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Article In:
Cognitive Approaches to Mind, Language and Society: Theory and description
Edited by Mario Serrano-Losada and Daniela Pettersson-Traba
[Cognitive Linguistic Studies 11:1] 2024
► pp. 204–234

Embodied semantic parameters for the lexical representation of spatial relational categories

ORCID logo | Universitat Jaume I

This paper proposes an explanatory model for the lexical representation of the native speakers’ lexical knowledge of English prepositions. Lexical knowledge of prepositions as relational predicates includes argument structure (trajector-landmark) as in Cognitive Grammar, situation types (position vs state) as in Functional Grammar, lexical hierarchies (spatial subdomains) based on semantic primitives, as in Natural Semantic Metalanguage, and embodied perceptual parameters configured in four dimensions, namely, geometry, topology, force-dynamics and function (from Cognitive Linguistics). This model is illustrated here by expounding three lexical templates compatible with constructional templates in the Lexical Constructional Model, representing the semantic decomposition of English prepositions at, on and in.

Keywords: embodiment, lexical knowledge, lexical representation, prepositions, semantic decomposition
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.From Euclidean geometry to embodied accounts of prepositional meaning
  • 3.Spatial relations lexical knowledge
    • 3.1Argument structure
    • 3.2Situation structure
    • 3.3Perceptual structure
    • 3.4Lexical inheritance hierarchy
  • 4.Lexical templates
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Abbreviations
  • References
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