Tyler Andrea et al. (Editors). Language in the Context of Use: Discourse and Cognitive Approaches to Language

Mouton de Gruyter, 2008. — vi, 365 pages. — (Cognitive Linguistics Research). — ISBN: 978-3-11-019619-1.The papers in this volume adhere to a shared set of assumptions concerning language as it occurs in natural contexts. These shared tenets include the following:when humans use language, they do so primarily for the purpose of communicating with other human beings;
communication always occurs in a context;
language is shaped by its social-cultural nature;
language is inevitably shaped by the nature of human cognition.The contributors to this volume propose approaching language, from grammar to metaphor to interactional dynamics, as part of a broader range of systems which underlie the organization of social life and human thought. The emphasis is on the role of language as it is used in everyday interaction and as it reflects everyday cognition. While sharing these fundamental assumptions about language, the particulars of the areas of inquiry and emphases of those engaged in discourse analysis versus Cognitive Linguistics are diverse enough that many of us have tended to remain unaware of the interrelations among these approaches. Thus, we have also remained unaware of the possibilities of how research from each perspective can challenge, inform, and enrich the other. The papers in this volume make a unique contribution by more consciously searching for connections between the two perspectives. The results are a set of dynamic, thought-provoking analyses that add considerably to our understanding of language and language learning.The papers gathered together here represent a rich range of frameworks within a usage-based approach to language. Cognitive Grammar, Mental Space and Blending Theory, Construction Grammar, ethnomethodology, and interactional sociolinguistics are just some of the frameworks used by the researchers in the following chapters. The particular subjects of the inquiry are also quite varied and include first language learning, second language learning, signed language, syntactic phenomena, interactional regulation and dynamics, discourse markers, metaphor theory, polysemy, language processing and humor. The diversity of frameworks and subjects allows for any number of organizing schemes. I deliberately chose not to classify the papers in the familiar pattern of first language, second language, signed language, theoretical, and narrative and interactional analysis in order to more clearly highlight the interconnections between discourse analysis and Cognitive Linguistics across these categories.