From Body to Meaning in Culture
Papers on cognitive semantic studies of Chinese
| University of Oklahoma
From the perspective of Cognitive Semantics and Conceptual Metaphor Theory, this collection of papers looks at the relationship between language, body, culture, and cognition. In particular, it looks into the embodied nature of human language and cognition as arising from and situated in the cultural environment. The papers in this collection all attempt to demonstrate, from different angles, the language-body connections that may reflect, to some extent, the mind-body connections as manifested in the interaction between the body and the physical and cultural world. They study language in a systematic way as a window into the human mind. As a collection of papers that focuses on the study of Chinese with a comparative viewpoint on English, it sheds light on the bodily basis of human meaning and understanding in particular cultural contexts.
[Not in series, 149] 2009. xvi, 310 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
Preface
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xi–xvi
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Section 1. Bodily experience in feeling and thinking
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3–37
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39–63
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65–81
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83–108
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Section 2. External body parts in conceptualization
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111–133
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135–152
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153–186
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187–212
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213–240
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Section 3. Internal body organs in conceptualization
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243–262
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263–283
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285–306
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Index
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307–310
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“[...] Yu has provided an excellent compilation of perspectives on the relationship between langauge, body, culture and cognition. Those who are interested in cognitive linguistics will find this book to be an invaluable resource as we consider the complex issues concerning embodiment as the very essence of human existence.”
Jingyu Zhang, Shaanxi Normal University, China, in Metaphor & Symbol, Vol. 25:1
“This is a book of remarkable scholarly accomplishment: over the twelve years that the selected papers span, Yu has managed to characterize the basic concepts that structure Chinese language and culture. [...] the volume is a very enjoyable read. To quote one of the analyzed Chinese idioms, trough Ning Yu's "unique eye" (i.e. 'exceptional insight') we definitely gain a clearer picture and a better understanding of the interrelatedness of body, meaning and culture.”
Réka Benczes, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, in Review of Cognitive Linguistics, Vol. 8:1 (2010)
“[...] Ning Yu's From Body to Meaning in Culture comprehensively addresses the many links between language, culture, and the body in Chinese. With a writing style that is both insightful and accessible, Ning Yu quite successfully takes on the vast goal of mapping the culturally grounded connections between language and experience in Chinese expressions of emotion, cognition, and moral orientation, among other things. [...] the book is not only relevant for scholars in applied linguistics, Ning Yu's own field, but also contributes to scholarship in applied linguistics, discourse linguistics, and linguistic anthropology, especially in the sense that it provides an initial map for approaching the complexities of discourse in use. [...] It stands strong next to some of the best works in metaphor studies, adding a great deal to the debate about the relationship between language and culture.”
Sonya Pritzker, University of California, in Chinese Language and Discourse, Vol. 1:2 (2010)
“This is a wonderful collection of essays by one of the eminent and best known Chinese cognitive linguists. Over more than a decade Ning Yu has done a great service to cognitive linguistics by applying some of the key concepts of this paradigm of research to Chinese language and culture. His work on metaphor, metonymy, cultural models, and, most importantly, the notion of embodiment has given us new insight into the complexities of how language, body, mind, and culture interact. His studies on Chinese body parts have significantly contributed to our understanding of both the universal and non-universal aspects of the human mind.”
Zoltán Kövecses,
Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
“The book, as a strong thematic collection of papers on Chinese cultural and cognitive linguistics, presents an excellent application of Conceptual Metaphor Theory. But it goes much beyond that by further connecting the study of linguistics with the role of culture in language, highlighting the usefulness of studying cultural conceptualizations through cultural metaphors and cultural models. It in addition makes a compelling case of how language use is embedded in real context and that a full understanding of linguistic semantics can never do without considering its cultural substrates. The book furthermore shows the value of cultural-cognitive linguistics in second language pedagogy by using a full span of Chinese idioms as illustrations that involve various cultural keywords. I believe a book like this is a useful companion on the shelf for anyone who is interested in culture in
language and language in culture.
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language and language in culture.
”
Wei-lun Lu, Faculty of Arts & Masaryk University, in International Journal of Language and Culture, Vol. 5:1 (2018)
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This list is based on CrossRef data as of 27 december 2020. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.
Subjects
Linguistics
BIC Subject: CFG – Semantics, Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis
BISAC Subject: LAN009000 – LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General