Image schemas and mimetic schemas in cognitive linguistics and gesture studies
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Alan Cienki
Abstract
Image schemas have been a fundamental construct in cognitive linguistics, providing grounds for psychological, philosophical, as well as linguistic research. Given the focus in cognitive linguistics on embodied experience as a fundamental basis for language structure and meaning, the employment of image schemas in the analysis of gesture with speech is a logical extension. However, given their level of abstraction, to what degree do image schemas provide a useful explanatory tool for researching the concrete, physically embodied details of gestures? This article considers the answer to this question and then turns to a more recent theoretical development that complements the picture by encompassing a different realm of cognitive and linguistic phenomena. This research, on ‘mimetic schemas’, is shown to have great potential for thinking about some known phenomena of gesture in a new way. Schema research on these different levels thus provides a useful means to analyze behavior in another modality involved in spoken language use, namely the visual.
Abstract
Image schemas have been a fundamental construct in cognitive linguistics, providing grounds for psychological, philosophical, as well as linguistic research. Given the focus in cognitive linguistics on embodied experience as a fundamental basis for language structure and meaning, the employment of image schemas in the analysis of gesture with speech is a logical extension. However, given their level of abstraction, to what degree do image schemas provide a useful explanatory tool for researching the concrete, physically embodied details of gestures? This article considers the answer to this question and then turns to a more recent theoretical development that complements the picture by encompassing a different realm of cognitive and linguistic phenomena. This research, on ‘mimetic schemas’, is shown to have great potential for thinking about some known phenomena of gesture in a new way. Schema research on these different levels thus provides a useful means to analyze behavior in another modality involved in spoken language use, namely the visual.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- About the contributors vii
- Multimodality and Cognitive Linguistics 1
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Cognitive Linguistics and multimodal metaphor
- Cross-modal resonances in creative multimodal metaphors 13
- Metaphor and symbol 27
- Woven emotions 45
- Approaching the utopia of a global brand 61
- Multimodal metaphors in political entertainment 79
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Multimodality, Cognitive and Systemic Functional Linguistics
- The visual representation of metaphor 99
- Visual metonymy in children’s picture books 115
- The establishment of interpretative expectations in film 131
- Multimodal digital storytelling 147
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Cognitive Linguistics and multimodal interaction
- Intermedial cognitive semiotics 167
- Multimodality in Conversational Humor 181
- Image schemas and mimetic schemas in cognitive linguistics and gesture studies 195
- Index 211
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- About the contributors vii
- Multimodality and Cognitive Linguistics 1
-
Cognitive Linguistics and multimodal metaphor
- Cross-modal resonances in creative multimodal metaphors 13
- Metaphor and symbol 27
- Woven emotions 45
- Approaching the utopia of a global brand 61
- Multimodal metaphors in political entertainment 79
-
Multimodality, Cognitive and Systemic Functional Linguistics
- The visual representation of metaphor 99
- Visual metonymy in children’s picture books 115
- The establishment of interpretative expectations in film 131
- Multimodal digital storytelling 147
-
Cognitive Linguistics and multimodal interaction
- Intermedial cognitive semiotics 167
- Multimodality in Conversational Humor 181
- Image schemas and mimetic schemas in cognitive linguistics and gesture studies 195
- Index 211
