Concept, Image, and Symbol

The Cognitive Basis of Grammar

Ronald W. Langacker

• Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9783110125993
• eBook ISBN:
  9783110857733
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Linguistics
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

This classic research monograph develops and illustrates the theory of linguistic structure known as Cognitive Grammar, and applies it to representative phenomena in English and other languages. Cognitive grammar views language as an integral facet of cognition and claims that grammatical structure cannot be understood or revealingly described independently of semantic considerations.

Table of contents

• Preface
• 1. Introduction
• 1. Linguistic semantics
• 2. Dimensions of imagery
• 3. Grammar as image
• 4. Grammatical organization
• 5. Grammatical classes
• 6. Grammatical constructions
• 7. Conclusion
• 2. Inside and outside in Cora
• 1. Theoretical preliminaries
• 2. Enclosure
• 3. Topographical domain
• 4. Accessibility
• 5. Scope
• 6. Implications
• 3. Nouns and verbs
• 1. Issues
• 2. Basic concepts
• 3. Bounding
• 4. Interconnection
• 5. Count vs. mass nouns
• 6. Relations
• 7. Processes
• 8. Motivation
• 9. Perfective vs. imperfective processes
• 10. Progressives
• 11. Abstract nouns
• 12. Conclusion
• 4. The English passive
• 1. Grammar and analyzability
• 2. Descriptive framework
• 3. The passive construction
• 5. Abstract motion
• 1. Basic concepts and assumptions
• 2. The characterization of verbs
• 3. Objective motion
• 4. Subjective motion
• 5. Avenues of semantic extension
• 6. Grammatical valence
• 1. Canonical instances
• 2. Noncanonical instances
• 3. Further departures from the canon
• 4. Scope and morphological layering
• 7. Active zones
• 1. The phenomenon
• 2. Analysis
• 3. Grammatical implications
• 8. The Yuman auxiliary
• 9. Transitivity, case, and grammatical relations
• 1. The conception of actions and events
• 2. Unmarked linguistic coding
• 3. Marked coding
• 4. Case
• 5. Causative constructions
• 10. A usage-based model
• 1. Two conceptions of generality
• 2. The network conception
• 3. General applicability
• 4. Distribution
• 5. Conclusion
• 11. Autonomy and agreement
• 1. The autonomy issue
• 2. The symbolic alternative
• 3. Grammatical markings
• 4. Agreement
• 5. Conclusion
• 12. Subjectification
• 1. Perspective
• 2. Grounding
• 3. The nature of subjectification
• 4. A spatial example
• 5. The future sense of ‘go’
• 6. Modals
• 7. Possession and perfect aspect
• 8. Conclusion
• Final remarks
• Notes
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Bibliography
• Index