Definition of Cognitive Linguistics
Cognitive linguistics is an actively developing linguistic direction and one of the leading in modern linguistic science. Its linguistic basis is based on the desire to explain language as a spiritual phenomenon within the science of cognition. Cognitive linguistics’ key points are related to the general theory of information and its processing by the human mind. Thus, figurative language is an integral part of everyday communication and includes various linguistic expressions.
The tasks of cognitive linguistics are reduced to the study of the following:
- The function of language in processes of cognition and understanding of the world.
- The use of linguistic competence in processes of information transmission, interpretation, and reception about the world.
- Processes for conceptualizing and classifying knowledge, including the tools and techniques for classifying languages and conceptualizing cultural constants.
- A description of the framework of common ideas, which serve as the primary divisional criteria, and arrange concepts in this context.
- The issue with a language’s representation of the world.
Core Principles of Cognitive Linguistics
The main issues of cognitive linguistics concern mastering, organizing, and preserving linguistic knowledge in memory and its more productive use as a receptive art. Language expressions are viewed fundamentally as the attributes underlying a system of knowledge to create a strong explanatory, psychologically acceptable theory of language. The central emphasis of cognitive linguistics is that all knowledge formations are preserved as mental representations.
Mental representations represent intrasystem, fixed in the cognitive system, and non-formal states, which reflect external-systemic states taken in a certain way from the environment and are thus the result of conceptualization processes (Parisian, 2020). Such informational states are preserved as cognitive structures in long-term memory and allow the realization of specific spiritual capabilities, such as categorization, language comprehension, and problem-solving.
Cognitive linguistics typically involves the discovery of interconnections or so-called areas of intersection, which concern the interaction of various representation systems. In doing so, the description and explanation of the conceptual system and its role in all language processing processes in an ontogenetic or actual-genetic way are especially central (Saeed, 2022). Methodologically, cognitive linguistics aims at intradisciplinary collaborative work and engages external data and empirically experimentally collected research results from the field of (normal and disturbed) cognitive processing in theory building (Saeed, 2022). Therefore, it is a complex framework, with each element having its own role.
The basic position of cognitive linguistics, that language is a cognitive phenomenon, by no means excludes its social connection. This may lead to a convergence of cognitive and communicative theories. Cognitive systems are not entirely autonomous; culturally variable realities influence them, and construction, like the conceptualization of the cognitive world, emerges based on the sociocultural model (Salvatore et al., 2019). In the same way, the connection of human linguistic capacity in the brain at the neural level becomes stronger.
The mental level of representation is postulated as one of the psychological bases, regardless of the described level. The biological basis is considered irrelevant to interpreting and deducing cognitive principles (Salvatore et al., 2019). An important task of cognitive linguistics is to bring cognitive and neuroscientific models closer together.
The Role of Figurative Language in Cognitive Linguistics
From this information comes the concept of figurative language. Figurative language is a language by which one word expresses an idea in terms of another, appealing to similarities that may be real or imagined. Figurative language is contrasted with literal language, which assumes that words have a meaning that defines their exact meaning (Colston & Gibbs, 2021).
If the poet says, “I had red hair like fire,” this is not figurative language. This is because he mentions both objects being compared: hair and fire. In turn, if he says, “had hair of fire,” this is a metaphor. It suggests that hair and fire are similar in color, but it does not say this directly, so it is figurative language.
Nevertheless, it is enough to add that the comparison must mention both objects and the analogy between them. In this case, cognitive linguistics explains the interpretation of figurative language through the concept of conceptual metaphor. This metaphorical mapping is created between the source domain and target domain, where the source domain is more concrete, and the target domain is more abstract (Saeed, 2022).
Another concept that cognitive linguistics uses to explain figurative language is the blending theory (Saeed, 2022). Blending theory explains the creation of new meanings by blending concepts from different mental spaces. This process creates a new mental space or a blend where the input spaces are integrated (ENGL E330F, n.d.-a). Finally, conceptual integration is a concept used by cognitive linguistics to explain the interpretation of figurative language (Saeed, 2022). It involves the combination of two or more mental spaces to create a new meaning.
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs as Figurative Language
It is noteworthy that figurative language includes various linguistic expressions, such as idioms, proverbs, and phrasal verbs. Idioms are expressions that have a different meaning than the literal meaning of the words used. For example, “I have butterflies in my stomach” means to be nervous (ENGL E330F, n.d.-b, p.1). Phrasal verbs are verbs that consist of a verb and one or more particles and have a different meaning than the literal meaning of the words used. For example, “put up with” means to tolerate (ENGL E330F, n.d.-b, p.4).
Another figurative language is a simile, which is a comparison between two things using “like” or “as” (Yeh & O’Reilly, 2022, p.143). For example, “she sings like an angel” (Yeh & O’Reilly, 2022, p.143). Cognitive linguistics explains the interpretation of similes through the use of conceptual blending. The source and target domains are blended to create a new meaning. The input space of the source domain is blended with the input space of the target domain to create a new mental space.
Using communication, people transfer information through language and linguistic means such as epithets, metaphors, and idioms. Phraseological expressions and phrasal verbs illustrate the way of life, history, and traditions of people united by the same culture and are mostly used in informal speech (Yeh & O’Reilly, 2022). The study of idioms is engaged in phraseology, a part of linguistics that studies functionally and semantically indivisible combinations in terms of their origin, style, semantics, and usage (Yeh & O’Reilly, 2022). The main feature of idioms is their stability, imagery, and integrity of meaning, often figurative and based on metaphors.
Knowledge of the English language is only possible with knowledge of idioms, most of which are borrowed from fiction. Idioms, which are not translated literally but perceived in a reinterpreted way, enhance the aesthetic aspect of the language (Yeh & O’Reilly, 2022). Idioms are stable, indivisible expressions, expressive, and emotionally colored (Yeh & O’Reilly, 2022). Linguists count thousands of idioms in the English language. For example, the Cambridge Idioms Dictionary explains the meaning and use of about seven thousand idioms.
Phrasal Verbs in Literary and Everyday Communication
English phrasal verbs provide information about the cultural characteristics of English-speaking society and sociocultural meanings that form the linguistic picture of the world of English speakers. The imagery of English phrasal verbs is an important object of study in cognitive linguistics (Lindstromberg, 2022). Frame analysis identifies the cognitive processes involved in forming new meanings of English phrasal verbs, suggesting the presence of figurative meanings not recorded in lexicographic sources (Gvishiani, 2020).
Phrasal verbs are part of the “living” communicative sphere of the English language (Lindstromberg, 2022). They are influenced by the context that forms additional connotations in the utterance, which can be equated with dictionary meanings. Semantic and pragmatic features of English phrasal verbs are closely related to the semantics and pragmatics of the verb component and the prologue (ENGL E330F, n.d.-a).
The figurative meaning of an English phrasal verb is usually easily extracted from the figurative meaning of the verb component; the post-verb contributes to its amplification and concretization but is assigned a secondary role. Such combinations or phrasal verb units are simultaneously part of the phraseological system of the English language. In some cases, these phraseological units are combined with another prepositional adverb, using which they govern a noun.
Some scholars believe that by acquiring the ability to govern a noun with the help of another prepositional adverb, combining a verb with a prepositional adverb asserts its position in the language as a separate lexical unit (Sarkar & Sarkar, 2019). A prepositional adverb that introduces a prepositional complement may idiomatically attach itself to such a complex. This results in a more complex formation consisting of three components.
Phrasal verbs combine both personal and cultural components. They are mostly of Anglo-Saxon origin and used by different population segments in conversational speech and other types of verbal communication (Saeed, 2022). They consist of a sense verb and a preposition, a verb and an adverb, and phrasal verbs (Saeed, 2022).
Phrasal verbs ensure communication success due to their emotional expressiveness and brevity. They can be found in any text style, but they are more often used in informal speech. In formal or business style, it is common to use sense verbs of classical origin, which are synonymous with phrasal verbs.
The Use of Phraseology in Fiction
Scientists who study English phraseology, reading the fiction of English and American writers, note how skillfully the authors use the possibilities of phraseological units to diversify the language of their works. Vivid comparisons, wordplay, metaphors, and phraseological units characterize the language of the works of English writers (Tursunov, 2019). Vivid comparisons are a form of figurative language where writers use comparisons to describe something in a more imaginative way.
An example of this can be seen in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. In the novel, the character of Daisy Buchanan is described as having “bright eyes and a bright, passionate mouth” (Fitzgerald, 2020, p.120). This vivid comparison not only describes Daisy’s physical appearance but also implies her personality and nature.
As noted above, fiction authors do not always use phraseological units as they function in the language; often, they modify them and add new shades of meaning, giving them a new artistic quality. Any language’s development level reveals the richness of its expressive means. Authors of fiction influence the language, actively participating in selecting and creating the norm. By modifying the norm, writers are guided by the norms of the language.
Thus, the language of fiction interacts with general literature. Therefore, English phraseology, rich in form and semantics, is widely used in English and American literature. Figurative phraseological combinations add vividness and liveliness to works of fiction. Using these phraseological units presents a certain difficulty, but after a while, students begin speaking as native speakers, and speech readiness increases.
References
Colston, H. L., & Gibbs, R. W. (2021). Figurative language communicates directly because it precisely demonstrates what we mean. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology/Revue canadienne de psychologie expérimentale, 75(2), 228. Web.
ENGL E330F. (n.d.-a). Lecture 6. Words & Semantics (III): Image Schema, Conceptual Metaphor and Conceptual Metonymy.
ENGL E330F. (n.d.-b). Lecture 7. Words and Phraseology: Collocation, Phrasal Verbs & Idioms.
Gvishiani, N. (2020). Phrasal verbs revisited: A probe into semantics and functioning of English phrasal constructions. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 8(5), 185.
Fitzgerald, F. S. (2020). The Great Gatsby. Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd.
Lindstromberg, S. (2022). The compositionality of English phrasal verbs in terms of imageability. Lingua, 275, 103373. Web.
Parisian, J. (2020). A holistic approach to capacity building: For professionals working with indigenous communities. University Of Northern British Columbia. Web.
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Saeed, J. I. (2022). Semantics. Wiley.
Salvatore, S., Valsiner, J., & Veltri, G. A. (2019). The theoretical and methodological framework. Semiotic cultural psychology, symbolic universes, and lines of semiotic forces. Symbolic universes in time of (post) crisis: The future of European societies, 25-49. Web.
Sarkar, D., & Sarkar, D. (2019). Natural language processing basics. Text Analytics with Python: A Practitioner’s Guide to Natural Language Processing, 1-68. Web.
Tektigul, Z., Bayadilova-Altybayev, A., Sadykova, S., Iskindirova, S., Kushkimbayeva, A., & Zhumagul, D. (2022). Language is a symbol system that carries culture. International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 1-12. Web.
Tursunov, M. M. (2019). Peculiar features of metaphorical phraseological units. International Journal on Integrated Education, 2(6), 119-127. Web.
Yeh, J., & O’Reilly, S. (2022). Creative writing: A workbook with readings. Taylor & Francis.