Francisco José Ruiz de Mendoza Ibáñez

Levels of description and constraining factors in meaning construction : an introduction to the Lexical Constructional Model

This paper presents an outline of the Lexical Constructional Model, a meaning construction model that integrates insights from functional models of language (especially, Role and Reference Grammar) and Cognitive Linguistics (especially, Goldbergs Construction Grammar and Lakoffs Cognitive Semantics). The initial claim is that a theory of semantic interpretation should be constructed on the basis of two representational mechanisms, lexical and constructional templates, and two basic cognitive operations, subsumption and conceptual cueing, that specify in what ways meaning representations from different levels may interact. It is further shown that both lexical-constructional subsumption and purely constructional subsumption –at any stage of the meaning construction process– is regulated by an inventory of both internal and external constraints. Internal constraints involve the semantic units encoded in a lexical or a constructional template, while external constraints result from the possibility or impossibility of performing high-level metaphoric and/or metonymic operations on the items involved in the subsumption or cueing processes.

The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor: Myths, Developments and Challenges

This article discusses some of the claims of the earlier and later versions of the Contemporary Theory of Metaphor (CTM) and addresses some of the criticism that has been leveled against it. It is argued that much of this criticism arises from common misconceptions as to the real claims made by the theory. However, CTM is still in need of further exploration and empirical support. In this connection, we identify some areas where research is still needed and supply our own developments. We argue for a more complex classification of metaphor types, which takes into account various complementary taxonomic perspectives, including the nature of source and target and the genericity and complexity of the metaphoric operation. We also explore metaphor in relation to cognitive prominence and conceptual interaction issues. Finally, we deal with the problem of constraints on metaphor and make a proposal for three complementary kinds of constraint.This article discusses some of the claims of the earlier and later versions of the Contemporary Theory of Metaphor (CTM) and addresses some of the criticism that has been leveled against it. It is argued that much of this criticism arises from common misconceptions as to the real claims made by the theory. However, CTM is still in need of further exploration and empirical support. In this connection, we identify some areas where research is still needed and supply our own developments. We argue for a more complex classification of metaphor types, which takes into account various complementary taxonomic perspectives, including the nature of source and target and the genericity and complexity of the metaphoric operation. We also explore metaphor in relation to cognitive prominence and conceptual interaction issues. Finally, we deal with the problem of constraints on metaphor and make a proposal for three complementary kinds of constraint.

On the nature of blending as a cognitive phenomenon

This paper argues for the integration of Turner and Fauconniers concept of blending within the general architecture of cognition provided by production models. It also revises the notion of blending as proposed by Turner and Fauconnier and observes that blending obeys general constraints of cognitive economy and of consistency; more specifically, it is argued that blending responds to Lakoffs Invariance Principle, of which a slightly modified version is provided here and defined as the Extended Invariance principle. The Extended Invariance principle accounts for the possibility of preservation of all generic-level structure (not only image-schematic structure) in metaphoric mappings, and allows for the possibility of more than one input space in the mapping process. Finally, blended spaces are seen as one possible outcome of the activity of working memory, while the apparent conceptual irregularities and asymmetries which Turner and Fauconnier observe in their emergence are alternatively explained as contextual implications motivated by and derived from the convergence of information from different Idealized Cognitive Models (or ICMs) in the action part of productions.

Cognitive Modeling: A linguistic perspective

This monograph studies cognitive operations on cognitive models across levels and domains of meaning construction. It explores in what way the same set of cognitive operations, either in isolation or in combination, account for meaning representation whether obtained on the basis of inferential activity or through constructional composition. As a consequence, it makes explicit links between constructional and figurative meaning. The pervasiveness of cognitive operations is explored across the levels of meaning construction (argument, implicational, illocutionary, and discourse structure) distinguished by the Lexical Constructional Model. This model is a usage-based approach to language that reconciles insights from functional and cognitive linguistics and offers a unified account of the principles and constraints that regulate both inferential activity and the constructional composition of meaning. This book is of value to scholars with an interest in linguistic evidence of cognitive activity in meaning construction. The contents relate to the fields of Cognitive Grammar, Cognitive Semantics, Construction Grammar, Functional Linguistics, and Inferential Pragmatics.

Time and Cognition in Marvell’s “To his Coy Mistress”

Andrew Marvell’s poem “To his coy mistress” has generally been taken as one more example of the carpe diemtradition in literature. This tradition makes use of time metaphors, especially time is a resource. However, we find that Marvell exploits this and other time metaphors in ways that go beyond the traditional understanding of the carpe diemmotif. We first give an overview of the treatment of the notion of time within Conceptual Metaphor Theory, which is then applied to the understanding of central thematic and structural aspects of the poem. We stress the importance of the metaphors time is a resource, time moves, events are actionsand a cluster of metaphors revolving around the carpe diemmotif. Finally, the paper discusses how Marvell imaginatively organizes what otherwise would be considered mere stock metaphors into an intricate logical network specifically tailored to sustain an argumentative line.

A Hybrid Theory of Metaphor: Relevance Theory and Cognitive Linguistics by Markus Tendahl

The “feeling” that Relevance Theory (RT) and Cognitive Linguistics (CL), especially Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), despite sharp differences, have enough points in common to make them largely complementary of each other is not new. It arises from psycholinguistic work by Raymond Gibbs and his collaborators, who have provided empirical evidence for some of the claims made within both frameworks (cf. the overview of previous studies in Tendahl & Gibbs, 2008), and also from work by linguists who have incorporated RT insights into CL (e.g., Ruiz de Mendoza & Pérez, 2003, on metaphor and metonymy; Ruiz de Mendoza & Baicchi, 2007, on speech act meaning). Tendahl’s book is one more step in the same direction but with an important difference: to my knowledge, it is the first broad-scale attempt to produce an integrated theory that combines elements from both RT and CMT productively. The book is structured into six chapters. The first chapter is a brief overview of the book. In the second chapter Tendahl provides readers with a detailed review of the RT position on metaphor. This chapter situates RT within the field of inferential pragmatics as a cognitively-oriented approach. It also defines some crucial relevance-theoretic explanatory tools such as the notion of mutual manifestness, the relationship between ostension and inference, the implicit/explicit distinction and the role of the effort/effect balance in communication. It finally addresses the RT-internal debate around accounting for metaphor as a matter of implicature versus explicature derivation and the most recent proposals by Robyn Carston on metaphorical thought as involving ad hoc concept formation (cf. Carston, 2002). Chapter 3 introduces the cognitive-linguistic approach to metaphor, with special emphasis on the Invariance Principle (Lakoff, 1993) as a constraining factor in metaphor production and on blending theory (Fauconnier & Turner, 1998), which Tendahl regards as complementary of CMT. This emphasis is well calculated. First, the author is convinced that, if applied in isolation, the principles of “relevance” and of invariance are too unconstrained and need to be complemented with each other. Second, the author’s own proposal for a “hybrid” theory of metaphor makes blending theory’s network structure –rather than RT’s logical forms– a central part of the “online dynamics of metaphor interpretation” (section 5.5). Chapter 4 sets RT and CL in contrast. The author notes that divergences are most of the times a matter of perspective or emphasis. For example, CL has focused much of its attention on the