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The present study emerges from the need to analyse hyperbole, a highly productive figure of speech, which has received scarce attention in comparison with metaphor and metonymy (Peña & Ruiz de Mendoza, 2017, 2022). Framed within the Lexical Constructional Model, this paper embraces the findings in Ruiz de Mendoza & Galera (2014), Peña & Ruiz de Mendoza (2017, 2022), who are concerned with understanding the cognitive processes involved in the production and interpretation of hyperbole. The aims of the current research are twofold: (i) to advance the existing knowledge on constructional hyperboles, and (ii) to explore the communicative functions of such constructions in the sitcom Friends. To examine hyperbolic functions, we followed Cano Mora’s (2011: 105-127) classification of communicative functions connected with the production of hyperbole.

The objective of this work is to examine the extent to which learners -whose L1 is the Rioplatense variety of Spanish- learning English as an L2 at B1 level of language proficiency (CEFR) are able to use the perfect aspect appropriately to convey its expected prototypical meanings. Specifically, it focuses on analyzing learners’ use of the perfect aspect in English from the perspective of crosslinguistic influence and on determining if the differences found constitute impeding mistakes or imply a distinct perspectivization leading to other linguistic realizations when construing an event. Results demonstrate that conceptual and linguistic transfer from L1 is observed in students’ L2 productions. Despite crosslinguistic influence, a limited number of samples can be considered incorrect: although students do not choose the present perfect, communication is achieved. From these results, additional research lines such as the implications of CLI for teaching, learning and assessment arise.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The article discusses the interplay between language, cognition and culture from a cognitive diachronic perspective, focusing on the relation between religion and metaphorical thought. It investigates the role of the conceptual metaphor UNDERSTANDING IS LIGHT in religious discourse, using the example of The Revelations of Divine Love, written by Julian of Norwich, a late medieval anchoress. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METODS: The paper draws on the Extended Conceptual Metaphor approach, Zoltán Kövecses’s elaboration of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). The universalist bias of CMT means that the theory tends to ignore the sociocultural context of historical data, prioritising the influence of universal human embodiment on metaphorical thought. Using Kövecses’s approach, the paper shows how the gap in CMT methodology may be bridged to yield more reliable results. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The present study connects Kövecses’s approach to Cognitive Linguistic research into sociocultural situatedness. To exemplify the problem, the analysis examines the cognitive‑cultural underpinnings of Julian’s use of the metaphor UNDERSTAND‑ ING IS LIGHT. RESEARCH RESULTS: The analysis shows that the metaphorical conceptualisation pattern may well derive from Julian’s sociocultural situatedness. The paper indicates that the anchoress’s metaphorical thought should be seen as embedded in the late medieval sociocultural context, rather than being considered solely in terms of universal aspects of embodiment. CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE APPLICATIVE VALUE OF RESEARCH: The study concludes that the idea of sociocultural situatedness may be pivotal in the analyses of historical texts. It seems important to incorporate this idea into Kövecses’s approach, which may inform the methodology of cognitive diachronic research into metaphorical conceptualisations. Furthermore, the results may be applied to teaching students how to approach historical texts, helping them gain a better understanding of the relation between metaphorical thought and culture.

Book review: Linares Bernabéu, Esther (ed.) (2023). The pragmatics of humour in interactive contexts. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 238 páginas, ISBN: 9789027213877.

Abstract Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, a multitude of conspiracy theories have started floating around which ascribe the origins of the virus to a range of causes. Against this backdrop, the chapter aims at demonstrating how conspiracy beliefs are linguistically created in news and social media. For this purpose, adopting an approach which combines Grice’s Cooperative Maxims with the principles of Cognitive Linguistics, our study delves into a set of documents available on free online fact-checking organizations as well as Tweets, Facebook posts and speeches released by influential voices and ordinary people. The research demonstrates how unconventional metaphors and metonymies, unexpected syntactic patterns and dispreferred windowing of attention, as well as other linguistic devices, contribute to flouting or violating the Maxims of Quantity, Quality, Relevance and Manner (Grice 1975; 1989) thus constructing false claims and mis-/dis-information.

This study aims to examine the role of metaphor in the process of teaching and learning a second language (L2), more specifically, L2 Spanish. As part of one of the most popular research lines in the field of Ap-plied Linguistics, i.e., L2 teaching and learning, this research is based on a Cognitive Linguistics approach to language. It presents metaphors not as mere stylistic and rhetorical mechanisms, but as critical com-ponents of everyday language and fundamental mechanisms of conceptualization of the world (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). After providing a summary of the literature exploring the relationship between metaphor and L2 pedagogy and learning, focusing on conceptual metaphor theory and metaphorical competence, we will present the results of a case study with intermediate learners. The empirical investigation exam-ines whether their metaphoric competence is enhanced after the intervention and whether there is a rela-tionship between learners’ general metaphorical competence and linguistic competence –comprehension and production– of a complex metaphorical linguistic construction that expresses emotions.

The purpose of this article is to analyse the autobiographical novel Eternal Sunday by Linnéa Myhre in order to present the way in which the language reflects the valuation and categorization of the human body. The novel conveys the perspective of a person who suffers from an eating disorder. The way she is describing the human body is affected by the illness, and subconsciously associated with a particular distorted body image, beauty standards and expectations. The theoretical basis is rooted in cognitive linguistics and linguistic categories as proposed by George Lakoff. Cultural and psychological concepts are also taken into the account.

The purpose of this article is to explore the public discourse of the Iron Guard, the often called “exotic” Romanian fascist movement. I will focus especially on the messianic figure of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the charismatic leader of the movement, and the long lasting fascination he has exerted in the Romanian public space for more than a century now. The approach taken here is based on Gilles Fauconnier’s and Mark Turner’s conceptual integration theory and it is an attempt to show how by blending various mental spaces, from religious elements to medieval historical characters and events, the movement managed to create a unique mix that seemed to set it apart from other European fascist movements. Its members were extremely young and, by all accounts, genuinely religious, even practicing a type of political „mysticism” that was rather uncommon elsewhere.

ABSTRACT Metonymy is a pervasive linguistic/cognitive mechanism in everyday language. Still, studies assessing its comprehension are rare in the literature. Our goal is to present the elaboration of a verbal metonymy comprehension task in Brazilian Portuguese as well as test it using pilot studies. The task was based on the cognitive linguistics framework and psychometric guidelines were considered. The construction of the task considered psycholinguistic variables and included a conventionality task and an expert analysis. Three studies (N = 290, ages ranging 2 to 54 years old) were conducted until we reached a final version. The study resulted in a task composed of one practice item and six test items. Each item includes a sentence-stimulus and two questions (one open-ended and one closed-ended). Together, the items make up a raw score that represents metonymy comprehension. Data obtained from the pilot studies show that metonymy comprehension improves gradually with age and that there is a significant difference between items in both types of questions. This is in consonance with the literature, and thus points towards the instrument’s construct validity. The study results in a task that presents enough sensitivity to gauge comprehension of this phenomenon at different ages.

Abstract Sign-based semantics and embodied semantics are argued to be mutually beneficial to one another. However, while the body does shape our cognitive activities to a great extent, this does not entail that cognition can be reduced to sensorimotor simulation, i.e that the mind can be reduced to the body. Language itself bears testimony to this, as the mind is construed in ordinary discourse as having the incredible capacity of being free to travel beyond the limits of present time and current spatial location. Nagel has argued famously that mind is a fundamental datum of nature that the materialist version of evolutionary biology is unable to account for, as consciousness has an essentially subjective character to it, a ‘what it is like for the conscious organism itself’ aspect, that cannot be reduced to the matter of which the organism is constituted. Two modern scientific developments refute the contention that the human mind can be explained as a purely material machine: quantum theory in physics and Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem in mathematics. Just because the mind works through the body does not entail that the mind can be reduced to the body.

The present study aims at analyzing from a Cognitive Linguistics perspective a set of 23 frequent Spanish constructions, and their English equivalents, with the prototypical tactile verb tocar related to positive and negative emotions. By examining the metaphorical scope of the target tactile perception expressions, we elaborate a conceptual taxonomy based on the underlying metaphorical and metonymic mappings. Our findings corroborate the hypothesis that conceptual extensions of perception verbs are a cross-linguistic phenomenon. It is expected that the proposed classification will serve as a basis for a cognitive-based material that will enhance the process of ELE learning-teaching by rendering the assimilation and retention of these expressions more meaningful.

The article focuses on the problems of formal and semantically complex English borrowings analyzed through the prism of cognitive linguistics and with applying its methodological set of approaches. The authors aimed at making an attempt of systematizing the compositional semantics of the complex language facts and determining their derivative character. This intention is realized through the task to identify the mechanism of transferring the word-building meanings to the recipient language where they gain their new meaning and motivation. It is a general fact that compositional semantics of the derivative word in the donor language is built on the evident language facts (base + formant), they possess their own peculiarities of formal and semantic complex and their own motivated character. They determined the choice of the research methods such as comparative, structural, descriptive and typological approaches applying in our work. In this study we try to determine the import of every borrowed word component into its resulted integrative meaning. Cognitive linguistics is directly related with the process of language processing inside our mind and describes the mechanism of its reflecting and producing into the human speech. This is the reason to apply its tools and develop them in aspect of compositional semantics especially in terms of word formation that we use for proving the facts of transporting the word-building meaning that is contained in a formal and semantic borrowed word complex. Inside the recipient language such a complex opens its word-building abilities including their categories in system of words. The borrowed formal and semantic word complex has to be considered from the different sides and not only on the lexical and thematic level or morphemic and grammatical level but also on the word-building one. The borrowed words of this type should be analyzed on the derivative level too, because it is a derivative complex accepted as a part of speech and formant -ing on some stages of assimilation are considered as word-building element. According to the results of research we proved that any language fact is activated in a process of realization its communicative task and then it uses its formal, semantic and creative tools for expressing “new meaning”. The authors’ idea is that the meaning of derivative words (including borrowed words) is derived in a motivated way from the meanings of their components as well as their form and their semantics. It is resulted by the number of formal and semantic similar borrowings that belong to one word-building range. It is motivated by their word components. The speaker understands this type of word because of its special meaning and pronunciation and reflects it in one’s subjective creative language world. This approach for analysis of borrowed language facts let us formulate the following conclusion: creative reflection of the formal and semantic complex of the borrowed words presented as a complex, not a simplex in a speaker’s mind. This complex contains a formant with determined word-building meaning, in our work it is the transliterated English borrowing with -ing formant into Ukrainian.

The paper presents various approaches to defining the essence of a sign in cognitive science and philosophy of language. It offers presentations of critical review of research publications on sign processes. Based on extensive theoretical work in a cognitive approach to communication process, the hypothesis that each speaker of a language acts exclusively within the framework of their cognitive area is supported in the article. Given the results, meaning as a fact of consciousness is closed in it and during the “translation” of meanings they are not transmitted: signs cannot be considered to be carriers of meanings in the sense that meanings making up a part of their material body are contained in them. The material components of signs stimulate the appearance of identical or similar meanings, actuating analogous conceptual spheres in communicating minds.

Corporate storytelling has been usually investigated from the perspective of both marketing studies (Brown 2006: 734) and corporate communication (Ford et al. 1995; Boje 2001; Clifton et al. 2020), which have emphasized the role played by narratives in corporate identity claims. This work is a pilot study aimed at providing a different methodological perspective applied to corporate narratives. In particular, theories from cognitive linguistics (Rosch 1978; Lakoff, 1987), previously applied to corporate mission statements (Ran et al.1997), will be explored here in corporate narratives. More specifically, cognitive categories including, among others, positive, negative and neutral positioning along with interaction processes (Glaser et al 1968) will be taken into consideration. Positioning, for instance, implies a value structure, as an organization can be positioned at either the positive or negative end of the continuum or at some neutral midpoint. From a general perspective, an identity claim that represents an organization too positively or too negatively may lack credibility to target audiences. Conversely, an identity claim that defines an organization neutrally may construct an identity that audiences consider more reliable. In brief, examples of storytelling employed by centenarian Italian companies (https://www.assocentenari.it/en/index.php) will be explored in order to analyse the ways these companies represent themselves from a cognitive perspective.

The main objective of this paper is to show the intersection between variationist sociolinguistics and cognitive linguistics, which resulted in a new side of linguistics: cognitive sociolinguistics. In this mea-ning, a theoretical exposition was made on the referred areas, their main concepts and contributions, based on the studies by Silva (1997) and Ferrari (2016). In data analysis, oral samples were collected from 18 resi-dents of the City of Tabatinga in Amazonas. The results proved that there is a semantic variation in the use of ‘mesmo’ and, at the same time, in the contexts there is of conceptual perspective operation as Langacker’s prominence (2008).

Formalization of natural language metaphors is a notorious problem in artificial intelligence and in other overlapping domains. It is semantic vagueness that makes metaphors resistant to formulaic or algorithmic descriptions. Great effort has been invested into modeling metaphors computationally but the issue remains methodologically uncertain and needs further research. This paper works on a practical solution to the problem how metaphorical meaning can be represented in a way suitable for computation. The research agenda of this paper is interdisciplinary; it brings together an algebraic heuristic-driven theory for metaphors developed in artificial intelligence and an applied theory of meaning that comes from cognitive linguistics. This agenda postpones theoretical speculation and argument and is solely solution-focused, which contributes to the value of this paper’s attempt to bridge the cognitive science disciplines whose compatibility, though declared, is seldom demonstrated in a piece of practical research. This paper works with metaphors of human emotions that are linguistically manifested in modern English discourse. Emotions by virtue of their ineffability as qualia are rich in metaphorical conceptualizations and serve the research agenda well. This paper in a meaningful way exposes and ranks designated properties of the FEAR, SADNESS, HAPPINESS, and RELAXATION/SERENITY concepts and arranges these properties into general-purpose ontologies that explicitly specify metaphorically preferred emotion conceptualizations and are good candidates for computation. In prospect, this paper will account for some theoretical aspects of the research and probe the algorithmic and repetitive nature of schemas that license metaphorical expressions in natural language.

The Sociocultural Theory of Learning has been applied to the teaching of additional languages for some decades now. Inspired by Vygotsky's writings on Psychology, it boosts the social dimension in the development of the individual's abilities and mental activities, which always materialize in two phases. In the first one, the learner can accomplish a particular task while interacting with another person, and in the second, they are able to perform it independently. The above mentioned theory proposes a pedagogical model in which the interaction among learners does not only provide the means for the practical resolution of a communicative task, but it also plays an actual mediating role in the learning and cognitive processes. In the case of grammar teaching, the model suggests that the learning unit be a concept, and not a linguistic form. Moreover, the teacher's action is supported by an array of artifacts that are perceived visually and hence offer an enhanced help and guide to the learners in their mental learning activity. This article explores the implementation of one of such artifacts in the teaching of clitics in Catalan.

Prototype theory is a semantic theory according to which the membership of conceptual categories is based not on a list of criterial features, but rather on the similarity to the most representative member of the category. Consequently, conceptual categories may lack classical definitions and rigid boundaries. This article supports the claims, already made by other scholars working in the field, that prototype theory may greatly augment our understanding of legal (i.e. statutory, judicial) interpretation. Legal provisions are traditionally written as classical definitions, but they are rarely applied that way. Statutory concepts tend to be interpreted with a great deal of flexibility, using a wide array of extra-textual factors. This is especially true for the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which has to deal with the challenges of the multilingual, supranational law of the European Union.

Apresentamos resultados de um estudo que objetivou, principalmente, refletir sobre o uso de antropônimos criativos no Facebook. Para embasar a discussão, empregamos, como norte teórico, a Linguística Cognitiva, dialogando com autores como Lakoff (1987), por compreendermos que a metonímia alicerça a criação desses antropônimos. Ademais, considerando a natureza interdisciplinar dessa área, trouxemos Bauman (2005), para as discussões, por entendermos que a modernidade líquida, também, interfere no seu uso, assim como dialogamos com Damásio (2011), por acreditarmos que as emoções os geram. No âmbito metodológico, adotamos a abordagem qualitativa e hermenêutica do corpus que, por sua parte, foi constituído por antropônimos coletados da referida rede social. Estabelecemos três categorias de estudo: Metonímias convencionais; Metonímias não convencionais e Antroponímia, emoção, identidade e tempos líquidos. Concluímos, entre outros resultados, que a metonímia é, de fato, o mecanismo que estrutura essa antroponímia e que as mulheres são mais propensas ao seu uso.

This paper provides evidence of the fruitfulness of combining analytical categories from Cognitive Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis for the analysis of complex literary characterizations. It does so through a detailed study of the “tributes”, i.e. the randomly selected children who have to fight to death in a nationally televised show, in The Hunger Games. The study proves the effectiveness of such categories to provide an analytically accurate picture of the dystopian world depicted in the novel, which is revealed to include a paradoxical element of hope. The type of dehumanization that characterizes the dystopian society of Panem is portrayed through an internally consistent set of ontological metaphors which project negative aspects of lower forms of existence onto people. This selection of metaphors promotes a biased perspective on the poor inhabitants of Panem, while legitimizing the social inequalities the wealthy Capitol works hard to immortalize. However, Katniss undergoes a metamorphosis through her discovery of her own identity, which hints at an emerging female empowerment. This transformation, together with her identification with the Mockingjay, a supernatural being that voices her beliefs and emotions, contributes to disrupting the status quo imposed by the almighty Gamemakers and to purveying a message of optimism.

This article discusses hyperbolic markers in modeling hyperbole from the perspective of a scenario-based account of language use within the framework of Cognitive Linguistics. In this view, hyperbole is seen as a mapping across two conceptual domains (Peña y Ruiz de Mendoza, 2017), a source domain, here relabeled as the magnified scenario, which contains a hypothetical unrealistic situation based on exaggeration, and a target domain or observable scenario which depicts the real situation addressed by the hyperbolic expression. Since the hypothetical scenario is a magnified version of the observable scenario, the mapping contains source-target matches in varying degrees of resemblance. Within this theoretical context, the article explores resources available to speakers for the construction of magnified scenarios leading to hyperbolic interpretation. Among such resources, we find hyperbole markers and the setting up of domains of reference. Finally, the article also discusses hyperbole blockers, which cancel out the activity of the other hyperbolic meaning construction mechanisms.

Prototype theory is a semantic theory according to which the membership of conceptual categories is based not on a list of criterial features, but rather on the similarity to the most representative member of the category. Consequently, conceptual categories may lack classical definitions and rigid boundaries. This article supports the claims, already made by other scholars working in the field, that prototype theory may greatly augment our understanding of legal (i.e. statutory, judicial) interpretation. Legal provisions are traditionally written as classical definitions, but they are rarely applied that way. Statutory concepts tend to be interpreted with a great deal of flexibility, using a wide array of extra-textual factors. This is especially true for the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which has to deal with the challenges of the multilingual, supranational law of the European Union.

This paper is based on earlier studies in the area of conceptual metaphor analysis and cognitive linguistics, pointing out the metaphor as one of the most important rhetorical figures in the literary work. The paper will analyze the conceptual metaphor of horror in the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. The metaphors were analyzed on the semantic-cognitive level, according to George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's theory. The paper uses methodological procedures that include corpus analysis and metaphors identification based on the conceptualization of the horror entity in the original text. The importance of the conceptual metaphor is pointed out, as well as the concept and the meaning of the horror entity in the conceptual area. The aim of this research is to point to the importance of metaphoricity and its cultural-specific connotations, as well as universality of language describing horror.

Abstract: In the Cognitive Linguistics paradigm it is well known that conceptual metaphor and metonymy, among their various functions, are two important tools of lexical creation. Nevertheless, the literature on the topic is almost exclusively concerned with the analysis of well-established and formal varieties of language to the detriment of informal speech. This paper attempts to fill this void by describing some current informal speech expressions in Spanish which may be considered the result of these two cognitive operations; additionally, whenever possible, we offer their English counterparts. We thus explore the way in which these analytic tools play a crucial role in the proper understanding of expressions such as “estoy de bajón” (UNHAPPY IS DOWN), “vas ciego esta noche” (KNOWLEDGE IS VISION), “ya vienen los pitufos” (COLOUR OF UNIFORM FOR POLICEMAN), “esa chica está cañón” (BEING ATTRACTIVE IS HAVING PHYSICAL FORCE), etc. The expressions under consideration have been mainly obtained on the basis of Google searches and from Spanish newspapers. Resumen: En el paradigma de la Lingüística Cognitiva es bien sabido que tanto la metáfora como la metonimia son, entre sus varias funciones, importantes mecanismos de creación léxica. Sin embargo, los estudios llevados a cabo sobre el tema se centran esencialmente en el análisis de variedades lingüísticas formales y bien asentadas, relegando a un segundo plano el lenguaje informal. Con el fin de llenar este vacío, el presente artículo analiza algunas expresiones de la lengua española informal que pueden ser consideradas fruto de estas operaciones mentales; además, siempre que sea factible, incluimos los equivalentes en inglés. Para ello, exploraremos cómo estas herramientas analíticas juegan un papel crucial en la correcta comprensión de varias expresiones como “estoy de bajón” (UNHAPPY IS DOWN), “vas ciego esta noche” (KNOWLEDGE IS VISION), “ya vienen los pitufos” (COLOUR OF UNIFORM FOR POLICEMAN), “esa chica está cañón” (BEING ATTRACTIVE IS HAVING PHYSICAL FORCE), etc. Los ejemplos han sido extraídos de diversos periódicos españoles y de búsquedas en Google.

Irony has been approached by different disciplines concerned with language. The more socio-historical approach taken by literary theorists contrasts with the more analytical bias of linguistic accounts. A comparative study of both perspectives reveals the need to enhance mutual cross-disciplinary dialogue with a view to producing a constructive integrated perspective. Following this premise, this paper puts forward an approach that combines insights from inferential pragmatics, cognitive linguistics, and literary theory. It acknowledges the centrality of the relevance-theoretic notion of echo, taken as a cognitive mechanism rather than just as a pragmatic phenomenon. In this view, irony arises from the clash between an echoed and an observed scenario, which reveals the speaker’s attitude. The construction of the former is constrained by socio-cultural, communicative, and personal factors. This view allows for a distinction between different types of ironist (communicator) and interpreter (addressee), a study of their roles in the ironic event, and a classification of echoed scenarios from the standpoint of their grounding in an array of personal and presumed interpersonal beliefs, and in socio-cultural stereotypes. It also allows for a correlation between irony types and echoed scenario types and reveals the gradable character of the pragmatic felicity of the ironic act.

This work seeks to reflect on how the Cognitive Linguistics – about the conceptual metaphor theory and embodiment – assiste the production processes and assessment of a virtual learning material for the course Anatomy for the Movement in the Degree Course of Dance from Escola de Belas Artes, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. This material comprises three learning objects (a digital game and two players of animated videos with the possibility of interaction) and emphasizes contents on human anatomical systems: skeletal, muscular or joint. The methodology of this study is critical-analytical about the development of this objects and its testing. In this context, the theory of conceptual metaphor (LAKOFF; JOHNSON, 2002) contributed to the design and planning processes of the first evaluation of the objects produced, since each is constituted by similar models to human anatomical structures and its evaluation process highlights the represented anatomical content. The concept of embodiment (GIBBS, 2005) influenced the production process, highlighting by which means metaphors would be represented, and especially for guiding the second evaluation of the objects that were applied during one semester in the classroom. This assessment brings inferences about the possible impact of learning objects in that subject. From the results obtained, it is expected to contribute to the process of production of learning objects in society, and in developing appropriate methodologies to the goals purposes.

Most interpretational problems in law pertain to the meaning of words. However, in this paper I address problems caused in Polish courts by grammar (namely: syntax and inflexion) of legal provisions. One can distinguish five main sources of grammatical issues in judicial interpretation of law: syntax of a sentence (i.e. order of words), conjunctive words (i.e. i, lub), punctuation marks (i.e. comma, semicolon, dash), nominal grammatical categories (i.e. number, gender), verbal grammatical categories (i. e. aspect, tense, mood). Traditional Polish canons of interpretation offer no clues on how to deal with such issues, stating only that statutes should be construed in accordance with the rules of grammar. In fact, cases in which such interpretational issues occur, are decided in a highly incoherent manner. The courts tend to feel a tension between grammatical form of a provision and its purpose, function, or other extra-linguistic values. I think the main reason of such controversy is a very limited vision of grammar shared by the courts, stemmed from primary school rather than contemporary linguistic theories.

The present paper addresses the contrast between the definite article (el/la/los/las) and the indefinite article (un/a/os/as) from a cognitive approach that not only poses a single meaning for each kind of article, but also highlights the pragmatic (or contextual) aspects that underlie that meaning and establish the use of one form or another. The article’s meaning is shaped by the way we conceptualize the reference: the definite article implies an inclusive reference characterized by the uniqueness of the referent, while the indefinite article implies an exclusive reference characterized by the lack of uniqueness. The possibility to choose one or other way depends on contextual aspects related to the common knowledge shared by the interlocutors, the communicative context (linguistic and situational) and the space (physical or mental) where the referent is located.

The aim of this paper is to unfold the process of integration in CLIL by describing the role of the cognitive processes involved in the construction of knowledge. While there has been extensive research of various aspects of CLIL, the actual process of integration of content and language has largely been neglected. Therefore, this paper argues that the role of language in building knowledge has to be stressed further and made transparent to CLIL practitioners, particularly in “hard” versions of CLIL. Raising teachers’ awareness of the epistemic function of language and drawing their attention to the human cognitive architecture can help them achieve a higher level of understanding of the process of integration of content and language. Using the example of a task taken from a training course for CLIL teachers, this paper describes how a focus on the cognitive architecture of learners can improve the integration of content and language in CLIL.

Abstract – In a dynamic and ever-evolving society, where people with different cultural backgrounds, social habits and linguistic patterns meet and interact, the intercultural linguistic mediator plays a key role as a ‘facilitator of communication’, providing services across a broad spectrum of socio-cultural differences. In the perspective of intercultural mediation, the approach developed by Cognitive Linguistics (CL) can serve as an important theoretical framework for the training of mediators. CL posits a close relationship between form and meaning, language and cognition, making the semantic-conceptual level the main focus of its interest. Indeed, each language categorizes the world differently, it has its own cultural models, often transmitted by metaphors; in other words, linguistic categories reflect conceptual operations carried out by speakers. It follows that understanding the conceptual mechanisms and mental representations which underlie linguistic expressions is crucial to facilitate the process of interaction between speakers belonging to different linguistic and cultural contexts. Linked to language, gesture and facial expressions are also used to convey meaning and can differ across cultures; thus it is also worth taking these two aspects of non-verbal communication into account. CL also focuses on matters of universality and language specificity. Besides a set of universal concepts or ‘semantic primes’, expressed in all languages and cultures in the world (even with formal variations), there are several culture-specific concepts/words/scripts and grammatical patterns, grounded in the historical and cultural experiences of each linguistic community. The formulation and interpretation of these concepts, related to typical values, norms and practices, can be a source of misunderstanding during interaction; this is why a mediator has to possess solid linguistic and cultural, or better still, intercultural competences of the two universes which come into contact, in order to help dialogue and mutual comprehension and to overcome communication barriers.

Abstract – The current translation market places growing emphasis on technological tools that assist or even replace the translator in quickly producing adequate target texts. As a person involved in cultural processes that affect public discourse and society at large, both as a practising literary translator and as a teacher of translation, I feel that academia should not only pursue market-oriented translation skills, such as procedural knowledge of computer-assisted translation (CAT)-tools and machine translation (MT), but also aim at strengthening would-be translators' processes of interpretation and making them autonomous language experts, aware of both the effects generated by language and their responsibility in using it. To support my position, I will draw on cognitive linguistics and critical discourse analysis (CDA). Adopting a constructivist approach, I will then refer to works by Kiraly (2000), Venuti (2013) and Laviosa (2014), and add some methodological proposals. Students will initially work individually and in groups, focusing on source texts, their translations and comparable texts in order to identify key language items and work toward meaning. By deploying CDA analytical tools, they will discuss the role played by individual items as well as the overall effect of both STs and TTs. New source texts will then be analysed in preparation for translation. The actual translation, effect analysis and final editing, carried out as team work, will complete a cycle aimed at 1) helping students to build knowledge through experience; 2) sensitising them to the complexity of the translation process and the paramount value of meaning-making within every single context.Riassunto – Il settore della traduzione attribuisce crescente importanza a strumenti tecnologici che aiutano o sostituiscono il traduttore nella rapida produzione di testi adeguati. In qualità di traduttrice letteraria e docente, coinvolta quindi in processi culturali che possono, in vario grado, avere effetti sul dibattito pubblico e sulla società in senso lato, ritengo che l'università non debba solo insegnare le abilità traduttive richieste dal mercato, quali la padronanza di strumenti per la traduzione assistita o automatica, ma anche rafforzare i processi interpretativi e formare esperti linguistici autonomi, consapevoli degli effetti della lingua e della propria responsabilità nell'usarla. A sostegno di tale affermazione si porteranno contributi teorici di linguistica cognitiva e analisi critica del discorso (ACD). Con riferimento a Kiraly (2000), Venuti (2013) e Laviosa (2014), vengono poi delineate alcune proposte metodologiche. Gli studenti lavoreranno individualmente e in gruppo, concentrandosi su testi fonte, sulle relative traduzioni e su testi analoghi per contenuto e forma al fine di individuare gli elementi linguistici chiave e riflettere sulla costruzione del significato. Servendosi di strumenti ACD, discuteranno la funzione di ciascun elemento e l'effetto complessivo di ogni testo. Analizzeranno quindi nuovi testi in vista della traduzione, da svolgere in team, così come l'analisi dell'effetto del testo di arrivo e la revisione finale. Si chiuderà così un percorso volto a 1) guidare gli studenti a costruire le proprie conoscenze a partire dall'esperienza, e 2) sensibilizzarli alla complessità del processo traduttivo e alla centralità dell'interpretazione.

The book reviewed here may serve as an excellent resource for advanced undergraduate students of linguistics, as well as graduates and scholars in the field and related disciplines. It comprises five chapters that explore, through three Spanish bilingual communities, the following topics: basic concepts in bilingualism, such as code-switching and language transfer; a brief historical review of Spanish bilingualism; proposed definitions of bilingualism and the different ways in which bilinguals may be classified according to factors such as language competence and age of acquisition; the effect of bilingualism on the brains and minds of bilingual speakers, such as increased cortical activation and enhanced literacy; and, finally, the development and outcomes of bilingualism on the linguistic representations of bilingual speakers. The authors cover a breadth of research, rendering it accessible by succinctly reviewing findings, and further identify areas for future research.

In this article we describe the formal reflexive Spanish construction pasarse + dative case in the frame of Cognitive Linguistics. This study characterizes the descriptive tools derived from this approach, such as image schemes and conceptual metaphor, with an emphasis in the analysis of force dynamics. In this description we posit an image scheme as spatial meaning, the components of which are systematically projected to other domains in order to create metaphorical meanings that share the same syntactic pattern. This article shows that this construction has a stable meaning that contributes the significant nuance of lack of control to the different meanings, which is explained by means of a particular force dynamics.

This paper aims to analyze a set of 47 phraseologisms related to the senses, presenting a taxonomy of these phraseologial units that proves to be effective in the process of teaching/learning Spanish in a particular context (namely, in the context of teaching Francophone students). To achieve such purpose, on the one hand, we produce a contrastive analysis of Spanish/French selected units, and based on this analysis we elaborate a classification supported by four criteria: syntactic structure, discourse level, idiomaticity and possible equivalence. Furthermore, based on proposals drawn from cognitive linguistics, we provide a conceptual taxonomy of these units based on metaphors and concepts shared by Spanish and French.

The aim of this article is to analyze how motion can be organized and represented in Paulista Portuguese (Portuguese spoken in São Paulo), in data taken from several genres of text from the 18th to the 20th centuries. I take into account the patterns proposed by Talmy (2000b), and the representation of path points in motion events. The analysis is qualitative and quantitative, taking into account the discursive properties of the texts in the corpora, based on the Discourse Traditions model.

O obxectivo deste traballo é describir os campos icónicos máis produtivos e rastrexar a ligazón cultural que ten a fraseoloxía do alemán e do galego no campo semántico da morte e buscar converxencias e diverxencias. A partir dunha clasificación flexible de bloques referenciais e dominios fonte, sinalamos diferentes tipos de motivación semántica, nomeadamente, modelos metafóricos, metonímicos e simbólicos. // The aim of this paper is to describe productive iconic fields and trace cultural-boundness in Galician and German phraseology within the semantic field DEATH, detecting convergences and divergences. From a flexible classification into referential complexes and source domains, different types of semantic motivation arise, specially, metaphorical, metonymycal and symbolic.

The present study focuses on the frequency of phrasal verbs with the particle up in the context of crime and police investigative work. This research emerges from the need to enlarge McCarthy and O’Dell’s (2004) scope from purely criminal behavior to police investigative actions. To do so, we relied on a corpus of 504,124 running words made up of spoken dialogues extracted from the script of the American TV series Castle shown on ABC since 2009. Based on Rudzka-Ostyn’s (2003) cognitive motivations for the particle up, we have identified five different meaning extensions for our phrasal verbs. Drawing from these findings, we have designed pedagogical activities for those L2 learners that study English at the Police Academy.

The present study aims to investigate how foreign language learners at the German for Academic Purposes (GAP) program at a Brazilian federal university interact in their mother tongue about their motivations to learn a foreign language as well as their motivations to participate in study abroad programs. Data were collected using focus group methodology with three focus groups of six students each (A1, A2 and B1 levels). We chose to analyze the A1 group. We conducted metaphor-led discourse analysis of the data in order to examine metaphors and metonymies, which emerged in the focus group interactions. We were able to identify the presence of systematic metaphors such as learning is hard work and learning is jumping hurdles, intertwined with conceptual metaphors such as education is a journey and difficulties are weights, which point at the motivation for learning verbalized by Brazilian foreign language learners who took part in the study

O obxecto deste traballo é a análise e o estudo contrastivo alemán-español das imaxes conceptuais do campo cognitivo FALAR. O artigo pretende centrarse especialmente naqueles fraseoloxismos que están relacionados co principio colaborador de Grice (1975:45) e o seu cumprimento ou non dentro da comunicación. A fonte principal do material idiomático é o corpus cognitivo do proxecto de investigación do grupo FRASESPAL, que está clasificado en subcampos e, para elaboralo, seguiuse unha metodoloxía indutiva e unha análise no marco da teoría comunicativa dos actos de fala e da lingüística cognitiva. Convén destacar que son especialmente numerosos os fraseoloxismos que mostran que o principio colaborador foi transgredido, o que confirma a tendencia na fraseoloxía a destacar e dar maior expresividade ó negativo. Isto é observable en ámbalas dúas linguas. Tamén encontramos outras similitudes como imaxes conceptuais idénticas ou moi parecidas. Neste punto, non obstante, hai que considerar con máis vagar os fraseoloxismos de ámbalas dúas linguas, xa que existen varios falsos amigos. A presenza de imaxes conceptuais similares pode levar a pensar que ámbalas dúas unidades posúen un mesmo significado, cando non sempre é así. Por esta razón, o coñecemento destes falsos amigos será de grande importancia tanto para a tradución coma para o ensino de linguas estranxeiras. // The purpose of this paper is the analysis and contrastive study of the conceptual images in German and Spanish of the cognitive field TO TALK. The article aims to focus especially on those idioms that are related to Grice’s cooperative principle (1975:45). Some of these idioms show compliance to this principle whereas others do not. The main source of the linguistic material is the FRASESPAL corpus. This cognitive corpus is classified into different subfields. We followed the inductive methodology and analysis in the context of the communicative theory of speech acts and cognitive linguistics. It should be noted that there are many idioms showing the transgressions of the collaborative principle. This is observable in both languages and confirms the trend in phraseology to emphasize the negative. Although there are more similarities such as the same conceptual images, we have to be careful and watch for false friends. The fact that two or more idioms have/share a similar picture can lead us to assume that than the meaning is the same, but this is not always like that. Therefore it is important to know these false friends well, because this knowledge will be useful for the translation and the teaching of foreign languages.

Since the nineteen-eighties onwards, Historical Linguistics has been given fresh attention by Brazilian linguists. This text aims to point out new trends in current diachronic research. To this end, the text is divided into three sections: key theoretical developments in Historical Linguistics, complex systems and Historical Linguistics, the representation of the cognitive category MOTION in the history of the Portuguese language. In the conclusion, a Principle of projection has been proposed in order to put together different manifestations of MOTION.

This article gives special attention to how the understanding of some conceptual metaphors which are found in languages typologically different can contribute to the process of teaching and learning vocabulary. Our central issue is that man's philogenetical and ontogenetical history play an important role in the generation of the concepts. If it is possible to explain cross-linguistic commonalities between typologically unrelated languages based on conceptual metaphors, then learners are stimulated to gain knowledge about how language systems are organised. The main benefit of such focused instruction is that it can raise learner's awareness of the explicit knowledge that is being consciously constructed and eventually transferred to different languages encouraging him to reach a higher level of performance.Este artigo tece algumas considerações sobre como a compreensão de algumas metáforas conceptuais encontradas em línguas de origem tão distante pode contribuir para o processo de ensino/aprendizagem do vocabulário. O ponto central de nossa argumentação sustenta-se na crença em favor do compartilhamento de aspectos filogenéticos e ontogenéticos do homem. Se é possível identificar conceitos metafóricos semelhantes em línguas de origens tão diversas, a tarefa de direcionar a atenção dos aprendizes para a forma como os sistemas linguísticos se organizam pode tornar-se mais racional. O benefício mais importante em uma instrução focalizada é o de tornar o aprendiz consciente a respeito do conhecimento que está sendo construído explicitamente e encorajá-lo a transferir esse conhecimento para outras línguas na busca de atingir um nível de performance mais elevado.

This study concerns the use of corpus linguistics methodology in psycholinguistics research. Ten linguistic metaphors were selected from English and American newspapers. After that, we identified the underlying conceptual metaphor based on the conceptual metaphor inventory by Lakoff and Johnson (1980, 1999). We seek to investigate what sort of knowledge EFL-learners use when trying to understand a linguistic metaphor. We examined how EFL-learners comprehend linguistic metaphors, firstly without using the context and then using the context. The sample comprised 221 Brazilian students and 16 American students at UCSC. We have also carried out an empirical research using WebCorp.Este estudo investiga o uso de metodologia de lingüística de corpus na pesquisa psicolingüística. Selecionaram-se dez metáforas em jornais ingleses e norte-americanos. Depois, identificou-se a metáfora conceptual subjacente com base no inventário de metáforas conceptuais apresentado por Lakoff e Johnson (1980, 1999). Buscou-se investigar que tipo de conhecimento os aprendizes de LE empregam ao tentar compreender metáforas. Analisou-se a maneira como os aprendizes de LE compreendem metáforas lingüísticas sem usar o contexto e, depois, utilizando o contexto. A amostra incluiu 221 estudantes brasileiros e 16 estudantes norte-americanos da UCSC.

O artigo pretende demostrar, por medio dun exame contrastivo de cinco linguas, a complexidade dos perfís linguísticos, sobre todo fraseolóxicos, do formante man fixados no francés e comparados co húngaro, co español, co galego e co alemán. Estes perfís resumen e reflicten as diferentes concepcións, representacións ou dominios cognitivos que temos nas cinco linguas con respecto a esta parte fundamental do corpo. // By means of a contrastive research, this paper intends to prove the complexity of linguistic profiles, specially phraseological profiles, containing the word hand in French compared with Hungarian, Spanish, Galician and German. These profiles sum up and reflect the different conceptions, representations or cognitive domains related to this important body part existing in those five languages.

The aim of this paper is to reflect on the character of embodiment in the framework of Cognitive Linguistics based on Lakoff, collaborators and interlocutors. Initially I characterize the embodied mind, via cognitive experientialism. In these terms, the theory shapes how human beings build and process knowledge structures which regulate their individual and collective lives. Next, the Neural Theory of Language in which embodiment is rebuilt from a five level paradigm, where structured connectionism carries on the very burden of computational description and explanation is discussed. From these assumption, classical problems about computational implementations for models of natural language functioning as reductionist-physicalist approaches, I then conclude by assuming that embodiment, as an investigation phenomenon, shouldn't be formulated in terms of levels, being treated as interfaces instead, at such manner that: (a) the epistemological commitments should be synchronically sustained in all interfaces of the investigation paradigm; (b) the conventional computational level should be taken as one of the problems which has to be treated in the structured connectionism plan; (c) the strategic reduction levels paradigm and the results obtained from it might imply a kind of modularization of the program of research itself; e (d) the modules would be interdependent only as a result of the reductionist proposal. As a result, I assume that it is possible to do Cognitive Linguistics without adhering to structured connectionism, or to neurocomputacional simulation, as long as one would operate with interfaces constructions between domains of investigation and not with a reductionist features paradigm treated in terms of "levels".Este artigo é uma reflexão sobre o caráter da corporeidade no quadro da Lingüística Cognitiva associada a Lakoff, colaboradores e interlocutores. Inicia-se com a caracterização de mente corpórea, via experiencialismo cognitivo. A teoria, nesses termos, modela como os seres humanos constroem e processam estruturas de conhecimento que regulam sua vida individual e coletiva. Em seguida, discute-se a Teoria Neural da Linguagem, em que a corporeidade é reconstruída a partir de um paradigma de cinco níveis, em que o conexionismo estruturado carrega o peso da descrição e explanação computacional. Em vista disso, retomam-se problemas clássicos sobre implementações computacionais para modelos de funcionamento da linguagem humana, em abordagens reducionistas-fisicalistas. Como conclusão, defende-se que a corporificação, como fenômeno de investigação, que se problematize sua formulação em termos de níveis, tratando-a, em vez disso, como interfaces, de modo que: (a) os compromissos epistemológicos deveriam ser sincronicamente mantidos nas interfaces; (b) em função de (a), o nível das computações deveria ser tomado como um dos problemas a serem tratados no plano do conexionismo estruturado; (c) a estratégia de um paradigma em níveis de redução e os resultados obtidos a partir dela implicam uma espécie de modularização do programa de pesquisa; e (d) esses módulos seriam interdependentes apenas em vista dos níveis criados para atender a determinados objetivos. Como resultado, assume-se que é possível fazer-se Lingüística Cognitiva sem aderir ao conexionismo estruturado ou à simulação neurocomputacional, desde que se operaria com construções de interfaces entre domínios de investigação, e não com um paradigma em níveis, com traços reducionistas.

The aim of this paper is to present concisely a new approach to the plant metaphor analysis relying on the basic postulates of Cognitive Linguistics. We use comparative method and present metaphorical projections of a limited number of plant names. Additionally, we try to construct core models of the basic conceptual metaphors for plant names. In the last three decades within the theoretical framework of Cognitive Linguistics a highly important ‘’innovation’’ has occurred in comparison with traditional linguistics. Namely, metaphor is primarily viewed not as a figure of speech, but as a cognitive process by means of which we conceptualize and categorize the world around us. Although research on metaphor has been very intensive in Cognitive Linguistics, few papers analyzing mataphors and plant names have been published.