LINGUIST List 9.1364

Thu Oct 1 1998

Books: Cognitive Ling

Editor for this issue: Scott Fults <scottlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Christoph Eyrich, Syntax, Semantics, & Cognitive Linguistics

			 Michel Achard

		Representation of Cognitive Structures
	Syntax and Semantics of French Sentential Complements

 1998. 23 x 15,5 cm. XII, 377 pages
		 Cloth DM 158,-/approx. US$ 113.00
			 ISBN 3-11-015760-8
		 Cognitive Linguistics Research 11
 
 Mouton de Gruyter * Berlin * New York

This book investigates French complementation and, more specifically,
the distribution of infinitival and finite complements (indicative and
subjunctive) in the following contexts: causation/perception, modal,
sentential complement, and impersonal constructions. Consistent with
the principles of Cognitive Linguistics, it argues that the surface
form of each construction reflects a specific cognitive organization,
and that formal differences reflect conceptual differences.

More specifically, it is shown that: (i) each complement form carries
meaning, to be expressed in terms of the cognitive organization it
specifically codes, and (ii) the distribution of these forms with the
different main verbs is a function of the semantic compatibility
between two meaningful expressions.

The cognitive grammar position expressed in Langacker (1987, 1991)
states that the use of a particular linguistic form by speakers
reflects their choice to express their conceptualization in a
particular way. The meaning of a linguistic expression is therefore
best described as the partial construal it imposes on the scene it
describes. In this book, the meaning of complement constructions is
analyzed in terms of the specific way in which they structure the
subordinate scene. Competing constructions represent alternative
construals of the scene.

The solution proposed in this book departs from existing analyses in
three major ways.
First, it accounts at the same time for the form and the distribution
of the complements. Secondly, it posits no construction-specific
devices to handle different structures. Thirdly, it provides a global
understanding of complementation by treating a whole array of
constructions in similar ways.
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