 Meaning construction in cognitive semantics
11.3 Towards a cognitive theory of meaning construction
11.4 The architecture of mental space construction
11.4.1 Space builders
11.4.2 Elements
11.4.3 Properties and relations
11.4.4 Mental space lattices
11.4.5 Counterparts and connectors
11.4.6 The Access Principle

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CONTENTS

11.4.7 Roles and values
11.5 An illustration of mental space construction
11.6 The dynamic nature of meaning construction
11.6.1 Tense and aspect in English
11.6.2 The tense-aspect system in Mental Spaces Theory
11.6.3 Epistemic distance
11.7 Summary
Further reading
Exercises
12 Conceptual blending
12.1 The origins of Blending Theory
12.2 Towards a theory of conceptual integration
12.3 The nature of blending
12.3.1 The elements of conceptual blending
12.3.2 Further linguistic examples
12.3.3 Non-linguistic examples
12.4 Vital relations and compressions
12.4.1 Vital relations
12.4.2 A taxonomy of vital relations and their
compressions
12.4.3 Disintegration and decompression
12.5 A taxonomy of integration networks
12.5.1 Simplex networks
12.5.2 Mirror networks
12.5.3 Single-scope networks
12.5.4 Double-scope networks
12.6 Multiple blending
12.7 Constraining Blending Theory
12.8 Comparing Blending Theory with Conceptual Metaphor
Theory
12.8.1 Contrasts
12.8.2 When is a metaphor not a blend?
12.8.3 What Blending Theory adds to Conceptual
Metaphor Theory
12.9 Summary
Further reading
Exercises
13 Cognitive semantics in context
13.1 Truth-conditional semantics
13.1.1 Meaning, truth and reality

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COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS: AN INTRODUCTION

13.1.2
13.1.3
13.1.4
13.1.5

Object language versus metalanguage
The inconsistency of natural language
Sentences and propositions
Truth-conditional semantics and the generative
enterprise
13.1.6 Compositionality of meaning
13.1.7 Translating natural language into a
metalanguage
13.1.8 Semantic interpretation and matching
13.1.9 Comparison with cognitive semantics
13.2 Relevance Theory
13.2.1 Ostensive communication
13.2.2 Mutual cognitive environment
13.2.3 Relevance
13.2.4 Explicature and implicature
13.2.5 Metaphor
13.2.6 Comparison with cognitive semantics
13.3 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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Part III Cognitive Approaches to Grammar
Introduction

471

14 What is a cognitive approach to grammar?
14.1 Guiding assumptions
14.1.1 The symbolic thesis
14.1.2 The usage-based thesis
14.1.3 The architecture of the model
14.2 Distinct cognitive approaches to grammar
14.2.1 The 'Conceptual Structuring System Model'
14.2.2 Cognitive Grammar
14.2.3 Constructional approaches to grammar
14.2.4 Cognitive approaches to grammaticalisation
14.3 Grammatical terminology
14.3.1 Grammar
14.3.2 Units of grammar
14.3.3 Word classes
14.3.4 Syntax
14.3.5 Grammatical functions
14.3.6 Agreement and case
14.4 Characteristics of the cognitive approach to grammar

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CONTENTS

14.4.1 Grammatical knowledge: a structured inventory of
symbolic units
14.4.2 Features of the closed-class subsystem
14.4.3 Schemas and instances
14.4.4 Sanctioning and grammaticality
14.5 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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15 The conceptual basis of grammar
15.1 The grammatical subsystem: encoding semantic structure
15.2 Talmy's 'Conceptual Structuring System Model'
15.2.1 The configuration of  and 
15.2.2 Conceptual alternativity
15.2.3 Schematic systems
15.2.4 The 'Configurational Structure System'
15.2.5 The 'Attentional System'
15.2.6 The 'Perspectival System'
15.2.7 The 'Force-Dynamics System'
15.3 Langacker's theory of Cognitive Grammar
15.3.1 The conceptual basis of word classes
15.3.2 Attention
15.3.3 Force-dynamics
15.4 Categorisation and polysemy in grammar: the network
conception
15.5 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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16 Cognitive Grammar: word classes
16.1 Word classes: linguistic categorisation
16.2 Nominal predications: nouns
16.2.1 Bounding
16.2.2 Homogeneity versus heterogeneity
16.2.3 Expansibility and contractibility versus replicability
16.2.4 Abstractions
16.3 Nominal versus relational predications
16.4 Temporal versus atemporal relations
16.4.1 Temporal relations: verbs
16.4.2 Atemporal relations
16.4.3 Class schemas
16.5 Nominal grounding predications

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COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS: AN INTRODUCTION

16.5.1 Determiners and quantifiers
16.5.2 Grounding
16.6 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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17 Cognitive Grammar: constructions
17.1 Phrase structure
17.1.1 Valence
17.1.2 Correspondence
17.1.3 Profile determinacy
17.1.4 Conceptual autonomy versus conceptual
dependence
17.1.5 Constituency
17.1.6 The prototypical grammatical construction
17.2 Word structure
17.2.1 Phonological autonomy and dependence
17.2.2 Semantic autonomy and dependence
17.2.3 Prototypical stems and affixes
17.2.4 Composite structure
17.2.5 Constructional schemas
17.2.6 Grammatical morphemes and agreement
17.3 Clauses
17.3.1 Valence at the clause level
17.3.2 Grammatical functions and transitivity
17.3.3 Case
17.3.4 Marked coding: the passive construction
17.4 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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18 Cognitive Grammar: tense, aspect, mood and voice
18.1 English verbs: form and function
18.2 The clausal head
18.2.1 The passive construction: [be2 [3 [V]]]
18.2.2 The progressive construction: [be1 [-ing [V]]]
18.2.3 The perfect construction: [have [4 [V]]]
18.3 The grounding predication: mood and tense
18.3.1 Mood
18.3.2 Tense
18.3.3 The epistemic model
18.4 Situation aspect

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CONTENTS

18.4.1 Situation types
18.4.2 Perfective and imperfective 
18.4.3 Aspect and the count/mass distinction
18.5 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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19 Motivating a construction grammar
19.1 Constructions versus 'words and rules'
19.2 Exploring idiomatic expressions
19.2.1 Typology of idiomatic expressions
19.2.2 Case study I: the let alone construction
19.2.3 Case study II: the what's X doing Y construction
19.3 Construction Grammar
19.3.1 The Construction Grammar model
19.3.2 Construction Grammar: a 'broadly generative'
model
19.3.3 Comparing Construction Grammar with
Cognitive Grammar
19.4 The 'Generalisation Commitment'
19.5 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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20 The architecture of construction grammars
20.1 Goldberg's construction grammar
20.1.1 Assumptions
20.1.2 Advantages of a constructional approach to verb
argument structure
20.1.3 The relationship between verbs and
constructions
20.1.4 Relationships between constructions
20.1.5 Case studies
20.2 Radical Construction Grammar
20.2.1 Taxonomy of constructions
20.2.2 Emphasis on diversity
20.2.3 Five key features of RCG
20.3 Embodied Construction Grammar
20.3.1 Emphasis on language processing
20.3.2 Analysis and simulation
20.4 Comparing constructional approaches to grammar
20.5 Summary

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COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS: AN INTRODUCTION

Further reading
Exercises

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21 Grammaticalisation
21.1 The nature of grammaticalisation
21.1.1 Form change
21.1.2 Meaning change
21.2 Metaphorical extension approaches
21.2.1 Case study: --
21.2.2 Case study: --
21.3 Invited Inferencing Theory
21.3.1 Case study: the evolution of must
21.4 The subjectification approach
21.4.1 Case study: be going to
21.4.2 Case study: the evolution of auxiliaries from verbs
of motion or posture
21.5 Comparison of the three approaches: be going to
21.6 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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22 Cognitive approaches to grammar in context
22.1 Theories of grammar: assumptions, objectives,
methodology
22.1.1 Cognitive approaches to grammar
22.1.2 Generative approaches to grammar
22.1.3 Cognitive versus generative models
22.1.4 Functional-typological approaches to grammar
22.2 Core issues in grammar: comparing cognitive and
generative accounts
22.2.1 Word classes
22.2.2 Constituency: heads and dependents
22.2.3 The status of tree diagrams
22.2.4 Grammatical functions and case
22.2.5 The verb string: tense, aspect and mood
22.2.6 The passive construction
22.3 Summary
Further reading
Exercises

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CONTENTS

Part IV Conclusion
23 Assessing the cognitive linguistics enterprise
23.1 Achievements
23.2 Remaining challenges
23.3 Summary

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Appendix: Tables and Figures
References
Index

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xvii

Preface

The nature of this book
This book represents a general introduction to the area of theoretical linguistics known as cognitive linguistics. It consists of three main parts. Part I provides an overview of some of the main aims, assumptions and commitments of
the cognitive linguistics enterprise, and provides an indicative sketch of some
of the descriptive analyses and theoretical positions that are representative of
cognitive linguistics. The next two parts focus on the two best-developed
research frameworks in cognitive linguistics: cognitive semantics (Part II), and
cognitive approaches to grammar (Part III). Although some cognitive linguists
(notably Langacker) have extended their theories to account for phonology as
well as meaning and grammar, we will be mainly concerned with meaning and
grammar in this book, and will have little to say about phonology. In part, this
reflects the fact that phonology has received relatively little attention within
cognitive linguistics (although this situation is changing), and in part this
reflects our own interests.
Who is this book for?
Our aim has been to provide a reasonably comprehensive general introduction
to cognitive linguistics that is accessible enough for undergraduate students at
the university level, while also serving as a work of reference both for linguists
and for scholars from neighbouring disciplines. While striving for accessibility,
we have also retained considerable detail (including relevant citations in the
running text), so that readers (including research students and professional linguists unfamiliar with cognitive linguistics, as well as interested readers from
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COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS: AN INTRODUCTION

neighbouring disciplines), are provided with a route into the primary literature.
In selecting the material presented, and in the presentation itself, we have
attempted to provide as balanced a perspective as possible. However, cognitive
linguistics represents a collection of approaches rather than a unified theoretical framework, and different authors often take quite distinct positions on
similar phenomena, sometimes relying on distinct terminology. It follows that
what we present here under the name of 'cognitive linguistics' should be
understood as a presentation of the cognitive approach 'as we see it'.
Using the book
We have designed the book so that, in general terms, each chapter builds on
preceding chapters. In particular, our decision to present the material on cognitive semantics (Part II) before the material on cognitive approaches to
grammar (Part III) reflects the fact that cognitive grammarians assume much
of what has been established by cognitive semanticists in developing their
approaches. However, because different readers and course tutors will need to
use the book in ways tailored to their specific objectives, we have attempted to
make Part II and Part III of the book relatively independent so that they can be
used for separate courses. The book has sufficient coverage to provide the basis
for a number of different courses. We outline below suggestions for 'routes'
through the book for three different types of course, assuming 12 teaching
weeks at the rate of one chapter per week. Of course, these suggestions can be
adjusted depending on teaching time available, level of course and so on. The
suggestions made here reflect undergraduate courses taught at the University
of Sussex, where this textbook was piloted prior to publication.
Vyvyan Evans and Melanie Green
Linguistics and English Language Department
University of Sussex
March 2005

xx

PREFACE

Introduction to cognitive
linguistics

Cognitive semantics

Cognitive approaches to
grammar

Week 1

Ch. 1. What does it mean
to know a language?

Ch. 1. What does it mean
to know a language?

Ch. 1. What does it mean
to know a language?

Week 2

Ch. 2. The nature of
cognitive linguistics:
assumptions and
commitments

Ch. 2. The nature of
cognitive linguistics:
assumptions and
commitments

Ch. 2. The nature of
cognitive linguistics:
assumptions and
commitments

Week 3

Ch. 3. Universals and
variation in language,
thought and experience

Ch. 5. What is cognitive
semantics?

Ch. 14. What is a
cognitive approach to
grammar?

Week 4

Ch. 4. Language in use:
knowledge of language,
language change and
language acquisition

Ch. 3. Universals and
variation in language,
thought and experience

Ch. 4. Language in use:
knowledge of language,
language change and
language acquisition

Week 5

Ch 5. What is cognitive
semantics?

Ch. 6. Embodiment and
conceptual structure

Ch. 15. The conceptual
basis of grammar

Week 6

Ch. 6. Embodiment and
conceptual structure

Ch. 7. The encyclopaedic
view of meaning

Ch. 16. Cognitive
grammar: word classes

Week 7

Ch. 7. The encyclopaedic
view of meaning

Ch. 8. Categorisation and
idealised cognitive models

Ch. 17. Cognitive
grammar: constructions

Week 8

Ch. 9. Metaphor and
metonymy

Ch. 9. Metaphor and
metonymy

Ch. 18. Cognitive
grammar: tense, aspect,
mood and voice

Week 9

Ch. 14. What is a cognitive Ch. 10. Word meaning and Ch. 19. Motivating a
approach to grammar?
radial categories
construction grammar

Week 10 Ch. 19. Motivating a
construction grammar

Ch. 11. Meaning
construction and mental
spaces

Ch. 20. The architecture
of construction grammars

Week 11 Ch. 20. The architecture
Ch. 12. Conceptual
of construction grammars blending

Ch. 21.
Grammaticalisation

Week 12 Ch. 23. Assessing the
cognitive linguistics
enterprise

Ch. 22. Cognitive
approaches to grammar in
context

Ch. 13. Cognitive
semantics in context

xxi

Acknowledgements

In writing this book we have been supported by a large number of people to
whom we would like to express our thanks. Firstly, we would like to thank a
number of colleagues whose comments and suggestions have helped us to
develop and improve the book: Mark Turner and Brigitte Nerlich, our reviewers for Edinburgh University Press, for their advice and encouragement, and
Lynne Murphy, Max Wheeler and Jörg Zinken, who read and provided
detailed comments on a number of chapters. Of course, these people do not
necessarily share our interpretation of the material discussed in this book and
any remaining shortcomings are our responsibility.
Secondly, we owe a debt of thanks to our students. Earlier drafts of this textbook were used to teach undergraduate courses at the University of Sussex
in 'Cognitive Semantics' during the 2003/4 academic year, and 'Cognitive
Grammar', 'Grammar and Mind' and 'Cognitive Semantics' during the
2004/5 academic year. These students engaged fully with the text and provided
all sorts of practical suggestions that greatly improved both the presentation
and the accessibility of the book. We thank them for their patience and friendly
criticism. In particular, we would like to acknowledge the following students
from the 2003/4 cohort: Alison Barnes, Nicola Buxton, David Cafferty, Hayley
Clark, Steven Cuthbert, Laura Daw, Mary Downham, Mark Hall, Esther
Hamon, Shinichiro Harigai, Minna Kirjavainen, Andrew Reid, Kristal
Robinson, Claire Simmonds, Rebecca Stubbs, Caroline Veale, Daniel Whaley,
Hannah Williams and Susannah Williams; and the following from the 2004/5
cohort: Jonathan Archer, Beatrice Ashmore, Thomas Baker, Mathew Baker,
James Brown, Joseph Clark, Tegan French, Simon Harber, Sarah Hayward,
Simon Knight, Thomas Kuhn, Alice Lee, Alistair Lockie, Melinda Lowing,
Tanja Obradovic, Lucy Meyer, Peter Nichols, Sean Palmer, Melanie Pinet,
xxiii

COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS: AN INTRODUCTION

Elizabeth Price, Andrew Spratley, Hannah Thomas, Jodi Wenham, Stephanie
Wood and Rebecca Wright.
Thirdly, we are grateful to members of the Sussex Cognitive Linguistics
Research Group for their constructive comments in response to excerpts from
an early draft of the book. In particular we would like to acknowledge Jason
Harrison, Basia Golebiowska, Anu Koskela, Shane Lindsay, John Sung and
Sarah Witherby. We are also extremely grateful to our colleague Lynne
Murphy for her support of the Cognitive Linguistics Research Group, and for
her own research, which has informed our thinking on a number of the issues
addressed in this book. For financial support in funding the indexing costs we
gratefully acknowledge the support of the Department of Linguistics and
English Language at Sussex, and the head of department, Richard Coates.
Vyvyan Evans gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the University
of Sussex, Research Development Fund no. 03R2, which in part supported his
participation in this project, and gratefully acknowledges the support of the
Dean of the School of Humanities, Stephen Burman, in securing this grant.
Melanie Green also gratefully acknowledges her colleagues in the Department
of Linguistics and English Language for a period of sabbatical leave that
enabled her to complete her part of the project. We also acknowledge our editor
at Edinburgh University Press, Sarah Edwards, for her patience and advice,
and we remain indebted to Angela Evans for designing the cover image for the
book.
Finally, this book is in many ways a product of the unique academic environment at the University of Sussex, most notably the depth and quality of
teaching and research in the cognitive sciences, and an atmosphere in which
researchers of different theoretical persuasions can share their ideas. It was
while the Linguistics and English Language Department was in the School of
Cognitive and Computing Sciences (COGS) that the late Professor Larry
Trask first proposed and developed undergraduate courses in cognitive linguistics at Sussex, which our students could take alongside courses in formal
linguistics and the other cognitive sciences in order to develop a broader and
more critical understanding of theoretical models in linguistics. This book
emerged from our attempts to teach these courses at a time when appropriate
teaching materials were few and far between. Our motivation for writing this
book can therefore be directly attributed to the interest in cognitive linguistics,
and linguistics in general, that Larry's teaching instilled in others here at
Sussex. This book is dedicated to Larry's memory.

xxiv

Abbreviations, symbols and transcription

A
ABS
ACC
ANT
AP
AUX
BEN
DEF
ERG
F
HPSG
ICM
IMPF
INF
LF
M
MOD
N
NEG
NOM
NP
OBJ
P
PASS
PERF
PF

adjective
absolutive
accusative
anterior
adjective phrase
auxiliary
benefactive
definite
ergative
feminine
Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar
idealised cognitive model
imperfective
infinitive
logical form
masculine
modal
noun
negative
nominative
noun phrase
object
preposition
passive
perfective
phonological form
xxv

COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS: AN INTRODUCTION

PL
PP
P.PART
PRED
PRES
PROG
PRT
S
SFOC
SUBJ
TR
LM
TAM
V
VP

plural
preposition phrase
past participle
predicate
present
progressive
particle
singular
focused subject
subject
trajector
landmark
tense, aspect, mood
verb
verb phrase

1
2
3

1st person
2nd person
3rd person

*
?
#

ungrammatical
marginal
unacceptable

/x/
[x]

phoneme
allophone

v¯
v`
vˆ

long vowel
low tone vowel
falling tone vowel

italics
 

linguistic form
concept

bold

bold is used for the first mention of key terms introduced
in each chapter and for those terms in the summary at the
end of each chapter

xxvi

Part I: Overview of the cognitive
linguistics enterprise

Introduction

Cognitive linguistics is a modern school of linguistic thought that originally
emerged in the early 1970s out of dissatisfaction with formal approaches to language. Cognitive linguistics is also firmly rooted in the emergence of modern
cognitive science in the 1960s and 1970s, particularly in work relating to human
categorisation, and in earlier traditions such as Gestalt psychology. Early
research was dominated in the 1970s and 1980s by a relatively small number of
scholars. By the early 1990s, there was a growing proliferation of research in
this area, and of researchers who identified themselves as 'cognitive linguists'.
In 1989/90, the International Cognitive Linguistics Society was established,
together with the journal Cognitive Linguistics. In the words of the eminent
cognitive linguist Ronald Langacker ([1991] 2002: xv), this 'marked the birth
of cognitive linguistics as a broadly grounded, self conscious intellectual
movement'.
Cognitive linguistics is described as a 'movement' or an 'enterprise' because
it is not a specific theory. Instead, it is an approach that has adopted a common
set of guiding principles, ...