1. Session 2: Descriptive Framework I Gerhard van Huyssteen 21-22 July 2010 CSIR

2. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes [Overview] 1 2 4 3

3. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Context 1 Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

4. Object of Study Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

5. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

6. Object of Study What do we want to describe? (i.e. what is our object of study?) – Language, specifically grammar, in accordance with what is known about the mind and brain from other disciplines Cf. Cognitive Commitment What is grammar? – Grammar is the structured inventory of conventional linguistic units (Langacker, 1987: ch 2) Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

7. What is Grammar? Grammar is the structured inventory of conventional linguistic units – Structures that a speaker has mastered thoroughly, to the extent that s/he can employ it in largely automatic fashion, without having to focus on its individual parts or their arrangement Prepackaged assemblies that dont demand constructive effort Automatization/habit has occurred – Content requirement specifies permissible structures to describe: Phonological, semantic and symbolic structures Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

8. What is grammar? Grammar is the structured inventory of conventional linguistic units Symbolic structure Phonological structure Semantic structure Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

9. What is grammar? Grammar is the structured inventory of conventional linguistic units – Conventionality implies that something is shared (and recognised as such) by a substantial number of individuals – Matter of degree Idiolects, dialects, natiolects – Scope of description depends on ones objectives Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

10. What is grammar? Grammar is the structured inventory of conventional linguistic units – A collection of linguistic resources Therefore constructive, rather than generative – Sanctions expressions of the language, rather than generating expressions Low-level instantiations as important (if not more) than abstractions Inclusion in inventory depends on conventionality/usage – Structured via relations between components Symbolisation (see later) Categorisation (see later) Integration (see later) Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

11. Field of Study Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

12. Where do we fit in? Discipline: – Linguistics Paradigm/Enterprise/School/Movement/Tradition: – Cognitive Linguistics Theory: – Cognitive Grammar Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

13. Description Framework Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

14. Description Framework Description framework – Provide Aims Methodologies Methods Primitives Constructs Conceptualisations Heuristic devices to construct models (i.e. the output) All descriptive theories should have such frameworks Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

15. Output Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

16. Description Framework and Context VIII Output/result of process is a language model – Schemas – Networks – Diagrams – Constituency trees These models should contribute to our better understanding of cognition/the human mind – Should contribute to converging evidence Similar to other disciplines (e.g. AI) Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

17. Description Framework and Context VIII Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Memory-based Learning TiMBL Computational Models Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Outputs

18. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Context 1 Object of Study Field of Study Description Framework Output

19. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Aim Methodology & Methods Preliminaries 2

20. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Aim Methodology & Methods Preliminaries: Aim What do we want to do? – To give a natural, conceptually unified and theoretically austere characterisation (i.e. description) of the systematicity, structure and function of grammar – Task of linguist to uncover the systematicity behind and within language to model these systems to relate systematicity directly to the way the mind is patterned and structured, particularly to conceptual structure and organisation, in order to understand human cognition

21. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Aim Methodology & Methods Preliminaries: Methodology & Methods How do we want to do it? Methodology – Maximalist: Economy is not necessarily a virtue – Non-reductive: Specific instantions vs schematic ones – Bottom-up: Schemas emerge from usage events Methods – Mostly inductive reasoning (based on converging evidence) – Corpus studies, common sense observations and intuition/introspection – Also psycholinguistic experiments; neurological imaging; clinical research; computer modelling

22. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Basic Domains Nonbasic Domains Example 3

23. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Basic Domains Nonbasic Domains Example [Reminder] Meaning is a function of content AND construal Content Concepts/conceptions/conceptual structures – Described as domain matrixes Construal Conceptualisation processes – Described in terms of cognitive abilities No sharp distinction between content and construal

24. Domains An expression invokes a set of cognitive domains (i.e. a complex domain matrix) as the basis for its meaning (i.e. as the content to be construed) Definition: any kind of conception or realm of experience Two kinds of domains: – Basic domains – Nonbasic domains Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Basic Domains Nonbasic Domains Example

25. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Basic Domains Nonbasic Domains Example Domains: Basic Domains Most fundamental domains: cognitively irreducible, neither derivable from nor analyzable into other conceptions – Spatial domain (space) – Temporal domain (time) – Sensory domains (senses) See (e.g. colour space) Hear (e.g. pitch scale) Taste Smell Feel (e.g. temperature scale, pressure) Not concepts – rather realms of experiential potential, within which conceptualisation can occur and specific concepts can emerge

26. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Basic Domains Nonbasic Domains Example Domains: Nonbasic Domains Any conceptualisation capable of being exploited for semantic purposes – Immediate sensory experience (e.g. wet) – Oriented spatial domain (e.g. above) – Quality domain (e.g. tall vs. short) – Quantity domain (e.g. three) – Emotive experience (e.g. fright) – Motor/kinesthetic experience (e.g. drunk) – Abstracted products of intellectual operation (e.g. JUSTICE) – Conceptions at level of conscious awareness (e.g. image of a circle) – Scenarios/scripts (e.g. steps in a recipe) – Frames (e.g. BUY frame) – Idealised Cognitive Models (e.g. FAMILY)

27. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Basic Domains Nonbasic Domains Example Domains: Example

28. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes Basic Domains Nonbasic Domains Example Domains: Example – Basic domain: space – Shape: sphere – Function 1 : aesthetic – Function 2 : predict future – Material: glass | quartz crystal | other – Size: easily held in one hand – Other: domains pertaining to divination, fortunetelling, prediction, gypsies, carnival, [Tintin] Important: NOT necessary and sufficient (distinctive) feature set; rather open-ended, overlapping, complex matrix

29. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes General Relevant Here Example Conceptual Archetypes 4

30. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes General Relevant Here Example Conceptual Archetypes: General Definition: – Frequent, fundamental and experientially grounded concepts that are readily apprehended as coherent conceptual gestalts at an early developmental stage Examples: – Physical object – Object in location – Object moving through space – Human body – Human face – Whole and its parts – Container and contents – Exerting force to effect change

31. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes General Relevant Here Example Conceptual Archetypes: Relevant Here Conceptual archetypes appropriate as prototypes for linguistic categories:

32. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes General Relevant Here Example Conceptual Archetypes: Relevant Here Shouldnt create impression that archetypes are arranged in binary, either-or trees – Dont forget: multiple domains can be part of a conceptualisation e.g. [[VLIEG]/[vlieg]] insect

33. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes General Relevant Here Example Conceptual Archetypes: Relevant Here Added unbounded thing (not originally in Langackers taxonomy) – Pertains to conceptions of boundedness Also in temporal domain – Atelic verbs (e.g. speel) profile unboundedness, telic verbs (e.g. knipoog) profile boundedness – Imperfect aspect (e.g. is playing) profiles unboundedness, perfect aspect (e.g. has played) profiles boundedness – Mass nouns (e.g. goud) and abstract nouns (e.g. love) profiles unbounded things

34. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes General Relevant Here Example Conceptual Archetypes: Example

35. Context Preliminaries Primitives: Domains Constructs: Conceptual Archetypes General Relevant Here Example [Summary & Next Session] Now focused more on the content level – Primitives: Domains – Constructs: Conceptual archetypes – For description of concepts/conceptions, this is mostly the appropriate level of focus Next Session: focus on construal level – Primitives: Cognitive abilities Tomorrow: focus on construal level – Constructs: Aspects of construal and composition