International Journal of Language and Linguistics

| Peer-Reviewed |

Boundary Assignment: A Cognitive Motivation for Lexicalization

Received: 26 June 2018    Accepted: 09 July 2018    Published: 04 August 2018
Views:       Downloads:

Share This Article

Abstract

Lexicalization is a process of structural innovation in language change, which is motivated by a human cognitive ability of structural boundary assignment in the construction of linguistic structures. In this process, the first innovative form may be a result of a language user’s intentional violation of a structural organization rule for a certain communicative purpose. The receiver, trying to correctly understand what the producer means, will have to make cognitive efforts to establish a structural gestalt by way of assigning structural boundaries. If the receiver’s boundary assignment comes to an agreement with the producer’s and accords with Gestalt Laws in human cognition, the innovative form will be accepted and spread in the language community and then finally entrench itself as new grammatical convention. That is the general process of lexicalization. The boundary assigning tendency manifested in the process of linguistic structure construal is a cognitive ability dominated by Gestalt Laws in human cognition of the world and world relations, which is actually a driving force for linguistic structural organization, and therefore an important motivation for lexicalization.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.20180604.12
Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 6, Issue 4, July 2018)
Page(s) 110-117
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Lexicalization, Gestalt Establishment, Boundary Assignment, Cognitive Motivation

References
[1] Dong, X. F. The syntactic evolution of the Chinese language and lexicalization [J]. Chinese Language. 2009(5):399-409.
[2] Brinton, L. & E. Traugott. Lexicalization and Language Change [M]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2005.
[3] Liu, L. The process of lexicalization of ran’er and its motivation [J]. Journal of Beijing Normal University (Social Science Edition). 2008(5):49—55.
[4] Dong, X. F. Lexicalization: the derivation and development of Chinese disyllabic word [M]. Chengdu: Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House. 2013.
[5] Guo, X. L. The development of word-building in the Pre-Qin Chinese [A]. In Guo, X. L. (ed.) A Collection on the History of the Chinese Language [C]. Beijing: Commercial Press. 1997.
[6] Shi, Y. Z. The Establishment of Modern Chinese Grammar: The Formation of Resultative Construction in the History of Chinese and its Effects [M]. Philadelphia & Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. 2003.
[7] Liu, H. N. Lexicalization of napa [J]. Nankai Linguistic Journal. 2010(1): 142-150.
[8] Wang, M. H. The manifestation of lexicalized particles and non-words at synchronic level [J]. Journal of Ankang College. 2011(5):38-41.
[9] Croft, W. Explaining Language Change: An Evolutionary Approach [M]. London: Longman. 2000.
[10] Langacker,R. Cognitive Grammar —A Basic Introduction [M]. New York: Oxford University Press. 2008.
[11] Wang, C. L. Two examples of lexicalization—the relation between lexicalization and grammaticalization [J]. Contemporary Linguistics. 2005(3):225-236.
[12] Ma, Q. H. The motivation of lexicalization [J]. Chinese Lnguage Learning. 2003(2):15—20.
[13] Liu, C. D. Boundary movement: a motivation for linguistic innovation [J]. Foreign Languages Research. 2012(1):30-34.
[14] Liu, C. D. The establishment of structure-boundary unity: a cognitive basis for the construction of linguistic expressions [J]. Foreign Language Teaching and Research. 2008(3): 204-210.
[15] Givón, T. Historical syntax and synchronic morphology: an archaeologist's field trip [A]. Proceedings of the 7th regional meeting of the Chicago linguistics society [C]. Chicago: linguistics society, 1971: 394-415.
[16] Langacker, R. Syntactic reanalysis [A]. In Li, C. (ed.) Mechanisms of Syntactic Change [C]. Austin: University of Texas Press.1977:57-139.
[17] Evans, V. & M. Green. Cognitive Linguistics: An Introduction [M]. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 2006.
[18] Keller, R. On Language Change: The Invisible Hand in Language [M]. London: Routledge. 1994.
[19] Cao, R. The lexicalization of rongyi and rong’s meaning of “permission” [J]. Chinese Language Learning. 2007(1):37-40.
[20] Bielak, J. Applying Cognitive Grammar in the Foreign Language Classroom [M]. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. 2013.
[21] Li, W. S. The three haiyou in modern Chinese –lexicalization in synchronic materials [J]. Chinese Language Learning. 2008(5):55-61.
[22] Xing, G. W. A seemingly prevalent suspicious syntactic structure--VO+O [J]. Language Planning. 1997 (4): 21-23.
[23] Pan, G. Y. & H. Y. Qi. Lexicalization of yehao. Chinese Lnguage Learning. 2009(5): 20-27.
[24] Dancygier, B. The Cambridge Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics [C]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2017.
Author Information
  • Foreign Languages School, Henan University, Kaifeng, China

Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Liu Chendan. (2018). Boundary Assignment: A Cognitive Motivation for Lexicalization. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 6(4), 110-117. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180604.12

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Liu Chendan. Boundary Assignment: A Cognitive Motivation for Lexicalization. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2018, 6(4), 110-117. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20180604.12

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Liu Chendan. Boundary Assignment: A Cognitive Motivation for Lexicalization. Int J Lang Linguist. 2018;6(4):110-117. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20180604.12

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.20180604.12,
      author = {Liu Chendan},
      title = {Boundary Assignment: A Cognitive Motivation for Lexicalization},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {6},
      number = {4},
      pages = {110-117},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20180604.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180604.12},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20180604.12},
      abstract = {Lexicalization is a process of structural innovation in language change, which is motivated by a human cognitive ability of structural boundary assignment in the construction of linguistic structures. In this process, the first innovative form may be a result of a language user’s intentional violation of a structural organization rule for a certain communicative purpose. The receiver, trying to correctly understand what the producer means, will have to make cognitive efforts to establish a structural gestalt by way of assigning structural boundaries. If the receiver’s boundary assignment comes to an agreement with the producer’s and accords with Gestalt Laws in human cognition, the innovative form will be accepted and spread in the language community and then finally entrench itself as new grammatical convention. That is the general process of lexicalization. The boundary assigning tendency manifested in the process of linguistic structure construal is a cognitive ability dominated by Gestalt Laws in human cognition of the world and world relations, which is actually a driving force for linguistic structural organization, and therefore an important motivation for lexicalization.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Boundary Assignment: A Cognitive Motivation for Lexicalization
    AU  - Liu Chendan
    Y1  - 2018/08/04
    PY  - 2018
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180604.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20180604.12
    T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    SP  - 110
    EP  - 117
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-0221
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180604.12
    AB  - Lexicalization is a process of structural innovation in language change, which is motivated by a human cognitive ability of structural boundary assignment in the construction of linguistic structures. In this process, the first innovative form may be a result of a language user’s intentional violation of a structural organization rule for a certain communicative purpose. The receiver, trying to correctly understand what the producer means, will have to make cognitive efforts to establish a structural gestalt by way of assigning structural boundaries. If the receiver’s boundary assignment comes to an agreement with the producer’s and accords with Gestalt Laws in human cognition, the innovative form will be accepted and spread in the language community and then finally entrench itself as new grammatical convention. That is the general process of lexicalization. The boundary assigning tendency manifested in the process of linguistic structure construal is a cognitive ability dominated by Gestalt Laws in human cognition of the world and world relations, which is actually a driving force for linguistic structural organization, and therefore an important motivation for lexicalization.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

  • Sections