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Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
Published on: April 19, 2017
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Embodiment and language
1Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Cognitive Science
|May 15, 2023
Summary
Cognitive linguistics reveals that language and meaning are deeply rooted in bodily experiences. This embodied cognition approach reunites mind and body, impacting how we understand thought and communication.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Linguistics
- Psychology
- Philosophy of Science
Background:
- Linguistic constructions and meaning are thoroughly embodied.
- Bodily meaning underpins human thought and communication.
- Existing research highlights layers of embodied meaning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To survey and summarize work on embodied cognition in cognitive linguistics.
- To clarify key concepts like schemas, iconicity, mapping, metaphor, and embodied grammar.
- To explore the implications of embodied linguistics for philosophy and science.
Main Methods:
- Historical survey of embodied cognition research.
- Summary of key works and concepts in linguistic embodiment.
- Philosophical analysis of cognitive linguistics findings.
Main Results:
- Linguistic meaning is grounded in embodied experience, from abstract thought to communication.
- Body and mind can be reunited, with thought relying on movement and memory.
- Language's form-content relationships stem from real-world experiences.
Conclusions:
- Embodied linguistics challenges traditional mind-body dualism.
- Cognitive linguistics offers a unified view of imaginative and rational thought.
- Understanding meaning as the core of linguistics can revolutionize scientific inquiry.
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