Full Description
This book implements a multidisciplinary approach in describing language both in its ontogenetic development and in its close interrelationship with other human subsystems such as thought, memory, and activity, with a focus on the semantic component of the evolutionary-synthetic theory.The volume analyzes, among others, the mechanisms for grammatical polysemy, and brings to light the structural unity of artefact and natural concepts (such as CHAIR, ROAD, LAKE, RIVER, TREE). Additionally, object and motor concepts are defined in terms of the language of thought, and their representation in neurobiological memory codes is discussed; finally, the hierarchic structure of basic meanings of concrete nouns is shown to arise as a result of their step-by-step development in ontogeny.
Contents
AcknowledgementsPreface1. The place of the evolutionary-synthetic theory of language among the ranks of linguistic theories2. Peer reviews of the evolutionary-synthetic theory3. About the book contentsChapter 1 On the contradictory nature of contemporary linguistic theories and how to change it for the better1. Introduction2. A compendium of incompatible linguistic frameworks3. Contrastive analysis of some mutually contradicting linguistic theories1. Introduction2. On the role of language in thought3. Is language an autonomous module ("cognitive organ")?4. Other opposing assumptions in the theories under discussion4. Contradictory descriptions of particular linguistic problems1. The incompatibility of theories of lexical polysemy2. Contradictory descriptions of the syntax-lexicon interface3. Theories of language origin and evolution5. The futility of attempts to reach a consensus1. Unproductiveness of scholarly polemics2. Inefficiency of interdisciplinary approaches6. Is linguistics a natural science?7. The crisis and its causes1. Is "multiparadigmality" typical of linguistics?2. The status of linguistics as a science3. The root of trouble8. Principles of an evolutionary-synthetic theory of language9. Crisis in the cognitive sciences1. Contradictory frameworks in cognitive sciences2. The cause of the crisis3. Towards a unified cognitive paradigmChapter 2A reference-based approach to describing notional words1. A reference-based approach to lexical semantics1. The dual structure of lexical meaning2. Basic meanings of the words chair and armchair2. An analysis of basic meanings of the action verbs udarit' 'hit-PF', tolknut' 'push-PF', padat' 'fall-IMP', brat' 'take-IMP' and vzbirat'sja 'climb-IMP'1. Introductory remarks2. Contact verbs: udarit' 'hit-PF', kosnut'sja 'touch-PF', tolknut' 'push-PF'3. The verb padat' 'fall-IMP'4. The verb brat' 'take-IMP' / vzjat' 'take-PF'5. The verb vzbirat'sja 'climb'3. Verbs of spatial orientation:... stojat' 'stand', sidet' 'sit', lezat' 'lie', and viset' 'hang'1. The verb viset' 'hang'2. The verbs stojat' stand', lezat' 'lie', and sidet' 'sit' 4. The motion verbs...idti 'walk', bezat' 'run', polzti 'crawl', sagat' 'step/stride', prygat' 'jump', and exat' 'go/ride/drive'1. The motion verbs idti 'walk' and bezat' 'run'2. A comparative description of the verbs idti 'walk', bezat' 'run', polzti 'crawl', prygat' 'jump' and sagat' 'step/stride'3. Basic meaning of the verb exat' 'go/ride/drive'5. The structure of lexical polysemy1. Reference in lexicology2. Lexical polysemy3. Supplement. Three contemporary approaches to lexical polysemy6. Appendix 1. Excerpts from the email correspondence between A. D. Koshelev and I. A. Mel'cuk (February-March 1995)7. Appendix 2. An infant's early acquisition of the laws of nature1. An infant's view of the physical world2. Formation of causal relationshipsChapter 3Basic-level concepts as the neurobiological codes for memory1. Concrete concepts and motor concepts 1. Introduction. Two interpretations of basic-level concrete concepts2. Functional schema of basic-level concepts3. The function of an object and a linguistic explanation of this function4. A linguistic explanation of the concept functional schema5. Neurobiological grounds for the basic concept schema6. Motor concepts7. Concrete concepts TropInKA 'FooTpATh', DorozKA 'TrAcK', dOROgA 'ROAd' 8. Concepts OzERO 'LAkE' and REkA 'RIVER'9. The concept dEREVO 'TREE' 10. Appendix. On the dual nature of human categories2. On the psychophysical state and the neurobiology of human actions1. Events and their storage in memory (the neural codes of memory)2. Psychophysical state as a memory code for interaction3. Biomechanical models of walking and running4. On recognition of observed actions5. Mirror neurons and action recognition6. Canonical neurons and object recognitionChapter 4Elements of a sensory grammar1. On the basic and derivative meanings of ... nominal genitive constructions in Russian (rucka dveri handle-Nom door-gen, vetka dereva branch-Nom tree-gen)1. The 'part-whole' relationship and its linguistic representation2. Objects and their functional parts3. The basic meaning of the nominal genitive construction Y X-gen4. The derivative meanings of the nominal genitive5. Objects with a multilevel partitive structure6. The partitive structure of plants7. The partitive structure of animals and humans2. On structural and genetic similarity of lexical and grammatical categories. ...The meaning of transitivity1. The structure of basic meaning2. The structure of polysemy3. The meaning of transitivity3. The basic and derivative meanings of voice.The active, passive, and reflexive meanings1. A cognitive approach to the analysis of voice meanings2. The active voice3. The reflexive voice: myt'sja 'wash-refl', kutat'sja 'muffle-refl up [in something]', brit'sja 'shave-refl'4. The passive voice: masina moetsja 'the car is washing-refl', bel' susitsja 'the linen is drying-refl', dom stroitsja plotnikom 'the house is building-refl by the carpenter'Chapter 5. On the single structure of lexical meanings of nouns and verbs1. Object and the system of its parts (the partitive concept)1. Object and its parts2. The function of an object as the sum of the functions of its parts3. The role-based hierarchy of object parts4. The developed concept5. How is the main part of an object determined?6. The functional and physical parts of an object7. On the radial position of the parts of an object8. A developed concept represented as a circle9. The recursiveness of a partitive concept10. A vocabulary of elementary cognitive units11. On distinguishing physically connected objects2. An object and the system of its properties (the attributive concept).The basic meaning of a concrete noun1. An object and its properties2. Conceptualization of concrete properties3. The partitive-attributive extension of a concrete concept and the basic meaning of a concrete noun3. A motor concept and its two extensions: partitive and attributive. The basic meaning of an action verb1. The motor concept SxVATIT' 'gRASP' (seize an object by the hand)2. The action bezAT' 'RUN'3. The attributive motor concept4. The basic meaning of action verbsReferencesIndex
