cognitive grammar

Question 1

unit

Answer 1

-a pattern of processing activity that is thoroughly mastered and can thus be carried out more or less automatically (a ‘‘cognitive routine’’).
-A particular structure achieves the status of a unit through progressive psychological entrenchment, and conventionality
(how widely a structure is shared among speakers and
accepted as such)

Question 2

usage event

Answer 2

an actual instance of language use.
= the pairing of a comprehensive conceptualization,
representing a full contextual understanding, with an
elaborate expression, in all its phonetic and gestural detail.

Question 3

lexicon

Answer 3

the set of ‘‘fixed’’ expressions in a language,
conventional expressions with the status of units.
it is not sharply bounded, for both psychological
entrenchment and conventionality in a speech
community are matters of degree.

Question 4

Conceptual archetypes (type of conceptual primitive)

Answer 4

Gestalt conceptions, of some complexity
representing salient aspects of our everyday experience that are
highly frequent and seemingly fundamental.
Examples: a physical object, an object moving through space, the
human face, the human body, a physical container and its
contents, a whole and its parts, seeing something

Question 5

Schematic concepts or basic cognitive abilities

Answer 5

certain
schematic notions that can be manifested in any domain of
experience: point versus extension, contrast, boundary, change,
continuity, contact, inclusion, separation, proximity, multiplicity,
group

Question 6

basic domain

Answer 6

space, time, and domains associated with the
various senses, such as color space (the range of color sensations
we are capable of experiencing).
*A basic domain is not a concept, but provides the experiential
potential for conceptualization to occur. Minimal concepts
exploiting this potential include such notions as line, angle,
curvature, focal colors, and temporal precedence. These, too, are
basic in the sense of being incorporated in countless other
conceptions, both simple and complex

Question 7

conceptual matrix

Answer 7

A linguistic expression evokes a set of domains

Question 8

trajector/landmark alignment
(prominence)

Answer 8

the trajector (tr) - the primary focal participant (the primary ‘‘figure’’
within the profiled relationship);
the landmark (lm) - a secondary focal participant - some other participant is made salient

Question 9

P E R S P E C T I V E
vantage point

Answer 9

subjectivity and objectivity (whether the entity functions as a subject or object of
conception.) - the speaker and the hearer - subjectively or objectively construed
(onstage vs offstage);
scope (an expression’s scope is the extent of the conceptual content it evokes as
the basis for its meaning, its ‘‘coverage’’ in active domains.

Question 10

reification

Answer 10

manipulation of a group as a unitary entity for
higher-level cognitive purposes

Question 11

construal. same profile, different base

Answer 11

The neighbours are away.
The neighbours are gone.

Question 12

construal. same base, different profiles

Answer 12

Bill sent a walrus to Joyce.
Bill sent Joyce a walrus.

Question 13

construal. different levels of schematicity

Answer 13

The boy opened the door. The boy did something. Something happened.