Johan Vanparys

By word of mouth: Metaphor, metonymy and linguistic action in a cognitive perspective

This volume contains seven synchronic and diachronic empirical investigations into the expression and conceptualization of linguistic action in English, focusing on figurative extensions. The following issues are explored: • Source domains, and their relation to the complexities of linguistic action as a target domain. • The role of axiological parameter, the experiential grounding of metaphors expressing value judgements and the part played by image-schemata, how value judgements come about and their socio-cultural embedding. • The graded character of metaphoricity and its correlation with degrees of recoverability/salience. • The interaction of metonymy and metaphor, e.g. the question what factors motivate the conventionalization of metonymies, which includes the perspective that conventionalized metaphors frequently have a metonymic origin. • The role of image-schemata in the organization and development of a lexical subfield, which raises new questions on the nature of metaphor, the identification of source and target domains and the Invariance Hypothesis.

How to Design User-Friendly CALL Interfaces

This paper proposes a set of principles for more intuitive CALL interfaces, making them simpler and more respectful of the learners habits and expectations. These principles are intended to guide the developer during the design process of a CALL interface, which is for this purpose divided into eight stages, each with its own principles. The underlying analysis is based on a user-centred, cognitive approach.

How to offer real help to grammar learners

This article discusses strategies for creating a supportive grammar learning environment, which have been implemented in CALL packages for Dutch. They stem from recent advances in cognitive psychology and cognitive linguistics, as well as our own experience. The basic metaphor behind our conception of the ideal CALL package is that of a toolbox rather than a set of instructions. Users select a tool from a range of available instruments because they think it is the one that suits their purpose best. Different learners may pick out different tools and use them in different ways, even if their goals are the same.