COGNITIVE PARAMETERS OF SEMANTICS AND WORD FORMATION

Abstract

The paper intends to give an up-to-date survey of the field of cognitive semantics and word formation. It does not aim at giving a full and exhaustive account of research, but at giving a short review of its main foundations and perspectives concentrating on significant aspects of recent research. Despite the diversity of approaches, some global tendencies can be recognized in cognitive semantics and word formation research. Cognitive semantics is described as a mentalistic theory of meaning which focusses on the relationship between semantic knowledge and other cognitive systems on the one hand, and the relationship between representational and procedural aspects of semantic competence on the other hand. It is closely related to cognitive word formation. Perspectives of further research are discussed with respect to the general development of cognitive science.