2 Responses to “Language and cognition”

1. 

   Phil Devine January 31, 2013 at 1:43 pm #

   Kress:

   “or else, that which is to be represented gets squeezed into the ill-fitting semantic shape of the existing word”

   – I don’t think so; we need to take into consideration the remainder of the clause. Replace the entire clause with the initial ‘notion’ that came before the words (as Kress tells us) “the ill-fitting semantic shape of the existing word”.

   The notion is translated into words, but the notion begins life closer to metaphor and visual concept creation…

   Johnston cites Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and tells us that:

   “speech, thoughts and actions are based upon metaphors” and that “metaphors are so entwined in our lives that they are invisible to us”, indicating that ”our conceptual system defines our reality” and in that case “we only understand reality through metaphor”

   So do we need to forget about words when we consider Modality?

   Blows my mind this stuff But very cool!
2. 

   Phil Devine January 31, 2013 at 1:46 pm #

   Sorry – should have been:

   ***Would it be truer*** I don’t think so; we need to take into consideration the remainder of the clause. Replace the entire clause with the initial ‘notion’ that came before the words (as Kress tells us) “the ill-fitting semantic shape of the existing word”.

   (WP) killed (html tags)