DISTINGUIDO (9)

LICENCIATURA EN INGLÉS

COMISIÓN CONCORDIA 1

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DEL LITORAL

LENGUA EXTRANJERA
LANGUAGE AND COGNITION

Prof. Ma. De las Mercedes Luciani, M.Sc.

OJEDA, MARIA GUILLERMINA

PIÑEYRO, ROMINA PAOLA

ZANDALAZINI, MARIA CELINA

15 DE ABRIL 2009

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INDEX

INTRODUCTION p3

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW p3

TEXT ANALYSIS p5

CONCLUSION p 11

REFERENCES P 12

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INTRODUCTION

Language is one our most articulated means of expressing ideas and thoughts. This introduction to
language and linguistics as the science of language will mainly look at language form the
perspective of “expressing ideas and thoughts”. This approach to the study of language is known as
the cognitive perspective. The cognitive perspective also holds that language is part of a cognitive
system which comprises perception, emotions, categorization, abstraction processes, and
reasoning. All these cognitive abilities interact with language and are influenced by language. Thus
the study of language, in a sense, becomes the study of the way we express and exchange ideas
and thoughts. (Dirven and Verspoor (1984: xi)

The aim of this work is to focus on one of the cognitive aspects of language, categorization, paying
close attention to hierarchical taxonomies and word formation processes.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

The notion of concept may be understood as a “person’s idea of what something in the world is
like.” More specifically, concepts can relate to single entities such as the concept I have of my
mother or they can relate to a whole set of entities, such as the concept “vegetable”. This type of
concept has structure, in that it includes certain entities such as carrots, cabbages, lettuce, etc and
excludes others such as apples and pears. Such concepts which slice reality into relevant units are
called categories. Conceptual categories are concepts of a set as a whole. Whenever we perceive
something, we automatically tend to categorize it. (Dirven and Verspoor (1984:14)

When we categorize entities, we have a choice between categories on different levels of generality.
All these categories are connected with each other in a kind of hierarchical relationship and are
ordered according to the principle of class inclusion, i.e. the view that the superordinate class
includes all items in the subordinate level. If these two levels, top and lowest, attract more
attention than the others, it is because they occupy the salient position on the borders of the
hierarchy. However, intermediate levels are just as important, if not more so. Speakers prefer basic
level names in neutral contexts or when they introduce new items into the conversation (Cruse
1977 in Ungerer, J.Schimd (1997:60, 61). These names are also the ones that are first learned by
children, they tend to be the shortest names in hierarchies and they are used more frequently
(Brown 1958, 1965 in Ungerer, J.Schimd (1997:73).

This basic level is where we perceive the most obvious differences between the organisms and
objects of the world. It is the level on which the largest bundles of naturally correlated attributes
are available for categorization. They distinguish these categories from other categories. It is where
the largest amount of information about an item can be obtained with the least cognitive effort,
the principle of cognitive economy. Other relevant factors responsible for the primacy of the basic
level are the common overall shape, which is perceived holistically and is an indicator of Gestalt
perception and the actions or motor movements which we perform when we interact with objects
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and organisms. Basic level categories with prototypes, subtypes that first come to our mind when
we think of a category, are the tools needed to categorize the concrete objects and organisms of
the world around us. (Ungerer, J.Schimd, 1997:69)

In superordinate categories there is no common overall shape and, consequently, no common

underlying gestalt that applies to all category members. When a picture of these categories is
needed, the gestalt properties of the superordinate categories are ´borrowed´ from the basic level
categories involved. It is called parasitic categorization. The non-basic status of superordinate
categories is also reflected linguistically. Many words for this category do not belong to the simple
one-syllable type which is dominant among basic level terms and they do not normally come to
mind first, before the respective basic level terms and they are learned by children only after basic
level words have been acquired. Although category-wide attributes of superordinate categories
may be few, they are regarded as important and salient and support names for superodinate
cognitive categories including function or purpose, material, origin, relatedness and contiguity.
These categories highlight the salient general, and mostly functional attributes. (Ungerer, J.Schimd,
1997:74)

The most frequent type of lexical category apart from basic level categories are subordinate
categories. Their structures are very similar. Some of them have identifiable gestalts, they are
constructed round prototypes, have good and bad members, can muster substantial lists of
attributes and are expressed by simple words. The attributes available for direct categorization of
subordinate categories are specific, they specify the category in question and they are not
normally shared by other categories. These specific attributes are treated as additional elements
enlarging the feature list of the subordinate term. Subordinate categories are not only expressed
by ‘simple’ words, but also by composite forms which include compound forms and also syntactic
groups. (Ungerer, J.Schimd, 1997:88)

The two main word formation processes are compounding and derivation. By means of
compounding two free morphemes are combined to form a compound. A compound usually
expresses a specialization, i.e. a sub-category of a basic level category. According to the word form
of the head in a compound, compounds appear as noun compounds, verb compounds or
adjective compounds. A compound differs from a syntactic group by a different stress pattern and
a different conceptualization: that of a subcategory in a compound vs. a non-specified subset of
the category in question in a syntactic group. Some compounds are no longer transparent or
analyzable as compounds and are therefore called darkened compounds. (Dirven, R and Verspoor,
M 1998:73, 74)

In contrast to a compound, a derivation consists of a free morpheme and a bound morpheme.

Bound morphemes which are used to build derivations are called derivational morphemes.
(Dirven, R and Verspoor, M 1998:73, 74)

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Bound morphemes are added or affixed to words or rather stems and are thus subsumed under
the covered term affix. There are four kinds of affixes: prefixes (appears at the beginning of the
word stem), suffixes (is attached to the stem), infixes (inserted into the middle) and circumfixes
(wrapped around it). Other word-formation processes are conversion (it changes a word in its
word class status and often involves a process of metonymy), backderivation (derives a simpler
word from a complex word), clipping (a reduction from an original compound or derivation, part of
which has been cut off), blend (a compound or derivation only consisting of some elements of the
combined morphemes), acronym (formed from some letters of the lexical morphemes in a
syntactic group or compound). (Dirven, R and Verspoor, M 1998:73,74)

Grammatical morphemes can occur as free morphemes or bound morphemes and occur with the
three main word classes: nouns, verbs and adjectives. Free grammatical morphemes are function
words whereas lexical morphemes are content words. Function words for nouns are determiners
and prepositions. Inflection or inflectional morphemes occur especially with nouns, verbs and
adjectives. Inflectional affixes for nouns are the plural morpheme and the genitive morpheme,
which have the same phonological allomorphs. (Dirven, R and Verspoor, M 1998:73, 74)

TEXT ANALYSIS

This was very (1, 2) uncomfortable, and I was (3) half afraid. However, I (4) knocked at the door,

and was told from (5) within to enter. I (6) entered, and found myself in quite a large room, (7)

well-lit with candles. No (8) daylight was to be seen in it. There was a fine lady’s (9) dressing table,

and in an (10) armchair, with an elbow (11) resting on the table and her head (12) leaning on that

hand, sat the (13) strangest (14) lady I (15) have ever seen, or shall ever see.

(1) Considering uncomfortable, why instead of saying “uncomfortable” does the writer not use
“not comfortable”? Taking into account the general meaning of the affix -un when preceding an
adjective (in this case un + comfortable), we can explain why using this compound formed by a
bound morpheme, the prefix –un + a free morpheme, the word comfortable, is productive. The
affix –un stands for “lack of property, even implying the opposite of the adjective”, so, here, the
text makes reference to a situation which not only was “not comfortable” but also unpleasant and
embarrassing.

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 “ (...) As a general principle of the acceptability of derivations, we can state the following rule: an affix
will only be applied to a particular word form if its abstract, generalised sense is compatible with any of the
senses of the word stem” Dirven and Verspoor (1984: 63)

(2) Within the same word above mentioned, we can appreciate the use of the affix –able (as a
suffix) meaning “something that can be V-ed”, according to Dirven and Verspoor (1984: 63). What
they mean is that the affix –able can be applied to the noun “comfort”, to convey the description of
a quality that this “comfort” has.

So, paraphrasing the idea conveyed by (1) + noun (comfort) + (2), we may say : “this was a situation
which didn’t provide me with any comfort at all” or “the situation had the unpleasant effect of not
making me feel comfort”. And, we must conclude that the combination of (1) + noun + (2) is a
circumfix.

In (3) half afraid we find the combination of a two free morphemes, the adverb half modifying the
adjective afraid and, adding the fact that there is an absence of hyphenation, we conclude that this
is an open compound, that is to say, none of the elements of the compound lose their meaning, on
the contrary, they keep it. Also, it is a temporary compound, that is, one that joins words as
needed, creating a temporary combination. The writer says what HE wants to convey to the reader.

In (4) knocked and (6) entered we find a combination of a grammatical bound inflectional
morpheme (a stem in the form of suffix) attached to the verb knock to convey past tense in the
simple aspect. This is one of the only two types of inflectional verbal tense that exist in English
language,(the other would be –s or – es to denote present tense in the simple aspect) since for
the marking of other tenses, English makes use of function words in the form of auxiliaries.

In (5)within we find not such a common combination of compound pattern since it is the
complement of two prepositions, or two free morphemes, in which the head of the compound is

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“in” which conveys the idea of “inside”, “included”, which wouldn’t be the same if we just said “in”.
So, the formation of this compound has undergone a process of narrowing or specialization.

“In a process of specialization the word’s original meaning is always narrowed down to a smaller set of
special referents” (Dirven and Verspoor, 1984: 34)

In (7) well-lit we find a combination of two free morphemes (adverb: well + past participle: lit)
joined with a hyphen.

“Compound adjectives with well-, ill-, better-, best-, little-, lesser-, etc., are hyphenated when they precede
the noun, unless the compound itself is also modified: little-known fact, best-seller list, well-intentioned acts,
ill-favoured man, but She is well known; very best tasting cake” (Sonia Jaffe Robbins; 2005 in New York
University Web: http://www.nyu.edu/classes/copyXediting/Hyphens.html)

So, what we find here is an adjectival phrase in which “lit” is the head and “well” a premodifier.
That is, the compounding of the two words is not giving birth to a new semantic item but keeps the
meaning of the two elements.

“Many compounds of this type have become permanent and are therefore hyphenated whether they
precede or follow the noun they modify: a well-worn shirt, his shirt was well-worn; the tongue-tied winner,
she remained tongue-tied.” (http://www.bartleby.com/64/84.html)

A solid compound consists of two words that are written as one word, such as keyboard or
typewriter. In general, permanent compounds begin as temporary compounds that become used
so frequently they become established as permanent compounds. Likewise many solid compounds
begin as separate words, evolve into hyphenated compounds, and later become solid compounds.
In these noun + noun structures, the first noun behaves similarly to an adjective, in that it
describes or modifies the second noun and gives an attribute as important as the head of the
compound : in the case of (8)“daylight” day is modifying light, so that it can be paraphrased: the
light of the day.

“Depending on the salience of the categories involved, the cognitive category corresponding to the first
element may be equally important” (Ungerer and Schmid; 1997: 95)

In (9) dressing table we find the combination again of two free morphemes (present participle
“dressing (free morpheme “dress” + grammatical bound morpheme “ing” to convey progressive
aspect)) + another free morpheme “table. This type of composite form is an adjective/noun

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combination. The nominal category table provides a number of attributes for the subordinate
category: ´has legs’, ‘made of wood/other material’, ‘goes with chair’,’ has plain top’, ‘can be used
in different rooms’, while the adjectival element seems to be restricted to the attribute ‘bedroom
furniture’. The attributes borrowed from both dressing and table are ‘consisting of table or set of
drawers and a mirror’ (Macmillan Dictionary for Advanced Learners of English; 2002: 424), ‘where
you keep your clothes’, and a non-derived attribute is ‘where you look at yourself while getting
dressed.’ ( Dirven, R and Verspoor, M 1998:73,74)

HIERARCHICAL TAXONOMY:

LEVELS: Superordinate---FURNITURE

Basic--------------TABLE

Subordinate-----DRESSING TABLE

In (10) armchair from the word formation point of view, we have a combination of two free
morphemes or noun + noun, in which the first element modifies the second, acting as an adjective
(as a “type” of chair). Here two fully developed basic categories are involved: attributes of the
subordinate category chair: ‘has seat’, ‘has back’, ‘has legs’, ‘made of (material)’, ‘is used to sit
on’ .Attributes of arm: ‘one of the two parts of the body with hands at the end’, ‘can hold
something’. In this compound, the attributes are expressed iconically: ‘large and comfortable with
parts to rest arms on’.

“Compounds have a highly strict patterning. The first element in the compound receives the main stress, but
it is generally the second element that determines the compound’s new word class” (Dirven and Verspoor;
1984: 57)

In these types of structures the first element always keeps the singular form even if the second has
a plural meaning.

HIERARCHICAL TAXONOMY:

LEVELS: Superordinate---FURNITURE

Basic--------------CHAIR
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 Subordinate-----ARMCHAIR

In (11)resting and (12) leaning what we find are sets of free morphemes (in this case verbal root
words: rest and lean) combined with a grammatical bound morpheme (in this case the inflection :
-ing to convey progressive aspect), acting as post modifiers of the words elbow and head, so that
they acquire a predicative adjectival function in which the phrase could be paraphrased into the
following words: “The elbow was resting on the table and the head was leaning on that hand...”

“It is, in fact, only nouns and verbs and not adjectives that are rich in inflection” (Dirven and Verspoor; 1984:
72)

In (13) strangest, following the grammar rule that states that short adjective comparatives and
superlatives are formed adding the suffixes –er or –est, we find in the text that strangest contains a
bound morpheme –est for degree of comparison, but if, instead of using strange we had used the
word extraneous for its comparison, we would have needed to use free functional morphemes
“the most (extraneous)”, following the grammar rule that states that long adjective comparative
and superlative form take more or most preceding the adjective.

In (14) lady we find a case of similar coexistence between basic level categories. According to the
definition in the MACMILLAN English Dictionary, the word lady is used for talking about a woman.
Some people think this use is polite but other people think it is old-fashioned and prefer to use
‘woman’. Ordinary language users seem to be perfectly capable of using several competing basic
level categories side by side.

HIERARCHICAL TAXONOMY:

LEVELS: Superordinate---HUMAN BEING

Basic--------------WOMAN/LADY

Subordinate-----LADY … (official title)/FIRST LADY /LADY OF LEISURE/LADY OF THE NIGHT

Finally, in (14), and considering the use of perfective aspect in “have ever seen”, we find the
English use of two morphemes which function as a circumfix surrounding the verb “see”. If this had
been a regular type of verb, that is to say, those which add the inflectional form –ed at the end, we

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could say as a general rule that the two morphemes applied to form the perfective aspect are:
have (function free morpheme in the form of auxiliary verb) + V-ed (free morpheme + affix bound
morpheme). But, as this example shows the use of an irregular verb (see-saw-seen), we may
conclude that only in the case of this verb: see, the morphemes surrounding the perfective aspect
of “see” are: have seen.

“A circumfix is an affix that envelopes a word at both ends.” (Dirven and Verspoor; 1984: 66)

CONCLUSION

Language is not only the use of words, signs, sounds etc to communicate, but also part of a
cognitive system consisting of perception, emotions, categorization, abstraction processes, and
reasoning.

The way in which words are formed and the different taxonomies they can be put in are not two
separate aspects, but something that can be analyzed as a whole. The different aspects of

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categorization on which we have focused show that approaching categories from their basic level
that is from where our hierarchies are placed, and where salient features show up. It is in this
‘generality’ that we find different levels of class inclusion. With this, we can conclude that all
existing words can be categorized one way or another extending from lexical to morphological
aspects, since it is human faculty.

REFERENCES

1- Dirven, R and Verspoor, M (1998). Cognitive Explorations of Language and Linguistics-

Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John Benjamins Publishing Company.

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2- Lakoff, G (1991) Women, Fire and Dangerous Things. What categories reveal about the
mind. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. Part 1:pp 5 to 154.
3- Ungerer, F.& H.- J.Schimd (1997) An Introduction to cognitive Linguistics. London and New
York: Longman.
4- Sonia Jaffe Robbins; 2005 in New York University Web. Compounding-Hyphenation
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/copyXediting/Hyphens.html

5- Word Formation Grammar

http://www.bartleby.com/64/84.html

6- Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (2002)

7- Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press.
8- Dickens, C. (adapted by Latif Doss). (1999). Great Expectations (Penguin Readers – Level
6). London: Pearson Education Ltd. & Penguin Books Ltd.

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