scholarly journals THE MEANING EXTENSION OF OVER: A CRITIQUE OF KEY THEORIES

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Do Tuan Long ◽  
Vu Thi Huyen Trang
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Representations ◽  
Space Theory ◽  
Multimodal Approach ◽  
Spatial Image ◽  
Spatial Sense ◽  
Spatial Configurations ◽  
Image Schema ◽  
Mental Space

This paper summarizes different approaches to the meaning extension of the English preposition over and proposes a multimodal approach comprising three spatial image theories and one mental space theory in reference to an image-based view. It is concluded that the author’s proposal is a combination of Deane’s 2005 multimodal spatial representations and  2017 Kövecses’s model, in which there is an emphasis that treating the spatial configurations of a spatial marker requires different frames and when the marker denotes a non-spatial sense, there exists an activation of a metaphor layered from its frame in certain context with a specific communicative purpose to the domain of which the frame is a part and finally the activation will reach the image schema that supports the frame.

scholarly journals Vorbereitende Bedingungen von Sprechakten und mentale Räume

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique Huelva Unternbäumen
Keyword(s):  
Speech Act ◽  
Continuous Process ◽  
Space Theory ◽  
Mental Space ◽  
Mental Spaces

In this paper I shall analyze interaction sequences in which the interactants explicitly thematize and problematize whether the preparatory conditions of a speech act in a specific enunciation situation can be considered as satisfied or not. In these sequences the interaction develops an open, and consequently, observable contextualization process. In order to describe the dynamics of this process, central concepts and methods of Mental Space Theory will be applied. Contextualization will be characterized as a continuous process of construction, connection and modification of mental spaces.

Non-canonical passives in Chinese

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-106
Author(s):  
Yi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Base Space ◽  
Space Theory ◽  
High Speed Train ◽  
Space Operations ◽  
Passive Construction ◽  
Cognitive Operations ◽  
Mental Space ◽  
Intransitive Verbs ◽  
Commit Suicide

Abstract This paper examines a non-canonical passive construction in Chinese. In this construction, the passive marker bei can proceed a constituent including intransitive verbs, adjectives and nouns, in such expressions as bei zisha/‘commit suicide,’ bei xingfu/‘happy’ or bei gaotie/‘high speed train.’ Following Mental Space Theory (Fauconnier 1994, 1997), this paper argues that the construction serves as a space builder, which prompts conceptualizers to build a counterfactual space to hold the event conveyed by the constituent but deny the event or its associated assumption in the base space. The Mental Space operations produce the interpretations of the construction featured by ambiguity and irony. This study demonstrates the existence of dedicated counterfactual constructions in Chinese. It showcases an attempt to posit cognitive operations as the constructional function and outlines a cognitively plausible procedure to derive specific interpretations of the construction in the context.

Meaning construction in interactive academic talk

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2-3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Unknown / not yet matched
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Meaning Construction ◽  
Space Theory ◽  
Construction Process ◽  
Conceptual Structures ◽  
Mental Operations ◽  
Mental Space ◽  
Meaning Representation ◽  
Cognitive Dimensions

Abstract Mental spaces are conceptual structures for meaning representation and interpretation in discourse. They are pervasive in everyday language as an important aspect of ongoing language processing and meaning construction (Hamawand 2016). The application of Mental Space Theory (MST) to the analysis of real, attested examples of discourse (e.g. Conversation Analysis) has been undertaken through productive exchanges (see Hougaard 2004, 2005, Oakley & Hougaard 2008, Oakley 2009). The integration links external, observable language behaviors to internal, conceptual mental operations (Williams 2008), revealing that the cognitive dimensions of discursive approaches are essential to the analysis of talk-in-interaction. This study focuses on the technical aspects of Conversation Analysis in interactive academic talk and shows how MST can provide a subsequent framework for making plausible accounts of the meaning construction process underlying typical conversational moves in this unique talk setting. The data analyses show that the accessibility and selectivity of cognitive mappings contribute to shaping the structurality of meaning representation, transmission, and interpretation. The findings have implications for understanding and characterizing how co-constructed meaning enters into individual and collective conceptualization in higher education communication.

scholarly journals Mental Space Theory on Presupposition Projections in Advertisements

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Ling Guo
Keyword(s):  
Daily Life ◽  
Space Theory ◽  
Presupposition Projection ◽  
Reasonable Explanation ◽  
Projection Problem ◽  
Mental Space ◽  
Advertising Language

In this economic society in which information is prevailing, advertisements are found here and there, and play a very important role in our daily life. More and more importance is attached to the research of advertising language. This paper reveals presupposition projection problems in advertising, especially in English advertising. It aims to explore the explanation of mental space theory for cancellation or inheritability of presupposition in advertising, that is, the projection problem of presupposition. Different from how traditional presupposition theory is used in seeking for a reasonable explanation for projection problems, this paper will investigate in detail projection problems in advancing from the perspective of Fauconnier's mental space theory in combination with large quantities of advertisement examples.

A cognitive perspective on the semantics of near

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Brenda
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Network ◽  
Semantic Structure ◽  
Conceptual Blending ◽  
Cognitive Perspective ◽  
Spatial Prepositions ◽  
Spatial Sense ◽  
Image Schema ◽  
Schema Transformation ◽  
Metaphor And Metonymy

Abstract The present study investigates the semantic structure of the word near assuming that its distinct senses form a semantic network with a prototypical spatial sense at the center and various extended senses at different distances away from the prototype. In order to explain the extensions of near, the cognitive notions of construal, image schema transformation, metaphor and metonymy are taken into consideration. The conceptual blending theory is used to explain the semantic structure of the complex preposition near to. The research reveals that the word near functions as a preposition (also a part of the complex preposition near to), an adverb, an adjective and a verb, and that its semantic structure is best viewed as a continuum encoding both lexical and grammatical information. At the same time, the analysis shows that the polysemy of near is rather impoverished when compared to the polysemies of other spatial prepositions, such as in, on, at or over.

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