Cognitive Linguistic Research Research Articles

COGNITIVE METHODOLOGY OF TEACHING UKRAINIAN LANGUAGE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE NEW UKRAINIAN SCHOOL

The article explores the theoretical foundations of the cognitive approach to teaching the Ukrainian language in the context of the New Ukrainian School (NUS). The relevance of the research topic lies in the advantages of this approach in developing critical thinking skills, creativity, emotional intelligence, and understanding the global interconnectedness of linguistic and national-cultural paradigms among students. The development of modern methods of teaching the Ukrainian language in school requires the involvement of the latest achievements of domestic linguistic thought in the learning process. The active development of the cognitive direction in Ukrainian linguistics at the end of the 20th — beginning of the 21st century has found its place in the latest technologies for teaching linguistic disciplines in school. Modeling studies of educational situations that illustrate the depth and relevance of the analyzed problem are important. The adaptation of cognitive linguistics tools to the needs of teaching the Ukrainian language at different educational levels is also considered separately. The aim of the study is to reveal the basic theoretical foundations of the cognitive methodology for teaching the Ukrainian language and to specify and determine the areas of its practical application in the context of the NUS. The following main research methods were used in the work: method of content analysis of scientific-theoretical concepts, method of analysis and modeling of educational situations, method of systemic analysis. The object of the research is the methodology of teaching the Ukrainian language, and the subject is the tools and means of cognitive linguistics research in the system of language education for students. The cognitive approach to teaching the Ukrainian language in the context of the NUS is a promising direction in modern linguodidactics, with the potential to improve the quality of language education and promote the development of critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, and understanding of the global interconnectedness of linguistic and national-cultural paradigms among students.

From Seeing to Understanding: The Conceptual Metaphor UNDERSTANDING IS LIGHT in Julian of Norwich’s “Revelations of Divine Love”

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The article discusses the interplay between language, cognition and culture from a cognitive diachronic perspective, focusing on the relation between religion and metaphorical thought. It investigates the role of the conceptual metaphor UNDERSTANDING IS LIGHT in religious discourse, using the example of The Revelations of Divine Love, written by Julian of Norwich, a late medieval anchoress. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METODS: The paper draws on the Extended Conceptual Metaphor approach, Zoltán Kövecses’s elaboration of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). The universalist bias of CMT means that the theory tends to ignore the sociocultural context of historical data, prioritising the influence of universal human embodiment on metaphorical thought. Using Kövecses’s approach, the paper shows how the gap in CMT methodology may be bridged to yield more reliable results. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The present study connects Kövecses’s approach to Cognitive Linguistic research into sociocultural situatedness. To exemplify the problem, the analysis examines the cognitive‑cultural underpinnings of Julian’s use of the metaphor UNDERSTAND‑ ING IS LIGHT. RESEARCH RESULTS: The analysis shows that the metaphorical conceptualisation pattern may well derive from Julian’s sociocultural situatedness. The paper indicates that the anchoress’s metaphorical thought should be seen as embedded in the late medieval sociocultural context, rather than being considered solely in terms of universal aspects of embodiment. CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE APPLICATIVE VALUE OF RESEARCH: The study concludes that the idea of sociocultural situatedness may be pivotal in the analyses of historical texts. It seems important to incorporate this idea into Kövecses’s approach, which may inform the methodology of cognitive diachronic research into metaphorical conceptualisations. Furthermore, the results may be applied to teaching students how to approach historical texts, helping them gain a better understanding of the relation between metaphorical thought and culture.

Trends in cognitive-linguistic research on metonymy

Abstract This article is a brief introduction to the theory of conceptual metonymy and a brief survey of research on this area. The first section presents the cognitive-linguistic notion of metonymy, including a discussion of the various problematic aspects of this notion. This is followed by a longer section illustrating some of the main types of metonymies. The section devoted to the ubiquity of metonymy surveys research on its involvement in cognition, grammatical meaning and form, pragmatic inferencing and discourse, linguistic change, and non-linguistic areas like art and gesture; it ends with a brief note on metonymic triggers and chains, and on its multilevel operation. The chapter ends with a reflection on future directions.

Role of Language in Emotions and Bias: A Cognitive Linguistic Perspective of Affective Political Media in the US

In todays digital era, where emotions are central to journalism and information disseminates rapidly, the role of language in transmitting emotions, stereotypes, and biases has become a subject of debate and study. The use of language in news media can be argued, as it may prioritize sensationalism over accuracy to tap into peoples feelings under new business models and the attention economy. While journalism ethics aim to minimize bias, journalism consistently incorporates emotions to captivate the audience and create an experience of involvement. This is significant because language, consumed from diverse media news channels, is integral to cognition. Research in cognitive linguistics demonstrates that human beings view the world in metaphoric terms, and language defines and constrains communication, thinking, and sense-making. This article explores linguistic mechanisms such as metaphors of flood and aliens, agenda setting, selectivity, framing, and expectancy bias, through which emotions, perspectives, and affectivity are sustained and propagated in political news reporting. It considers the impact of stereotypes and biases, particularly in the media portrayal of undocumented immigrants and different framings in the description of the War in Gaza. The article highlights that language is seldom neutral and is intertwined with motives, emphasizing the importance of understanding the persuasive power of words. In conclusion, this paper reveals the role of language in shaping perceptions of message receivers and contributes to enhancing linguistic justice, informing more ethical approaches to journalism and media production. It emphasizes the need for an editorially conscious and intelligent use of language to create engaging, empathetic content.

LINGUISTIC AND COGNITIVE THEORIES, COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, COGNITIVE NEUROPSYCHOLOGY

This article aims to provide an extensive analysis of linguistic and cognitive linguistic theories, communication research, and cognitive neuropsychology. These interrelated fields of study offer valuable insights into the complexities of human language and communication, encompassing language structure, cognitive processes, social interaction, and the impact of neurological disorders on language and cognition. By examining the theories, methodologies, and empirical findings from each discipline, this essay highlights the significance of an integrated perspective in advancing our understanding of language and cognition.

Core methods of research in cognitive linguistics

Core methods of research in cognitive linguistics

중국의 인지언어학 연구 동향 분석(1)

The purpose of this study is to analyze the trends in cognitive linguistics research related to Ancient Chinese over the past ten years (2013–2022). The research achievements in ancient Chinese cognitive linguistics analyzed here include academic journal articles uploaded to CNKI and research projects selected by the MOE's national research support program in the last decade. Using CNKI, 178 articles related to this study were extracted from a total of 5,396 academic journal articles on cognitive linguistics focusing on the Chinese language. Basic analyses by year, period, and keywords were conducted, along with multi-layered analyses according to specific research areas. The detailed research fields were divided into seven categories: 'Grammar', 'History of Chinese Language', 'Semantics and Lexicon', 'Pragmatics', 'Chinese Characters', 'Contrastive Linguistics', and 'Translation and Sociolinguistics', with 'Semantics and Lexicon' having the highest proportion of cumulative research achievements. Additionally, there were a total of five research projects selected by the Chinese Ministry of Education, covering topics that combined 'Semantics' with 'Contrast', 'Pragmatics', and 'Grammar'. Among the designated literature studies, the works titled Shuowen Jiezi and Huangdi Neijing held the highest significance.

A Topic-Based Diachronic Account of the Polysemy of the English Verb ‘Run’

This study discusses the polysemy and diachronic semantic frequency shifts of the English verb run using a topic model. The increase in corpus-based research in cognitive linguistics has yielded many empirical findings on various aspects of language. However, there are still areas that have not received sufficient attention. One such area is the study of word meaning in terms of related topics and social interest. In this paper, we analyze diachronic data collected from the NOW corpus (News on Web) and argue that the polysemy of run can be described in terms of topic, and that the change in the use of the meanings that this verb has can be described in terms of a change in social interest.

An Inquiry into the Translation of English Literary Metaphors Based on Text Mining Techniques

Abstract In this paper, the vector space model is used to convert the English literature text to be processed into a feature vector composed of feature items, and after adding weights to the feature items, it is composed into an N -dimensional space. After calculating the text similarity using the vector angle cosine, the knowledge base of English literature metaphors and an automatic recognition model are constructed by combining them with a Bayesian classification algorithm. Starting from the research purpose, we determine the research object and tools and analyze an example of English literary metaphor translation through the combination of simulation analysis and statistical analysis. The results show that the running speed of NBC is 10.2% faster than that of CFC, the speed of SOFMC is 70.1% faster than that of CFC, the accuracy rate of NBC is 32.8% higher than that of SOFMC, and that of CFC is 41.8% higher than that of SOFMC, and in terms of the combined running speed and accuracy rate, NBC performs better than SOFMC and CFC, i.e., it shows that the Bayesian classification algorithm is useful for dealing with English metaphor recognition and Chinese translation with excellent performance. In terms of lexical translation accuracy, the translated English literary metaphor texts with labeled lexical categories are significantly higher than the translated English literary metaphor texts without labeled lexical categories, with a difference value of 6.31%. This study extends the scope of cognitive linguistics research and offers a guiding reference value for translating English literary metaphors.

Variety and functional diversity of modern discourse in cognitive perspective

The article offers a concise summary of problems dealing with the multidisciplinary paradigm of modern cognitive linguistics research discussed at VI Firsova Readings “Modern Languages and Cultures: Varieties, Functions, Ideologies in a Cognitive Perspective” (19-21 October, 2023, RUDN University, Moscow). It highlights the most relevant issues which include linguistic means of conceptualization and categorization, critical and positive discourse analysis, environmental thinking, pragmatics of gestures, multimodality, cognitive perspectives of intercultural communication and translation studies, discourse markers taxonomy, IT and cognitive studies, transdisciplinary methods in the study of language and cognition, among others. We aim to illuminate the advantages of the cognitive paradigm and trace new directions in its development. The articles included in this Issue and authored by the conference participants illustrate a broad range of cognitive studies drawn on different methods and conducted on diverse datasets. They clearly demonstrate that the cognitive perspective enables scholars not only to present and describe the phenomena under study but also to offer explanations to the findings and trace correlation between language, cognition and communication. This article also discusses the prospects for further research in the area.

LINGUO-COGNITIVE ANALYSIS OF A LITERARY TEXT

The work is devoted to the study of the linguo-cognitive analysis of the literary text in the aspect of linguistic means of expressing concepts and images. The relevance of this article is due to the growing attention to the analysis of the literary text using the methods and techniques of cognitive linguistics. The main aspects of cognitive linguistics, lingua-cognitive analysis, and text as an object of cognitive linguistics research are widely covered in the work. The main features of the literary text, its components, and lingua-cognitive analysis of linguistic means of expressing concepts and images are defined. The purpose of the research is to reveal the lingo-cognitive analysis of the literary text in the aspect of linguistic means of expressing concepts and images. The object of research is a literary text as material for lingua-cognitive research. Research methods. Such research methods such as description, analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization, cognitive analysis, linguistic analysis, and modelling were used in the work. The article reveals the lingua-cognitive analysis of the literary text in terms of linguistic means of expressing concepts and images. The essence of the concept of “cognitive linguistics” and the main aspects of this phenomenon are characterized. The interpretation of the term “lingua-cognitive analysis” is defined. The essence of the “text” concept and the classification features of the text are described. The scientific work describes the features of the literary text. The components of the literary text influencing the lingua-cognitive analysis are characterized. Such elements of the literary text as image, concept, character, and evaluation are summarized.

Cognitive-evolutionary theory of language: justification

This article is devoted to substantiating the cognitive-evolutionary theory of language within the framework of cognitive linguistics. The main principle of cognitive linguistics, “explanation,” serves as the foundation for this theory. It is argued that the need for this theory arises from negative trends in modern cognitive linguistics, such as an excessive focus on studying concepts without a common understanding of the term "concept" and the substitution of the object of cognitive linguistic research with the study of thinking facilitated by language, rather than thinking itself. The article proposes a new theory for cognitive linguistics that aims to explain the mechanism by which the quality of thinking influences the quality of language. Furthermore, it seeks to determine what factors contribute to the quality of thinking and identify the reasons for differences in the development of languages, thinking, and cultures associated with languages. To support this theory, an interdisciplinarity is suggested, which involves incorporating anthropological data from various fields such as philosophy, logic, cognitive psychology, ontopsychology, ethnopsychology, psycholinguistics, neurophysiology, neurolinguistics, ontolinguistics, ethnolinguistics, and primatology. The author argues in favor of the overwhelmingly positive impact of biological and cognitive evolution. While the commonly accepted notion of thinking influencing language lacks complete proof, the article identifies perception as the cognitive structure that ensures the quality of thinking. In line with the idea that the quality of perception affects thinking, which in turn affects language, three degrees of perception are identified: syncretic, superficial, and alternative. Each degree of perception is described alongside linguistic and mental characteristics observed in great apes, children, modern primitive and ancient civilized people, as well as modern civilized people. The article concludes that differences between languages (and cultures) stem from the quality of perception regarding their developmental possibilities. As a result, the cognitive-evolutionary algorithm “perception: syncretic, superficial, or alternative → corresponding logic of thinking → corresponding logic of language (corresponding logic of culture)” is proposed.

Resonance and recombinant creativity: Why they are important for research in Cognitive Linguistics and Pragmatics

AbstractThe present paper discusses the key role of creativity as a form of engagement and categorisation in interaction. One important way to display engagement ‘at talk’ is via resonance, that is when speakers re-use linguistic features that they heard from one another. Speakers constantly imitate and creatively recombine the utterances and the behaviors of their interlocutors. Recombinant creativity is a key cognitive mechanism subserving this, as it involves speakers’ re-elaboration of utterances and illocutionary forces of others, but also, more generally, the creative intervention on observed patterns of behaviour in context. Recombinant creativity is crucial for primarily two pragmatic and conceptual mechanisms: relevance acknowledgement and schematic categorization. A persistent tendency towards the proactive reformulation of an interlocutor’s speech is a textual indicator of relevance acknowledgement. This is because what is said by the other speaker is overtly treated as useful information for the continuation of the interaction. The opposite trend – to be measured on a large scale – is an indicator of lack of engagement. Recombinant creativity varies intra- and inter-culturally and is decisive for speakers’ enactment of socio-pragmatic schemas and the generalisation of form and meaning as a process of shared categorization.

Metonymy-Guided Discourse Inferencing. A Qualitative Study

Cognitive-linguistic research on metonymy has argued cogently that metonymy is a crucial factor guaranteeing discourse coherence. Barcelona (forthcoming) includes a detailed study of the metonymies guiding the pragmatic inferences claimed to be invited by the reading of a brief text. The analysis of the fragment, though internally consistent, is based on my own close reading of the text. In the paper I report on a qualitative study investigating whether native speakers of English derive the same inferences and whether they are guided by metonymy in this derivation. The results seem to confirm my claims in the earlier study.

Метафоризация судебного заседания в терминах войны в американском и канадском национальных вариантах судебного дискурса. Сравнительный анализ

Cognitive linguistic research into conceptual metaphors is the focus of attention of many scientists. These studies proceed from the postulate of cognitive linguistics which states that the world around us is categorized and structured according to certain cognitive models. These models are often based on the mapping of properties and elements of one concept onto the domain of another concept by virtue of similarity. Thus, conceptual metaphors are created, which are linguistic representations of the cognitive processes of human mind. According to G. Lakoff and M. Johnson’s definition, the metaphorical model “argument is war” is a linguistic manifestation of such cognitive associations. This article presents the results of the study that aimed to determine the extent to which the metaphorical model “trial is war” can be applied to the American and Canadian national variants of judicial discourse, as well as to identify key elements underlying the metaphorical mapping of the concept of war onto the concept of trial. In addition, a comparative quantitative analysis was performed to determine which national variant of judicial discourse contains more metaphors based on the “trial is war” model. The following sources served as the material for the study: judgements of the courts of the United States and Canada, transcripts of the countries’ highest judicial bodies, as well as articles by American and Canadian experts on law and legal proceedings. In order to conduct the quantitative and qualitative analysis, the material was arranged in two monolingual corpora, which were processed using the AntConc software.

The Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Concept of سرعة (Speed) in Arabic

Despite the wide range of studies on how students’ past knowledge influences their understanding of scientific terminology, few studies were conducted to compare non-scientific language with scientific language, or rather everyday language with scientific language, from a cognitive linguistic perspective. The present paper aims to determine the cognitive mechanisms, i.e., image schemas, conceptual metaphor, and conceptual metonymy, which underpin the conceptualisation of the Arabic term سرعة (speed), using a conceptual metaphor theory framework. Thus, the research question guiding this study is: What cognitive mechanisms underlie the concept of سرعة (speed) in Arabic? The findings of this study will shed light on how Arab speakers conceptualise this term, demonstrating their background knowledge of the term compared to its scientific meaning. The article adds to the growing body of cognitive linguistics research on the conceptual processes behind physics terms. The data was collected from the Arabic Web Corpus (arTenTen) using the Sketch Engine. The findings demonstrated that VERTICATLITY and SCALE schemas are the most dominant image schemas that anchor the conceptual meaning in Arab speakers’ perceptions of the term under investigation and the discourse in which it is employed, as well as offer the concrete basis for conceptual metaphors. The conceptual metaphor CHANGE IS MOTION (LOCATION) was also shown to be active in motivating the conception of SPEED in Arabic.

Проблема использования экспериментальных методик в когнитивной лингвистике

The article is devoted to controversial issues of using experimental methods (associative and semantic experiments) in cognitive linguistic research. The aim of the work is to identify differences in the goals, procedure and format of the data obtained in the course of associative and semantic experiments. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time: 1) a review of the texts of doctoral dissertations over the past 16 years and several scientific and methodological works conducted within the framework of the cognitive direction was carried out to describe the linguo-cognitive methodology; 2) an attempt was made to compare cognitive interpretations of the meanings of the words треск (crack) and хруст (crunch) based on the results of associative and semantic experiments. The results obtained in the study showed that: 1) the variability of the methods of linguo-cognitive research used in the considered works is due to differences in the understanding of the linguo-cognitive method by the authors; in some cases, the problem of a detailed description of the linguo-cognitive methodology in relation to the tasks of the study is difficult to solve; 2) the composition and formulation of features included in the cognitive interpretation of the meanings of the words треск (crack) and хруст (crunch) according to the results of associative and semantic experiments are different; 3) when conducting experiments, there are errors associated with the subjectivity of the data obtained; additional experimental procedures make it possible to reduce these errors to a minimum and thereby increase the objectivity of the experimental data.

조경학 연구에서 자연성 개념의 다의적 체계 연구†

In landscape studies, the concept of naturalness was vast in its categories from physical space to cognitive systems, making it difficult to define terms at once. Therefore, this study summarized the concept and evaluation attributes of ‘naturalness’ used in the literature through systematic review (SR), and identified the scope of individual attributes that constitute the meaning of naturalness. In addition, the individual attributes classified in previous studies were identified as the meaning chain, one of the cognitive linguistic research methods, and applied to papers targeting naturalness among domestic landscape studies to organize a polysemous meaning system. Meaning chain is a suitable method for grasping words whose meaning expands in a chain due to family resemblance around prototypical meaning, and the dimension is classified according to the classification of naturalness evaluation items and a multi-semantic chain system of naturalness concepts discussed in domestic academia. The results of the study are as follows. First, the attributes of naturalness extracted through foreign landscape literature were classified into four areas: nature perceived as wilderness, nature as non-artificiality, nature as visual landscape, and nature as experience, and 13 detailed attributes. Second, these detailed attributes are generally consistent with domestic landscape studies, but their specific cases were different, and a Korean context was presented in perception of time accumulation, also they suggested that there may be a mutual conflict between naturalness attributes.

Гиперконцепт Качество как механизм вербального представления эпитетной парадигмы в творчестве М. Цветаевой

Introduction. Attributive vocabulary often becomes the subject of research in cognitive linguistics. The study focuses on the description of the specifics of the verbalization of the hyperconcept Quality by means of epithet complexes in M. Tsvetaeva’s texts. The relevance of the article is due to the attempt made in it to describe the mechanisms of modeling epithet complexes in the work of M. Tsvetaeva from a cognitive-semantic position. Materials and Methods. Several epithet nominations of the character of the subject, which have a semantic specificity of linguistic representation in M. Tsvetaeva’s work, are taken as material. On the basis of a consistent comparison of the dictionary meanings of epithet words and their idiostyle semantic features the specificity of the representation of basic characterological epithet complexes is revealed. The epithet complexes were selected on the basis of the continuous sampling method from the complete collection of the poet’s works. The comprehensive methodology of the study, including cognitive-semantic, component methods, made it possible to reveal the specifics of the epithet paradigm of M. Tsvetaeva’s work. Analysis. The structure of the hyperconcept Quality determines the multilevel representation of features by epithet words. The article analyzes the most representative and frequently represented in the poet’s idiolect cognitive feature of the hyperconcept «proper quality» and one of its types - socio-communicative, characterological. Modeling of meaning within the framework of the epithet complex occurs by means of non-usual use of epithet vocabulary, changes in the compatibility properties of characteristic words and objects of epithetation, conditioned by poetic attitudes. Results. The authors conclude that epithet complexes of various semantic and structural types, verbalizing the characterological socio-communicative feature of the cognitive feature «proper quality» of the hyperconcept Quality, are a systemic phenomenon of paradigmatic nature, embodying the anthropomorphism of the poet’s language.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ КОНЦЕПТУАЛИЗАЦИИ ИСТОРИЧЕCКИХ РЕАЛИЙ (на материале англоязычной научной исторической литературы)

Dealing with the problem of scientific knowledge representation, the article dwells on some features of the historical reality conceptualization related to the implementation of scientific fields interaction phenomenon in the process of knowledge formation of a specific scientific discipline, in this case, history. Historical discourse is a set of knowledge, opinions, views and assessments of historical events, facts that occurred in certain periods, under certain social, economic and political conditions. As an example, we considered the text fragment from the English-language scientific historical book. The analysis was carried out from the standpoint of contextual, semantic, definitional and conceptual approaches. It is established that in the process of describing the historical concept “war forecast”, the author’s conceptual system interacts with military, technical, socio-economic, psychological, geographical types of discourses. At the end of the article, it is concluded that interdiscursive interaction makes it possible to identify new characteristics, better present the idea of the described concept, identify other phenomena and concepts associated with it and trace the author’s assessment. In general, applying the cognitive linguistics research approaches to the analysis of integrated knowledge, one can receive a more accurate and complete understanding of a certain concept content in an effort to obtain true knowledge.