Article published in:

Conceptualizations of Time
Edited by Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk
[Human Cognitive Processing 52] 2016
► pp. 273–294

Reflection of temporal horizon in linguistic performance

Jacek Tadeusz Waliński

A significant body of cognitive research has identified the way in which temporal horizons are developed in the human mind, as well as the influence they exert on individual and social behavior. This study demonstrates a cognitive schema of temporal horizon that emerges from the frequency of expressions denoting temporal distance in spontaneous linguistic performance of Polish speakers. Linguistic material analyzed in this study includes transcriptions of impromptu conversations conducted in informal personal contexts, which were compiled into a demographically annotated linguistic corpus that amounts to 2.4 million words. The results reveal that the temporal horizon functions predominantly within three distinctive brackets corresponding to one day, one year, and up to 50 year periods. Moreover, the findings indicate that it tends to alter dynamically with age.

Keywords: temporal horizon, cognitive schema, language, cognition, time, time perspective

Published online: 14 June 2016
https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.52.12wal

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