Compound verbs in English and Bulgarian and the relativity debate
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Alexandra Bagasheva
Abstract
In this chapter we argue that the constraints regulating the characteristic products of word-formation processes in different languages showcase the Whorfian principle at work. The structure-centered analysis of the differences in the creation and usage of compound verbs in English and Bulgarian reveals the centrality of the effects of the ergative cryptotype among the major differences between the two languages. Specific features of compound verbs in the two languages seem to drive language users towards registering and encoding marked patterns of salience in conceptualizing events for communicative purposes via the “self-imposing causal loop”. This leads to recognizing a causal role for language in the culture-cognition-language interface.
Abstract
In this chapter we argue that the constraints regulating the characteristic products of word-formation processes in different languages showcase the Whorfian principle at work. The structure-centered analysis of the differences in the creation and usage of compound verbs in English and Bulgarian reveals the centrality of the effects of the ergative cryptotype among the major differences between the two languages. Specific features of compound verbs in the two languages seem to drive language users towards registering and encoding marked patterns of salience in conceptualizing events for communicative purposes via the “self-imposing causal loop”. This leads to recognizing a causal role for language in the culture-cognition-language interface.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors and contributors vii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Multilingual contrasts: Interfaces and integrations
- Methodological approaches in the study of linguistic relativity 17
- Frequency of use and basic vocabulary 45
- A contrastive study of colour terms in French and German causal constructions 73
- Compound verbs in English and Bulgarian and the relativity debate 97
- HERE, NEAR, FAR 121
- Cognitive maps of landmark orientation 151
- Is space-time metaphorical mapping universal? 183
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Part II. Bilingual processing: Language representation and language use
- Efficiency of the bilingual mind 205
- About phonological, grammatical, and semantic accents in bilinguals’ language use and their cause 229
- Aging and bilingual processing 263
- L1-based prototypicality effects in L2 vocabulary learning 287
- Finding a wooden jandal in the jandal wood 309
- Name index 333
- Subject index 335
- Language index 337
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors and contributors vii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Multilingual contrasts: Interfaces and integrations
- Methodological approaches in the study of linguistic relativity 17
- Frequency of use and basic vocabulary 45
- A contrastive study of colour terms in French and German causal constructions 73
- Compound verbs in English and Bulgarian and the relativity debate 97
- HERE, NEAR, FAR 121
- Cognitive maps of landmark orientation 151
- Is space-time metaphorical mapping universal? 183
-
Part II. Bilingual processing: Language representation and language use
- Efficiency of the bilingual mind 205
- About phonological, grammatical, and semantic accents in bilinguals’ language use and their cause 229
- Aging and bilingual processing 263
- L1-based prototypicality effects in L2 vocabulary learning 287
- Finding a wooden jandal in the jandal wood 309
- Name index 333
- Subject index 335
- Language index 337
