Cognitive grammar is a cognitive approach to

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

developed by

Ronald Langacker Ronald Wayne Langacker (born December 27, 1942) is an American linguist and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego. He is best known as one of the founders of the cognitive linguistics movement and the creator of cognitive ...

, which hypothesizes that grammar, semantics, and lexicon exist on a continuum instead of as separate processes altogether. This approach to language was one of the first projects of

cognitive linguistics Cognitive linguistics is an interdisciplinary branch of linguistics, combining knowledge and research from cognitive science, cognitive psychology, neuropsychology and linguistics. Models and theoretical accounts of cognitive linguistics are con ...

. In this system, grammar is not a formal system operating independently of meaning. Rather, grammar is itself meaningful and inextricable from semantics.

Construction grammar Construction grammar (often abbreviated CxG) is a family of theories within the field of cognitive linguistics which posit that constructions, or learned pairings of linguistic patterns with meanings, are the fundamental building blocks of human ...

is a similar focus of cognitive approaches to grammar. While cognitive grammar emphasizes the study of the cognitive principles that give rise to linguistic organization, construction grammar aims to provide a more descriptively and formally detailed account of the linguistic units that comprise a particular language. Langacker first explicates the system of cognitive grammar in his seminal, two-volume work ''Foundations of Cognitive Grammar''. Volume one is titled "Theoretical Prerequisites", and it explores Langacker's hypothesis that grammar may be deconstructed into patterns that come together in order to represent concepts. This volume concentrates on the broad scope of language especially in terms of the relationship between grammar and semantics. Volume two is titled "Descriptive Application", as it moves beyond the first volume to elaborate on the ways in which Langacker's previously described theories may be applied. Langacker invites his reader to utilize the tools presented in ''Foundations'' first volume in a wide range of, mainly English, grammatical situations.

Theory

Cognitive grammar is unorthodox with respect to

generative grammar Generative grammar, or generativism , is a linguistic theory that regards linguistics as the study of a hypothesised innate grammatical structure. It is a biological or biologistic modification of earlier structuralist theories of linguistic ...

s and American structuralism. It primarily diverges from Chomskyan tradition through its assertion that grammar and language are integral and essential parts of cognition, not merely autonomous processes in the brain. Langacker argues not only that cognitive grammar is natural by virtue of its psychological plausibility, but also that it offers conceptual unification and theoretical austerity. It considers the basic units of language to be

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

s (i.e. conventional pairings of a

semantic Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics and comput ...

structure with a

phonological Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...

label). Grammar consists of constraints on how these units can be combined to generate larger phrases. The semantic aspects of cognitive grammar are modeled as

image schema An image schema (both ''schemas'' and ''schemata'' are used as plural forms) is a recurring structure within our cognitive processes which establishes patterns of understanding and reasoning. As an understudy to embodied cognition, image schemas ar ...

s rather than

proposition In logic and linguistics, a proposition is the meaning of a declarative sentence. In philosophy, " meaning" is understood to be a non-linguistic entity which is shared by all sentences with the same meaning. Equivalently, a proposition is the no ...

s, although these schema are only demonstrative, and are not intended to reflect any actual visual operation occurring during the production and perception of language. A consequence of the interrelation between semantic structure and phonological label is that each can invoke the other.

References

* Langacker, Ronald W. (1982) 'Space Grammar, Analysability, and the English Passive', ''Language'', 58, 1, 22-80. * Langacker, Ronald W. (1987) ''Foundations of Cognitive Grammar'', Volume 1, ''Theoretical Prerequisites''. Stanford: Stanford University Press. * Langacker, Ronald W. (1990) ''Concept, Image, and Symbol: The Cognitive Basis of Grammar''. (Cognitive Linguistics Research 1.) Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. aperback edition 1991* Langacker, Ronald W. (1991) ''Foundations of Cognitive Grammar'', Volume 2, ''Descriptive Application''. Stanford: Stanford University Press. * Langacker, Ronald W. (2008) ''Cognitive Grammar: A Basic Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. * Sattonnet, Marie-Cécile. ''Étude comparée de la Grammaire Cognitive de Ronald W. Langacker et des grammaires énonciatives.'' (Thèse de Doctorat). ANRT, 2001 * Taylor, John R. (2002) ''Cognitive Grammar''. Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Notes {{Authority control Generative linguistics Semantic theories

Theory

See also

References