Cognitive linguistics + exercises, Appunti di Lingua Inglese

Scarica Cognitive linguistics + exercises e più Appunti in PDF di Lingua Inglese solo su Docsity! Cognitive linguistic (P.P. 2) Cognitive linguistics aligns the study of language with the study of the mind and brain It first emerged in the 1970’s with some radical new ideas, which have had a lasting impact and increasing traction in linguistics, and are hence referred to as part of the cognitive turn in the discipline Stylistics is centrally connected with the interactions between the language of a text and a reader of that text. Combining the study of language with the study of the mind suggests that more can be understood about how interaction between text and readers occurs, and why particular effects are reproduced Language is dependent upon the cognitive mechanisms which are used in other areas of human experience such as the way we perceive, categorize, and imagine/represent the world Human minds work in fundamentally similar ways because they possess these cognitive mechanisms An account of language should accord with what is generally known about the mind and brain in other scientific and psychological disciplines Metaphorical concepts (+file “Metaphors we live by” + “Conceptual metaphors”) The study of conceptualisation focuses on the way readers create and manipulate mental representations or mental spaces. These can be understood as assemblies of knowledge and information which are created during reading and used in processes of interpretation and imagination Figurative expressions such as metaphor have traditionally been studied as predominantly linguistic phenomena. Cognitive linguists, however, revolutionized the study of metaphor by establishing that metaphor is, in fact, a way of thinking, not just an ornamental patterning of words on a page. Rather, metaphor has a conceptual basis which is reflected in metaphorical language Metaphor means metaphorical concept The creation and interpretation of metaphor involves the transfer or conceptual mapping of features from one domain to another (a) My love for you is a journey; starting at forever and ending at never This expression makes a comparison between the speaker’s love and a journey, each of which functions as a domain within the conceptual metaphor: love is the target domain, the idea being described by the metaphor, while journey is the source domain, the concept being drawn upon in order to describe the target To interpret the metaphor, correspondences between the two domains are identified and then the relevant features from the source LOVE are transferred or mapped onto the target journey Target domains tend to be abstract concepts, such as love or life, whilst source domains are generally more concrete and often grounded in bodily and/or everyday experience, such as journey or container Metaphor is often (wrongly) thought to be a special property of creative, poetic, and literary texts, but cognitive linguists have shown that metaphor is pervasive in everyday language and thought. Elaboration of conceptual metaphor Examples of conceptual metaphor: love is war, time is money I have fought all my life to win his heart➡ words of war to talk about love Love is like a river➡ you have to think about what a river does and then create the metaphor Furthermore, while the linguistic expression in (a) realizes both the metaphor and the mappings quite explicitly using the copula (x is y), metaphor is not always expressed in language in such a visible manner Metaphors are used even in common speech They are part of our language➡ cognitive linguistic Some colloquial expressions found in everyday language: (b) Look how far we’ve come. (c) We’re at a crossroads. (d) We’ll just have to go our own separate ways. (e) We can’t turn back now. (f) I don’t think this relationship is going anywhere. (g) Where are we? (h) We’re stuck. (i) It’s been a long, bumpy road. (j) This relationship is a dead-end street. (k) Our marriage is on the rocks. (=sta andando bene) These expressions might not initially appear to be metaphorical. However, when used to describe a romantic relationship, they are all linguistic realizations of the same conceptual metaphor we saw in (a): love is a journey. These lexis all draw from the journey source as a means of comprehending the abstract target love Because it appears regularly in everyday language, love is a journey can be considered to be a conventional metaphor, often used (in certain cultural contexts) to structure our understanding of love. In such conventional metaphors, the mappings between domains are well established The Argument is war: Your claims are indefensible He attacked every weak point in my argument His criticism were right on target I demolished his argument (+file “Metaphor exercise”) According to Lakoff and Johnson, when the argument is war: it is not that arguments are subspecies of war. Arguments and wars are different kind of things – verbal discourse and armed conflict – and the actions performed are different kinds of actions. But argument is partially structured, understood, performed, and talked about in terms of WAR. The concept is metaphorically structured, the activity is metaphorically structured, and, consequently, the language is metaphorically structured Image-schemas are based on bodily experiences in space. They are called image-schemas because they are said to be ‘imagistic’, meaning that they are developed through our sensory experiences in the world from infancy. The ‘image’ in ‘image-schema’ thus refers to all the senses, not just the visual. Think about the prepositions in these three descriptions of morning activities (l) I get out of bed. (m) I walk into the bathroom. (n) I look in the mirror. Locative expressions, such as prepositions, often reflect underlying image-schemas In and out are dynamic extensions of the containment image-schema which involve motion, as represented by the dashed arrows: in to or out of the container. We often use prepositions such as ‘in’ and ‘out’ to express metaphorical meanings and when we do, we draw on image-schemas as source domains in metaphorical thought. For instance, consider the following three expressions: (o) Alison wanted to get the most out of life. (p) Let out your anger (q) Sara is in love. ‘Life’, ‘anger’, and ‘love’ are all abstract emotions. Thus, in the three expressions, the prepositions use our image-schematic knowledge metaphorically In (o) life is the target of the conceptual metaphor life is a container In (p) emotions such as ‘anger’ appear to be held inside our bodies, thus the metaphor is the body is a container In (q) love is a container In each case, the container image-schema functions as source because, typical of source domains, image-schemas are based on bodily experience. Image-schema metaphors do not have to be realized using prepositions. For instance, the body is a container can be expressed in phrases such as ‘She felt full of life.’ Similarly, an expression such as ‘I’m feeling really low’ is dependent on the spatial up-down image schema. Here, it forms part of an orientational metaphor, which relies on spatial orientation as source. ‘I’m feeling really low’ or ‘I’m on a high’ are underwritten by happy is up/sad is down. Let us focus on the second point: Labelling healthcare workers as “warriors” is inappropriate because nobody who chose to become a healthcare worker wanted to become a warrior. Unlike soldiers, they did not sign up to put their lives at risk. But like soldiers, they are now supposed to show heroism and be stoic. The unsaid message in a war is you are supposed to be quiet and not speak out or complain because everyone has to suffer. Even in the absence of personal protective equipment (PPE), healthcare workers are expected to put themselves at risk because they are “warriors”. This is completely wrong because they are not supposed to put their life at risk while working. By calling healthcare workers “warriors”, you are covering up the failures of the system to protect them. So if healthcare staff highlight the difficulties of poor working environments, it is seen as unpatriotic. There are instances where action has been taken against doctors and nurses who spoke out publicly. Could you highlight other issues with the language used through this crisis? Another issue is that every war requires an enemy. Otherwise how do you fight a war? Thus, enemies are manufactured at various levels, as we have seen. At the global level, for example, we see the World Health Organization (WHO) labelled as an enemy. Leaders are saying: “It’s all their fault. They were responsible.” You can also see countries fighting with each other. It is now seen as perfectly alright for the US to divert supplies from Singapore meant for India to themselves. Because in a war everything is fair. People and countries are falling apart and fighting over scraps. Instead of working together, we are identifying enemies and fighting with them. If we are going to deal with the global pandemic, we need global solidarity. We won’t get that by referring to it as a global war. The metaphor of war always triggers emotions within people as well as in countries, and makes it each one for himself/herself. Moreover, a war metaphor to solve healthcare issues has always failed. For instance, the ‘war’ on drugs never actually succeeded. There are also civil society ramifications of using the war metaphor. Governments are suspending civil rights and civil liberties, and nobody is supposed to complain because it is a war. There are multiple problems at the level of the individual, healthcare, human rights. It is not that we can't use other metaphors, like the climate change movement has done. Can you give an example? Greta Thunberg didn’t use the war metaphor in the movement for climate change, for example. I think it requires us to also see people as being intelligent and not just use simplistic, narrow metaphors. You could use the metaphor of a journey where you need to plan, but there will be some hiccups and setbacks, you might miss a train or a bus. However, there will be a certain end. Or metaphors from sports where there is teamwork, getting together, and working for a particular outcome. When you want to bring people together, those kinds of metaphors work well too. So you are saying governments shouldn't scare people with their messages. Then how should the severity of this crisis be communicated? Some amount of rational communication--which starts with the assumption that people are intelligent. Our experience with the HIV epidemic shows that appeals to fear don't work. Scaring people actually decreases the chances of them seeking assistance in time. We also have to be consistent and repetitive with that message. You can't have bits and pieces of the government giving out contradictory messages. That's what we have seen. Ministers have even said something about cow dung cures. If the government’s message is that lockdown is going to reduce the number of cases and prevent the spread of the pandemic, everyone should spread that message regularly and not once in 15 days.” Jain is a Bengaluru-based independent journalist and editor In India lockdown was announced from one day to another so people were stuck in the city where they were working He wants to consider the population strong and he wants to make them feel strong Mahabharata = Indian epic poem written in sanskrit (like our Odyssey) Emily Dickinson E. Dickinson, 1830-1886, was born in the same house that she eventually died in, in Amherst, Massachusetts. The popular myth is that Dickinson was a literary hermit-genius. But, contemporary accounts of her life suggest that she was active in social circles and adored human interaction Moreover, her travels were limited to her countryside and native town, as evidenced by her poetry which remains aloof from political connotations/ commentary Lastly, Emily Dickinson hardly ever published her massive stock of 1800 poems. Only her sister stumbled upon the prolific collection and took the liberty to publish the massive literary work. Hope is the Thing with Feathers, Emily Dickinson “Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches (sta appollaiato) in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all - And sweetest - in the Gale (wind) - is heard - And sore (painful) must be the storm - That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm - I’ve heard it in the chillest land - And on the strangest Sea - Yet - never - in Extremity, It asked a crumb - of me. Emily Dickinson is an expert employer of metaphors, as she uses the small bird to convey her message, indicating that hope burns in the harshest of storms, coldest of winds, and in the unknown of seas for that matter, yet it never demands in return. It persists continuously within us, keeping us alive In the case of the first quatrain, the narrator feels that hope can be deemed as a bird with feathers, singing in its own tune merrily. It may not speak any specific language, yet it’s certainly present within human souls. Just as importantly, Emily Dickinson voices that hope is an eternal spring, as it’s a vital constituent of human beings, enabling us to conquer unchartered territories In the case of the second stanza, the poetess elucidates the expansive power hope wields over us. It gets merrier and sweeter as the storm gets mightier and relentless. The poetess deems that no storm can sway hope and its adamant attitude. According to the poetess, it would take a deadly storm of astronomical proportions to flatten the bird of hope that has kept the ship sailing for most men In the last stanza, or quatrain, Emily Dickinson concludes her poem by stressing that hope retains its clarity and tensile strength in the harshest of conditions, yet it never demands in return for its valiant services. Hope is inherently powerful and certainly needs no polishing, as it steers the ship from one storm to another with efficacy The metaphorical aspect of ‘Hope is the Thing with Feathers’ is an old practice, used by well-known poets, the small bird represents hope in this poem. When abstract concepts are under study such as death, love, and hope, they are often represented by an object from nature, in this case, the bird. Repetition: the poet uses ‘that’ and ‘and’ several times throughout ‘Hope is the Thing with Feathers’. Enjambment: seen when the poet cuts off a line before its natural stopping point. For example, the transition between lines three and four of the second stanza Metaphor: seen through the initial comparison between hope and a bird Anaphora: the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines. For example, “And” which starts a total of five lines Hope is for everyone Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) published "Metaphors" in her 1960 collection The Colossus and Other Poems. This collection, the only volume of poetry Plath would publish in her lifetime, showcases many of the themes that would characterize the later, more famous poems in Ariel. These include the indifference and brutality of nature, the violence of patriarchy, romantic love and sexuality, and loneliness Plath also wrote often about the relationship between parents and children (see: "Daddy," one of her most famous poems) and about her complicated feelings on motherhood ("Nick and the Candlestick" and "Morning Song"). As a student of literature at Smith College in Massachusetts and later at Newnham College at the University of Cambridge, Plath learned to experiment formally with her poems. Early literary influences included everything from the poems of Emily Dickinson to the novels of Dostoevsky. While at university, she also studied Modernists such as Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, W.H. Auden, and T.S. Eliot. Around the same time that The Colossus and Other Poems was published, Plath and her fellow American poet Anne Sexton took a class taught by Robert Lowell, whose 1959 collection Life Studies would inspire Plath to dig deeper into the emotionally turbulent and sometimes autobiographical material that characterizes so much of her work. For this reason, Plath is often labeled a Confessionalist poet. That said, readers should avoid too closely conflating Plath with the voices that narrate her poems, as to read them as always interchangeable is to do a disservice to Plath's imaginative capacities. Metaphors, 1959 I’m a riddle in nine syllables, 1 An elephant, a ponderous house, 2 A melon strolling on two tendrils. 3 O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers! 4 This loaf’s big with its yeasty rising. 5 Money’s new-minted in this fat purse. 6 I’m a mean, a stage, a cow in calf. 7 I’ve eaten a bag of green apples, 8 Boarded the train there’s no getting off. 9 Yeasty = di lievito "Metaphors" consists of a single nine-line stanza. Each line also consists of nine syllables➡ the poem declares it in its opening line Pregnancy is also nine months long➡ Plath was making a very intentional and even playful choice with the poem's form. The poem subtly mimics the way that pregnancy molds the body into a new shape. Like the speaker's body, the poem is physically defined by what it's "pregnant" with the meaning it's trying to convey. "Metaphors" was written in March of 1959, when Plath believed herself to be pregnant. This turned out to be a false alarm (though Plath and her husband Ted Hughes would succeed later in the year, when Plath conceived her first child, Frieda). Still, the poem illustrates with biting clarity the anxieties around motherhood with which Plath struggled. Age of anxiety➡ preoccupation The poem doesn't use a rhyme scheme. As with its lack of meter, this keeps the poem feeling casual, conversational, and unpredictable. A tidy rhyme scheme might have given the poem a sense of rigid order and control; the poem's lack of rhyme, by contrast, subtly reflects the speaker's struggle to make sense of her changing body and her shifting identity The poem begins with the speaker announcing that she is "a riddle in nine syllables."The nature of this "riddle" isn't immediately clear. In calling herself, a "riddle" in the first place, however, readers might get the sense that the speaker feels herself to be a bit of an enigma, a puzzle that needs to be solved. There's also something playful and amusing about calling herself a "riddle."