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Power points at www.sil.org/~tuggyd. Crash Course in CG—Review. A language is a structured inventory of conventional linguistic units. Review. Association: Two concepts occur together in the mind. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Power points at www.sil.org/ ~tuggyd
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Page 1: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Power points at www.sil.org/~tuggyd

Page 2: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Crash Course in CG—Review

A language isa structured

inventoryof conventional

linguisticunits

Page 3: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

ReviewAssociation: Two concepts occur together in the mind. All established cognitive relationships, besides whatever else they may be, are associations.

Page 4: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

ReviewCorrespondence: two concepts are taken to be the same.

A B

Page 5: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

ReviewA - - B = Partial schematicity: The standard is recognized in distorted form in the target.

A B

Page 6: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

ReviewA B = Full schematicity: the standard is recognized without distortion in the target.We are wired to like it when we find schematicity, especially full schematicity.

A B

Page 7: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

ReviewA schema can have multiple subcases.A subcase may instantiate multiple schemas.Multiple relationships of these kinds show up in large and complex networks.

A

X Y A

Z Q

P

b

a

h i

e

fj k

d

c

E1E2

E4

E3

E

E5

g

E6

Page 8: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

ReviewConcepts in such networks typically differ in salience (cognitive prominence)Relationships involving a prominent concept are more prominent.

P

b

a

h i

e

f

j k

d

c

E1E2 E4

E3

E

E5

g

E6

P

b

a

h i

e

fj k

d

c

E1E2

E4

E3

E

E5

g

E6

Page 9: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

ReviewClassical categories, taxonomies, “family resemblances”, prototypes, radial categories, etc., can be read off such networks. They are impoverish-ments of the richer network structure.

P

b

a

h i

e

f

j k

d

c

E1E2 E4

E3

E

E5

g

E6

Page 10: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

ReviewYou have a classical category when the prototype (most prominent member) and highest schema coincide.

Schema

Mass of subcases none exceptionally

prominent

Page 11: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Review

Most human categories are much more complex than classical categories.Complex categories are ubiquitous in language.

Page 12: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

End of Review

New stuff coming up …

Page 13: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Basic semantic structures: profile and base

CG claims that most (if not all) semantic structures consist of a profile (designatum, named entity) which “stands out in bas-relief” against the base (cognitive background).This is doubtless related (if not in some sense identical) to the “figure/ground” phenomenon. The meaning does not consist in either the profile alone or the base alone, but both, and each in relation to the other.

Page 14: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseThe concept CIRCLE designates a simple closed curve in (2-d) space.

2-d space is the base.The closed curve is profiled (designated)The profile stands outas figure against the ground.

• (It’s diagrammed with the thickred line.)

This constitutes the semanticpole of the word circle.

2-d space

semantic space

phonological space ˈs

Page 15: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseAny established concept can function as the base for other concepts.

CIRCLE functions as the base for ARC.ARC in turn functionsas the base forCHORD.

2-D Space

semantic space

phonological space ˈs aɹkkoɹd

Page 16: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseSometimes the base is relatively simple.

The base for CIRCLE is the basic domain of space.Basic domains have to do with very general areas of our perception of the world:

• vision and perception of space• hearing• touch• smell• the passing of time• etc.

Page 17: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseThe vast majority of concepts do not have only basic domains in their bases. E.g. arc and chord, as we saw, have CIRCLE and ARC in their bases. CIRCLE and ARC function as non-basic domains in these cases.It is normal to have many levels of non-basic domains in the base of a concept. Consider how to define BATTING AVERAGE starting from basic domains. Good luck!

Page 18: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseIt would be a bit like trying to define an albatross in terms of quarks.Some domains can be more important (salient, prominent) for a meaning than others.You can’t always identify a “most-important” domain.In fact adjusting the prominences of domains is one of the things that different contexts do for/to you.

Page 19: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseThe concept EM designates a letter in the (non-basic) domain of the alphabet (which is a sequence of letters.)The letter isassociated witha family of orthographicforms.

semantic space

phonological space

alphabet

... J K L __ N O P ...

reading/writing 2-d space

M m metc.

Page 20: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseThe letter is also associated with the sound [m] and the articulation that produces it.This conceptis linked to the phono-logical pole [ˈem].

semantic space

phonological space

alphabet

... J K L __ N O P ...

reading/writing 2-d space

M m metc.

articulationsoundlips closed, vocal

cords vibrate, nasal air

causa

ˈem

Page 21: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and Base(The meaning is iconic to this phonological pole: to pronounce the phonological pole you must activate the articulation and sound designated in the meaning.)

semantic space

phonological space

alphabet

... J K L __ N O P ...

reading/writing

ˈem

2d space

M m metc.

articulationsoundclosed lips

voicenasal air

causa

Page 22: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseIt is not clear that any of these domains is most prominent. Obviously the phonological domains are very prominent.But so is the domain ofthe alphabet.And so is the domain ofwriting, and the 2-d shape(s)of the letter.

semantic space

phonological space

alphabet

... J K L __ N O P ...

reading/writing

ˈem

2d space

M m metc.

articulationsoundclosed lips

voicenasal air

causa

Page 23: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseNot everything in the base is equally prominent.In the word abuela, the base includes prominently the domain of kinship.Less prominent, but also relevant, are domains of age, human relationsand attitudes, etc. a̍b̫ ela

kinship

attitudes

age

etc.

Page 24: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

a̍b̫ ela

kinship

attitudes

age

etc.

Profile and BaseIn the primary domain of kinship, a configuration of two generations is singled out for special prominence. Within that configura-tion, a person in thesecond descendinggeneration has a special degree of prominence.

E

Page 25: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseThat person —the “ego”— functions as a point of reference for the designated entity.

a̍b̫ ela

kinship

attitudes

age

etc.E

Page 26: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseThe designated entity is a female two generations above ego.In the secondary domains there are specifications such as affection for grandchildren, or expectation of ageover 50 years or so.All of this, with the differences in promi-nence involved, functions as base forthe profiled person.

a̍b̫ ela

kinship

attitudes

age

etc.E

usually over 50 years old

likely to spoil grandkids

Page 27: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseIn all these cases, the meaning is not the profile without the base, much less the base without the profile. It is the profile in relation to the base.

ˈs

2-d space

aɹk

2-d space

ˈem

2-d space

M m metc.

alphabet

... J K L __ N O P ...

articulationsound

lips closedvoiceair through nose

reading/writing

a̍b̫ ela

kinship

E

usually over 50 yrs. old

likely to spoil grandkids

etc.

Page 28: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseThe same base may be used for more than one profile.GRANDPA has much the samebase as doesGRANDMA.It just designatesa different person.

a̍b̫ elo

kinship

attitudes

age

etc.E

likely to be over 50 yrs. old

likely to spoil grandkids

Page 29: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Profile and BaseGRAND-DAUGHTER has basically the same base as GRANDMA but it interchanges theprofile and the “ego”roles, and it has differentspecifications in theminor domains.

a̍b̫ ela

kinship

attitudes

age

etc.

likely to be young

likely to take advantage of grandparents

E

ˈn̡eta

Page 30: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Expectations and Instructions

Classical semantics didn’t want to mess with specifications that were not absolute.It sought “necessary and sufficient” requirements for its categories.But the fact is that you find tendencies or expectations in human categories, rather than absolute requirements.They are defeasible, i.e. they can be contradicted or annulled, with differing degrees of difficulty.

Page 31: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Expectations and Instructions

It is possible, as a limiting case, for specifications to be absolute and indefeasible, but they are by far the minority among semantic specifications.And they are by no means necessarily the most prominent or important to the meanings in ordinary humans’ minds.It is better to think of all semantic specifications as expectations, but bear in mind that in a given usage any of them may be downplayed or even contradicted.

Page 32: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Expectations and Instructions

All the structures we are talking about are cognitive “routines” that are “run”, not static “things” you can find in the brain (or elsewhere).When you communicate such a structure to someone else, you are implicitly instructing that person to run the appropriate routines.There is a sense in which any meaning can be viewed as an instruction.

Process terminology (of certain types) fits in the model very well.

Page 33: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningThe question arises: what is the extent of the base of a concept?The answer CG (and CL generally) gives is: it includes whatever is conventionally known about the profiled element.

Page 34: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningVarious lines of argument support this, including:

The impossibility of drawing consistent, motivated lines between “denotations” and “connotations”

• This includes the very common cases where a “connotation” becomes a “denotation” over time, and vice versa.

The syntactic use of connections to very remotely connected pieces of meaning

• The following is one example of this.

Page 35: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningWe know many things about FIRE; some are central, others less so.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

Page 36: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningWe also know many things about TRUCK; some are central, others less so.One thing we know about FIRE is that it can be dangerous, to people and forests and buildings.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

Page 37: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningWe also know that people especially in urban areas where there are many buildings, have special organizations responsible to prepare for the threat of fire and combat it if it happens.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater

Page 38: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningWe know that the firepersons have many kinds of special equipment that they use in combatting fires.We know that among those things are trucks that they use to carry them and their equipment to a fire.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater

Page 39: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningIt is not until you have gotten this far away from the central meanings of fire that you find a correspondence link to the profiled element of TRUCK.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater

Page 40: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningSuch links are, on the CG view, the one essential component of syntactic linkages.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater

Page 41: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningClearly, in this case, if you don’t get this correspondence, you don’t understand what FIRE TRUCK means.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater

Page 42: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningAnd of course, if the meaning FIRE excludes access to the fire-fighting scenario, the linkage cannot be made.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater

Page 43: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningComing from the other side, TRUCK includes the information that there are specialized kinds of trucks used for particular purposes.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater

Page 44: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningComing from the other side, a thing we know about TRUCKs is that there are specialized kinds of them used for particular purposes.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater

Page 45: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningAmong those specialized trucks are those used for fighting fires. (There are actually several kinds of them.)

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater water firemenfire

Page 46: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningIt is only at this level of detail that a link is found for the profiled element of FIRE. Actually, at this level there is are obvious corres-pondences between other specifications as well.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater water firemenfire

Page 47: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningThe whole fire-fighting scenario corresponds between the two meanings.This implies correspondences between the participants in the scenario.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater water firemenfire

Page 48: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningIn any case, the point here is that you can’t describe what people understand when they join FIRE and TRUCK syntagmatically, without going a long way beyond what a dictionary entry would give you.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater water firemenfire

Page 49: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningFwiw, if the redundancy of this analysis bothers you (the same semantic structures being part of both meanings), don’t worry too much.Under CG, these are the same structures, not separate ones.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater water firemenfire

Page 50: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Encyclopedic meaningThis kind of argument leads to the conclusion that the base of a meaning is encyclopedic.You needn’t always activate everything in it, but everything is available for activation as needed.

can destroy buildings, kill

people

can be quenched, usu.

with water

used to burn garbage and other

undesirables

needs fuelwood, paper,

gases, oil, etc.

produces light, used for lighting

turns the fuel into ash and smoke

etc.used to heat,

especially to cook

hurts if touches your

body

different kinds adapted to

different usages

used to transport heavy loads

has a driver, perhaps others

also riding tires

motor

etc.dangerous to crash with because heavy,

cumbersome

firemenwater water firemenfire

Page 51: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profilesProfiles can be categorized into different types.Some of these correspond at least roughly (and very importantly) to traditional “Parts of speech”.This amounts to a claim that the “Parts of speech” have a conceptual, “semantic” basis. Which of course has been roundly denied by many linguists. It has been a central pillar of the “autonomy of syntax” hypothesis.

Page 52: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profiles: NounsThe traditional definition of a noun as a word denoting a “person, place, or thing” has been widely denounced.The proof is that many nouns clearly do not denote people, places, or things, but things (!) like processes, or qualities, or relations.In fact, process, quality, and relation are nouns.This proves (supposedly) that the parts of speech can have no conceptual/semantic basis: they must be something else, namely syntactic.

Page 53: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profiles: NounsA noun, for example, is simply a word that does nouny things. It is the type of word that comes after an article, to which you can suffix an ‑’s, and so forth. (± —Pinker 1994)

Which leads to the following general conclusion: A syntactic category, then, is not a kind of meaning; it is a kind of counter or mathematical symbol that obeys certain formal rules. Wrong.

Page 54: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profiles: NounsWhat’s most clearly wrong is Pinker’s use of the word “simply”, and the notion that something that “obeys certain formal rules” is thereby proven to be “not a kind of meaning”.A noun, for example, is simply a word that does nouny things. It is the type of word that comes after an article, to which you can suffix an ‑’s, and so forth. […] A syntactic category, then, is not a kind of meaning; it is a kind of counter or mathematical symbol that obeys certain formal rules.

Page 55: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profiles: NounsFirst point: Note that Pinker’s “obedience to formal rules” doesn’t give you necessary and suf-ficient conditions either. He resorts to “tendencies”, possibilities and defeasible characteristics.So why can’t you do the same thing with semantic characteristics as with “syntactic” ones, and give a definition using tendencies? A noun “tends to be” a word designating a person, place or thing.In essence, you can say “PERSON, PLACE and PHYSICAL OBJECT are prototypes for the category ‘noun’.

Page 56: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profiles: NounsThis will say, “A noun (prototypically) obeys certain formal rules, but it also (prototypically) designates a certain kind of semantic entity.”

Page 57: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profiles: NounsSecond point: Who says that specification of what you occur next to (your syntagmatic partner) is outside the province of semantics?

Can the egg white and shell not be part of the base (background meaning) of YOLK? The expectation of them is automatically awakened when you activate YOLK.Can the door not be part of the meaning of KNOB?Can your toe not be part of the meaning of STUB?Can the word toe not be part of the meaning of stub? The expectation of it is automatically awakened when you activate stub.

CG says, they can.

Page 58: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profiles: NounsMeanings can be extrinsic as well as intrinsic.Neighboring symbols (morphemes, words, etc.) are a commonly referenced kind of extrinsic specifications.

Whether or not this is specifically “semantic” or just part of the grammar probably depends on definitions. In any case, it fits easily in the CG model of language.“Distributional classes” are not a problem for the modelwhich is a good thing, because they certainly exist.

Page 59: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profiles: NounsSo even if Pinker et al. are right, the specifications they rely on fit just fine in CG without any special syntactic component.They do require a sort of “family resemblances” category to characterize them.This can coexist fine with a traditional prototype.

Page 60: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profiles: Nouns

tolerance

problem

ammonia

PLACE

INANIMATE PHYSICAL

OBJECT

ANIMATE BEING

Kenya

meteoroidtree

houseANIMAL

cat yak

HUMAN BEING

baby

linguist St. Jerome

house

PHYSICAL OBJECT

semantic pole of the word [ha̫ s]

THING whose symbol can appear

with a definite article

a.

b.THING whose sym-bol can be numbered

and pluralized

Page 61: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profiles: NounsLangacker claims the prototype common across languages that unifies the category “noun” is the conception of a physical object.He also claims there is an overarching schema which unites them all. This in effect claims that a classical category can be defined for nominal entities. (This is of course controversial.)He calls the schema THING; it is close to, if not equivalent to, the meaning of thing in the phrase anything at all.He defines it as the cognitive product of our capacity to mentally form a single entity by grouping elements.

Page 62: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profiles: NounsSuch a grouping is virtually automatic and almost unavoidable in the case of a physical object.

It is very difficult to see a stone as a process or even as a static relation.

But this grouping ability (=“reification”) can be applied to many other kinds of Things, including processes, etc.When we do this we nominalize them.So a Thing is a concept which we have produced by grouping related Entities.

Page 63: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profiles: NounsThose same Entities may well be construable in other ways as well.It is ultimately a matter of cognitive structuring rather than real-world identity that determines if something is a noun, a verb, an adjective, or what have you.

Page 64: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profilesThere is not time to discuss this at length here, but:A distinction is posited between

Things (=nominal entities, profiling a group of interconnected entities) and Relations (profiling the interconnections between entities)

The schema Entity (= concept) neutralizes the Thing/Relation distinction.Among Relations, some are viewed as they develop through time, much as a movie. These are Processes, and they comprise the category of verbal elements.

Page 65: Power points at  sil/~tuggyd

Kinds of profilesNon-processual relations include adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions.They and nouns form a category of non-processual or atemporal concepts.Verbs by definition involve a period of time during which they evolve.Relations often have at least two very salient participants, which are typically Things.

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Kinds of profilesThese different kinds of profiles can be imposed on very similar situations, thus used to talk about them.This is why e.g. love can be a noun and also a verb, even when designating the same scenario, or why tall and height can refer to the same quality. For CG, the change in profile is a semantic change—the noun and the verb do not mean the same thing.They may designate the same real-world instance of the same type, but they construe it differently.

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ConstrualThis notion of differences in construal is very important to CG.In effect, meaning is not just a matter of what is referred to, but of how it is viewed or construed, from what perspective, under what guise, etc.Half-full and half-empty designate the same relative amount, but differ in their construal.A before B and B after A designate the same relative precedence, but differ in their construal.Most of “grammar” consists of mechanisms for adjusting construals.

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Kinds of profilesENTITY

THING

(processual relation =)PROCESSATEMPORAL

RELATION

RELATIONATEMPORAL ENTITY

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Kinds of Profiles: Atemporals

……

THING

ˈkantɛnt ɪn̍tɪɹj

ATEMPORAL RELATION

en inte̍ɾ̡or a̍ðentɾo

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Kinds of Profiles: Processes

iˈmɹd̩

ʒ

ˈentɹ̩

ˈbiˈɪn

ɪn

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Trajector and LandmarkLangacker claims that it is not possible to profile a Relation without profiling the participant(s) in that Relation.You cannot make the Relation UNDER the center of your attention (= figure = profile) without thinking of someThing being under someThing else.Those participants are understood to form part of the profile of the Relation.

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Trajector and Landmark= Subject and Object

Especially at lexical levels there is almost always an asymmetry of prominence between them.The most salient/prominent participant in a relation Langacker calls its Trajector.I dislike the term and will instead use“(internal) Subject”If there is a second salient participant this is called the Landmark.I will call it the “(internal) Object”.There actually may be several object/landmarks of varying degrees of salience.

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Subject and ObjectTypically, then, a Relation has a structure of nested saliences, somewhat as indicated in the following diagram:Starting with the general level of cognitive activation,

greater activation

(prominence)

lesser activation

General cognitive background

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Subject and ObjectThe structures constituting the base are more highly activated.The profile of the relationship is (by definition) more highly activated than the base.

greater activation

(prominence)

lesser activation

General cognitive backgroundBase of the profiled Relation

Relational profile

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Subject and ObjectThe participants in the relation are particularly highly activated.The Subject is (by definition) the most prominent participant in a Relation.

greater activation

(prominence)

lesser activation

General cognitive backgroundBase of the profiled Relation

Relational profile

(Internal) Subject(Trajector)

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Subject and ObjectThe Object is (by definition) a participant of lesser prominence within the Relation.

greater activation

(prominence)

lesser activation

General cognitive backgroundBase of the profiled Relation

Relational profile

(Internal) Subject(Trajector)

(Internal) Object

(Landmark)

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Subject and Object(We will mark the subject and object in Relations by the red and brown colors.)

greater activation

(prominence)

lesser activation

General cognitive backgroundBase of the profiled Relation

Relational profile

(Internal) Subject(Trajector)

(Internal) Object

(Landmark)

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Subject and ObjectFor instance, the difference in meaning between ABOVE and BELOW can be seen as a choice of subject and object within an otherwise identical Relation.

verti

cal

oriented space

ABOVE

verti

cal

oriented space

BELOW


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