Publications
Publication details [#9060]
Radden, Günter, Klaus-Michael Köpcke, Thomas Berg and Peter Siemund. 2007. Aspects of Meaning Construction. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 303 pp. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
Publication type
Book – monograph
Publication language
English
Keywords
'sort-of' expression | chaining of metonymies | coercion | cognitive semantics | conceptual blending | figurative meaning | high-level metonymy | linguistic unit | mental space | metaphor | metaphtonymic meaning | metonymy | metonymy as alternative to coercion | personal pronoun | psycholinguistics | question | relative clause | role of metonymy in discourse | underspecified
ISBN
9027232423 (hb); 9027232423 (pbk)
Abstract
Meaning does not reside in linguistic units but is constructed in the minds of the language users. Meaning construction is an on-line mental activity whereby speech participants create meanings on the basis of underspecified linguistic units. The construction of meaning is guided by cognitive principles. The contributions collected in the volume focus on two types of cognitive principles guiding meaning construction: meaning construction by means of metonymy and metaphor, and meaning construction by means of mental spaces and conceptual blending. The papers in the former group survey experiential evidence of figurative meaning construction and discuss high-level metaphor and metonymy, the role of metonymy in discourse, the chaining of metonymies, metonymy as an alternative to coercion, and metaphtonymic meanings of proper names. The papers in the latter group address the issues of meaning construction prompted by personal pronouns, relative clauses, inferential constructions, 'sort-of' expressions, questions, and the causative construction.
(Publisher Book Description)