La concettualizzazione del verbo ‘mettere’ in italiano

The conceptualization of space is manifested in language through diverse linguistic structures. Space, one of the most significant analytical categories not only in linguistics, introduces a variety of senses and conceptual relations in the construction of communicative meaning. While there are several approaches to linguistic studies, the most obvious choice for this type of analysis seems to be Cognitive Linguistics, with some of its theoretical currents and the Cognitive Grammar of Ronald W. Langacker (1987, 1991a, 1991b, 1995, 2008) in particular. In his works, Langacker often refers to spatial and visual relationships that provide useful illustrations to depict different conceptual structures and relationships. Indeed, the relations between visual perception and conceptualization concerns numerous aspects of the semantics of natural language (E. Tabakowska, 1999: 59). The paper aims to analyse the concept of the Italian verb ‘mettere’ (‘to put’), apparently simple and yet, as it will be shown, rich and varied in meaning.

L’identification des arguments et la hiérarchisation des marges : critères formels et critères conceptuels

The distinction between arguments and margins within a simple nuclear sentence is sharp at conceptual level in that it is grounded in explicit relevance criteria: arguments are saturated referential noun phrases that are essential for the integrity of the process; different layers of margins enrich different kinds of processes according to different consistency requirements. If one observes the syntactic structure of linguistic expressions, on the other hand, the same distinction seems to shade into a sort of continuum owing to two orders of factors. First, there is a cleavage between the model sentence, whose main function should be the expression of the process, and the utterances actually documented in texts and corpora, whose structure is shaped by the incommensurate function to adapt the structure of the process to the communicative dynamism of a text. Moreover, within the model sentence itself, the coding regime of arguments and the coding regime of margins shadow into one another: some margins are coded, like arguments, through formal grammatical relations, while some arguments are coded, like margins, directly as conceptual relations through a set of forms of expression motivated by their conceptual content.In spite of these obstacles, the conceptual distinction between arguments and margins and the hierarchy of margins can be identified at the level of model sentence thanks to adequate and differentiated criteria. These criteria are formal where the difference of coding regime draws a sharp formal distinction between arguments and margins, and conceptual and textual where the structure of the forms of expression neutralises the distinction. Conceptual and textual criteria also make the identification of a clear hierarchy of margins possible.

La extracción de conocimiento y terminología a partir de corpus ad hoc: el uso de documentos digitales de la web pública

Electronic communication accelerates the exchange of knowledge and information in areas of specialized knowledge. This state of affairs forces anyone involved in such communication (e.g. technical writers, technical translators) to remain up to date with new developments. Not only do professionals belonging to this group of people have to master the standard terminology of each specialized domain, they must also assimilate and understand the subject matter within which they are working. This article proposes a method for assembling and using specific corpora with a view to extracting from them systematic and bilingual knowledge relating to terminology, the conceptual relations between terms, and the knowledge that they represent. Special attention is devoted to the strategies that will enable professionals to use such corpora in English and in Spanish.

Conceptualising strategic litigation

This article conceptualises the term “strategic litigation” in order to provide for a definition of it. Strategic litigation is a tool increasingly used in Europe by individuals and organisations to attain different objectives. Next to that, there is increasing academic attention for the topic. Nevertheless, the exact definition of “strategic litigation” remains unclear. Therefore, this article uses the research method of conceptualisation as well as a database research and additional literature to provide for a definition. It looks firstly at the background concept, involving the range of meanings associated with the term “strategic litigation”, after which a systematised concept is formed. Thereby, use is made of the “necessary and sufficient conditions” (NSC) approach, to develop the conditions necessary and/or sufficient for a case to fit within the category of strategic litigation. Moreover, the external conceptual relations of the term are explored.

Differences and similarities in the conceptualization of COVID-19 and other diseases in the first Italian lockdown

Several studies have highlighted the flexible character of our conceptual system. However, less is known about the construction of meaning and the impact of novel concepts on the structuring of our conceptual space. We addressed these questions by collecting free listing data from Italian participants on a newly–and yet nowadays critical–introduced concept, i.e., COVID-19, during the first Italian lockdown. We also collected data for other five illness-related concepts. Our results show that COVID-19’s representation is mostly couched in the emotional sphere, predominantly evoking fear—linked to both possible health-related concerns and social-emotional ones. In contrast with initial public debates we found that participants did not assimilate COVID-19 neither completely to severe illnesses (e.g., tumor) nor completely to mild illnesses (e.g., flu). Moreover, we also found that COVID-19 has shaped conceptual relations of other concepts in the illness domain, making certain features and associations more salient (e.g., flu-fear; disease-mask). Overall, our results show for the first time how a novel, real concept molds existing conceptual relations, testifying the malleability of our conceptual system.

Symbolism and archaeoastronomy in prehistory

This chapter explores the symbolic and conceptual relations between prehistoric groups and the sky. The study of how people engage with the sky is known as cultural astronomy, a term that comprises any field concerned with sky and culture, including archaeoastronomy. The latter focuses on analyzing the archaeological record for evidence of past skyscapes, i.e., past forms of engagement with the celestial objects, and how they would feature in the world views of the societies under study. The chapter discusses six case studies from the Western part of the Iberian Peninsula that are representative of prehistoric contexts found in other parts of the world. They illustrate how prehistoric skyscapes provided not only spatial axes for the construction of structures that align to celestial objects and events but, more importantly, how such alignments served as temporal anchors moored to key environmental, social, and symbolic moments of transition.

Eine semantische Klassifizierung von Weil-Sätzen

"A Semantic Classification of Weil-clauses. In the present study, we will elaborate a classification of clauses introduced by weil ‘because’; this classification combines different views on the concepts of cause and motive and their respective linguistic realization. In this paper, the three-dimensional model proposed by Sweetser (1990) will be combined with the distinction between cause and motive made in Prandi/De Santis (2011) and Prandi (2013), with the purpose of formulating a taxonomy of linguistic causality. Corpus research aimed at testing the afore-mentioned classification shows that the subordinating conjunction weil, which is usually defined as the prototypical causal subordinator in traditional grammars, introduces different conceptual relations, which would be difficult to identify without a comprehensive classification of the semantic relations introduced by this subordinator. Finally, further applications of the proposed classification involving the opposition between clauses headed by weil with verb-end and verb-second syntax will be proposed. It will be argued that the verb-second syntax serves a particular function in the encoding of semantic relations. Keywords: cause, motive, traditional grammars, semantic relations, verb-end, verb-second "

Conceptual flexibility and the meaning of Covid-19: evidence from the first Italian lockdown

Several studies highlighted the flexible character of our conceptual system. However, less is known about the construction of meaning and the impact of novel concepts on the structuring of our conceptual space. We addressed these questions by collecting free listing data from Italian participants on a newly–and yet nowadays critical–introduced concept, i.e., Covid-19, during the first Italian lockdown. We also collected data for other five illness-related concepts. Our results show that Covid-19’s representation is mostly couched in the emotional sphere, predominantly evoking fear—linked to both possible health-related concerns and social-emotional ones. In contrast with initial public debates participants did not assimilate Covid-19 neither completely to severe illnesses (e.g., tumor) nor completely to mild illnesses (e.g., flu). Moreover, we also found that Covid-19 has shaped conceptual relations of other concepts in the illness domain, making certain features and associations more salient (e.g., flu-fear; disease-mask). Overall, our results show for the first time how a novel, real concept molds existing conceptual relations, testifying the malleability of our conceptual system.

The Shapes of Relations: Anthropology as Conceptual Morphology

Building critically on anthropology’s “ontological turn,” this article isolates conceptualization (as distinct from explanation and interpretation) as a core concern for anthropological thinking: anthropology as the activity of transfiguring the contingency of ethnographic materials in the formal language of conceptual relations and distinctions. Focusing on works by Mauss and Evans-Pritchard, as well as my own research, the article articulates the morphological character of such a project. While akin also to philosophy, such attention to the “shapes” of conceptual relations is analogous to the practice of art in its concern for the expressive potentials of these acts of conceptual transfiguration.