DYING IS HARD TO DESCRIBE: METONYMIES AND METAPHORS OF DEATH IN THEILIAD

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Horn
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Epic Poem ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Battle Scenes

Homer'sIliadis an epic poem full of war and battles, but scholars have noted that ‘[t]he Homeric poems are interested in death far more than they are in fighting’. Even though long passages of the poem, particularly the so-called ‘battle books’ (Il.Books 5–8, 11–17, 20–2), consist of little other than fighting, individual battles are often very short with hardly ever a longer exchange of blows. Usually, one strike is all it takes for the superior warrior to dispatch his opponent, and death occurs swiftly. The prominence of death in Homeric battle scenes raises the question of how and in which terms dying in battle is being depicted in theIliad: for while fighting can be described in a straightforward fashion, death is an abstract concept and therefore difficult to grasp. Recent developments in cognitive linguistics have ascertained that, when coping with difficult and abstract concepts, such as emotions, the human mind is likely to resort to figurative language and particularly to metaphors.

scholarly journals The wheel of time: How abstract concepts emerge

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-28
Author(s):  
Joanna Jurewicz
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Cognitive Models ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Philosophical Thinking ◽  
Rational Nature

The aim of the paper is to show how conceptual metonymy, metaphor and blending, as discussed in cognitive linguistics, can be used in the investigation on the beginning of abstraction in philosophical thinking. The analysis is based on selected stanzas from the Ṛgveda (ca. 13th BC), the Atharvaveda (ca. 10-9th BC) and the Mahābhārata (ca. 4th BC - 4th AD) composed in Sanskrit. I discuss how the notion of riding in a chariot, used in the earliest texts for expressing ontological, epistemological and ritual issues, is transformed into an abstract concept of the wheel to express the concept of time. The use of cognitive models allows showing the conscious and rational nature of this transformation performed by the early Indian thinkers, and thus qualifies as a form of philosophy.

The Role of Cognitive Patterns in Modelling Reality by Means of Natural Language (The Case Study of the English Cognitive Pattern “Cleanness / Dirtiness”)

2021 ◽  
pp. 69-81
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Savitskaya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Cognitive Patterns ◽  
Cognitive Pattern ◽  
The World ◽  
Internal Comparison

In the field of cognitive linguistics it is accepted that, before developing its capacity for abstract and theoretical thought, the human mind went through the stage of reflecting reality through concrete images and thus has inherited old cognitive patterns. Even abstract notions of the modern civilization are based on traditional concrete images, and it is all fixed in natural language units. By way of illustration, the author analyzes the cognitive pattern “сleanness / dirtiness” as a constituent part of the English linguoculture, looking at the whole range of its verbal realization and demonstrating its influence on language-based thinking and modeling of reality. Comparing meanings of language units with their inner forms enabled the author to establish the connection between abstract notions and concrete images within cognitive patterns. Using the method of internal comparison and applying the results of etymological reconstruction of language units’ inner form made it possible to see how the world is viewed by representatives of the English linguoculture. Apparently, in the English linguoculture images of cleanness / dirtiness symbolize mainly two thematic areas: that of morality and that of renewal. Since every ethnic group has its own axiological dominants (key values) that determine the expressiveness of verbal invectives, one can draw the conclusion that people perceive and comprehend world fragments through the prism of mental stereo-types fixed in the inner form of language units. Sometimes, in relation to specific language units, a conflict arises between the inner form which retains traditional thinking and a meaning that reflects modern reality. Still, linguoculture is a constantly evolving entity, and its de-velopment entails breaking established stereotypes and creating new ones. Linguistically, the victory of the new over the old is manifested in the “dying out” of the verbal support for pre-vious cognitive patterns, which leads to “reprogramming” (“recoding”) of linguoculture rep-resentatives’ mentality.

scholarly journals Drawing with Metaphors. Mediating ideational content in drawing through metaphors

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Berit Ingebrethsen
Keyword(s):  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Visual Metaphors ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
Cognitive Linguistic ◽  
Educational Issue ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Different Types ◽  
George Lakoff ◽  
The Subject

It is not easy to express abstract concepts, such as time and society, in a drawing. The subject of this article is rooted in the educational issue of visually expressing themes represented by abstract concepts. However, it is possible to find means and devices to express such ideas. This article shows how metaphors can be used to express such ideas visually. Cognitive linguistic research argues that metaphors are crucial in the verbal communication of abstract concepts. This article also attempts to show that metaphors are important in visual communication. The cognitive linguistic metaphor theory of George Lakoff and Mark Johnson is used here to investigate how metaphors are used to construct meaning in the drawings of cartoonist and illustrator Finn Graff and artist Saul Steinberg. The article presents a few examples of how visual devices structure the abstract concept of time. It then proceeds to explain how symbols function as metonymies and provides an overview of the different types of metaphors and how they are used to express meaning in drawings. The article concludes by attempting to provide new insights regarding the use of visual metaphors.

scholarly journals INVESTIGATING COMMUNICATIVE-PRAGMATIC FUNCTIONS OF GRADATION

2020 ◽  
pp. 421-423
Author(s):  
Makhmudova Nilufarkhon Ravshanovna
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
English Language ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Human Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Processes ◽  
Structural Linguistics ◽  
Separate Object ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
Linguistic Units

In this article has been illuminated the communicative-pragmatic functions of gradation in English and Uzbek languages. In the scientific literature, cognitive linguistics is also described as “connected semantics” because it deals mainly with semantics. While linguistic units serve to express objects that exist in the world and the actions that take place, semantics connect the interactions between linguistic units in a real or imaginary world. These relations are studied by linguistic semantics as a separate object of study. One of the important features of cognitive linguistics is that it allows us to see the language in relation to a person, that is, his consciousness, knowledge, processes of thinking and understanding, paying particular attention to how language forms and any language phenomena are associated with human knowledge and experience and how they relate to the human mind how to describe. KEY WORDS: English language, Uzbek language, gradation, communicative-pragmatic functions, structural linguistics, cognitive linguistics, semantics, pragmatic influence.

scholarly journals УПОТРЕБЛЕНИЕ, ВСТРЕЧАЮЩЕЕСЯ В ВИДЕ СЛОВОСОЧЕТАНИЯ В ОБРАЗЦАХ ЗАПИСИ

2021 ◽  
pp. 77-86
Author(s):  
Әлия Баербекова ◽  
Құрмет Бажикеев
Keyword(s):  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Auxiliary Verbs ◽  
Epic Poem ◽  
Complex Verbs ◽  
Characteristic Features ◽  
Popular Language

Аталмыш мақалада ХV-ХVІІ ғасырларда түркі халықтары тілдеріне енген араб, парсы сөздерінің түркі жазба ескерткіштерінде сөз тіркесі түрінде қолданылу мәселесі қарастырылады. Сонымен қатар, бұл кезеңдегі түркі жазба тілдеріне тән белгілердің бірі – халық тіліне енбеген, көбінесе дерексіз ұғым атаулары болып келетін араб және парсы сөздерін де актив қолдану, бұл ретте әсіресе, араб-парсы сөздерінің түркі тілінің көмекші етістіктерімен тіркесуі арқылы күрделі етістік жасап пайдалану өте көп кездеседі. Мақалада,Өтеміс қажының «Шыңғыснамасы», «Әділ сұлтан» эпикалық жыры, Қадырғали Жалайыридің «Жамиғат-Тауарихы» және Әбілғазы Бахадүр ханның «Түркі Шежіресі» атты шығармалары талданады. Түйінді сөздер: түркі халықтары, сөз тіркесі, тұрақты тіркестер, жазба ескерткіштер. В данной статье рассматривается вопрос использования арабских и персидских слов, вошедших в языки тюркских народов в ХV-ХVІІ веках, в виде словосочетаний в тюркских письменных памятниках. Кроме того, одной из характерных особенностей тюркских письменных языков этого периода является активное употребление арабских и персидских слов, которые не вошли в народный язык, часто являются абстрактными понятиями, при этом особенно распространено использование сложных глаголов путем сочетания арабско–персидских слов с вспомогательными глаголами тюркского языка. В статье анализируются произведения отемиса кажы «Чингиснама», эпическая поэма «Адиль султан», «Жамигат-Тауарихи» Кадыргали Жалаири и «тюркская шежире» Абельгазы Бахадур хана. This article discusses the use of Arabic and Persian words that entered the languages of the Turkic peoples in the XV-XVII centuries, in the form of phrases in the Turkic written monuments. In addition, one of the characteristic features of the Turkic written languages of this period is the active use of Arabic and Persian words, which are not included in the popular language, are often abstract concepts, and the use of complex verbs by combining Arabic – Persian words with auxiliary verbs of the Turkic language is especially common. The article analyzes the works of Otemis kazha "Genghisnam", the epic poem "Adil Sultan"," Zhamigat-Tauarihi "by Kadyrgali Zhalairi and "Turkic shezhire" by Abelgazy Bahadur Khan.

scholarly journals Exploring Geometric Feature Hyper-Space in Data to Learn Representations of Abstract Concepts

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahul Sharma ◽  
Bernardete Ribeiro ◽  
Alexandre Miguel Pinto ◽  
F. Amílcar Cardoso
Keyword(s):  
Training Data ◽  
Geometric Feature ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Computational Domain ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Concept Representation ◽  
Data Problem ◽  
Rans Modeling ◽  
Concrete Concepts

The term concept has been a prominent part of investigations in psychology and neurobiology where, mostly, it is mathematically or theoretically represented. Concepts are also studied in the computational domain through their symbolic, distributed and hybrid representations. The majority of these approaches focused on addressing concrete concepts notion, but the view of the abstract concept is rarely explored. Moreover, most computational approaches have a predefined structure or configurations. The proposed method, Regulated Activation Network (RAN), has an evolving topology and learns representations of abstract concepts by exploiting the geometrical view of concepts, without supervision. In the article, first, a Toy-data problem was used to demonstrate the RANs modeling. Secondly, we demonstrate the liberty of concept identifier choice in RANs modeling and deep hierarchy generation using the IRIS dataset. Thirdly, data from the IoT’s human activity recognition problem is used to show automatic identification of alike classes as abstract concepts. The evaluation of RAN with eight UCI benchmarks and the comparisons with five Machine Learning models establishes the RANs credibility as a classifier. The classification operation also proved the RANs hypothesis of abstract concept representation. The experiments demonstrate the RANs ability to simulate psychological processes (like concept creation and learning) and carry out effective classification irrespective of training data size.

Historical dictionary definitions revisited from a prototype theoretical standpoint

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Molina
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Prototype Theory ◽  
Cognitive Constraints ◽  
Theoretical Standpoint ◽  
Dictionary Definitions

Historical dictionaries have not yet incorporated prototype theoretical principles, from which singular enhancements might be obtained in historical lexicography. Revisiting diachronic definitions from a prototypical standpoint underlines how salience-based definitions comply more accurately with the cognitive constraints of the human mind. Upon this realization, the paper presents a template for reorganizing historical definitions according to the principles of prototype theory. The resulting definitions depict the semasiological profile of terms in a more transparent way while stressing the mutual interface between linguistic and extralinguistic data and between synchrony and diachrony. At the same time, the paper shows how the theoretical tenets of cognitive linguistics can be put to use in the field of applied linguistics, viz. lexicography.

Using abstract concepts in impact-focussed organisational research

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Lugosi
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Applied Research ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Business Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Change In Practice ◽  
Organisational Research ◽  
Context Specific

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise and examine the processes through which abstract concepts, or abstractions, can be utilised in co-creating knowledge within “impact-focussed” organisational and business research, i.e. applied research that primarily seeks to promote change in practice rather than principally aiming to make theoretical contributions to academic debates. The paper uses the abstraction “hospitality” as an empirical example and discusses the techniques used to “operationalise” this concept, i.e. make it understandable for research participants enabling researchers to use it within data generation and the creation of practical insights in organisational enquiry. Design/methodology/approach The study employed two methods: first, participant-generated photos; and second, two interactive workshops with 38 practitioners where the abstract concept “hospitality” was used to generate practical organisational insights. Findings The paper distinguishes between four stages: the elaboration of abstraction, concretisation of abstraction, probing perspectives on abstraction and exploring experiences of abstraction. It is argued that utilising specific techniques within these four stages facilitates: recognisability: the extent to which organisational stakeholders understand the content and meanings of the abstraction; and relatability: the extent to which stakeholders appreciate how the abstract concepts are relevant to interpreting their own practices and experiences. Research limitations/implications This is an exploratory study, used to develop and refine elicitation techniques, rather than to draw definitive conclusions about the applicability of specific abstract concepts. Nevertheless, reflecting on the processes and techniques used in the utilisation of abstractions here can help to operationalise them in future impact-focussed research. Originality/value The paper conceptualises the processes through which abstract concepts can be made apprehendable for non-specialist, non-academic practitioners. In doing so, it discusses how various elicitation techniques support the utilisation of abstractions in generating insights that can support the development of constructive, context-specific practices in organisations and businesses.

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