An introduction to the semantics of intertextuality

Abstract

Abstract This paper engages with intertextuality and proposes a cognitively-informed approach to it based on the notion of semantic intertextual frames, an online processing domain which regulates the construction of word-level intertextual links. The construction of these frames is discussed in terms of Evans' LCCM Theory (Theory of Lexical Concepts and Cognitive Models), and the distinction he draws between lexical concepts and cognitive models. Lexical concepts afford access to cognitive models via direct or indirect access routes. Word-level intertextual connections are explained based on the identification of the same lexical item, a cognitive synonym or a hyponym. In the first two cases a direct access route to the cognitive model is afforded by the lexical concepts, while in the latter this route is indirect. A number of examples drawn from literary texts are used to illustrate the model.