cognitive linguistics Lecture one精品分析.doc

Lecture one Introduction to cognitive linguistics and what it might offer the language teaching profession What is cognitive linguistics? A very broad term different approaches “Cognitive linguistics subsumes a variety of concerns and broadly compatible theoretical approaches that have a common basic outlook: that language is an integral facet of cognition which reflects the interaction of social, cultural, psychological, communicative and functional considerations, and which can only be understood in the context of a realistic view of acquisition, cognitive development and mental processing… It seeks insofar as possible to explicate language structure in terms of the other facets of cognition on which it draws, as well as the communicative function it serves” --Cognitive Linguistic Research ★ Cognitive linguistics is not a single theory. It is a general approach to the study of language which includes a number of more specific concerns and theories. What unifies them is the belief or the assumption that language is an integral facet of cognition. Language is in the mind. It is in the brain. It is part of our cognitive abilities, and it is related or integrated with other cognitive facilities we have: perception, thinking, reasoning, etc. social: language involves relation between people. Cultural: language is the product of cultural development. Psychological: language is a personal thing. It resides in the brain of a speaker. Communicative: we use language to communicate ideas. Functional: we use language to do things. Language has a purpose. (to persuade people, to manipulate people, to deceive people…) a realistic view of acquisition: language has to be acquired by individuals. You are not born with a language. You have to learn it in the first few years of your life. a realistic view of cognitive development: language develops in the child alongside other cognitive skills and mental processing. Language is a psychological activity. It has to be s