This document provides an overview of Leonard Talmy's work in cognitive linguistics. It summarizes some of his major publications and theories. Specifically, it discusses how Talmy viewed language as a cognitive system that shares features with other cognitive systems like perception and attention, but also has unique properties. It outlines Talmy's theories on topics like the grammatical and lexical subsystems of language; how language structures space and time, including his theory of "fictive motion"; the role of attention and "figure-ground" relations; and his theory of "Force Dynamics" in language.

1. Leonard Talmy
Liliya Yakupova
MSU, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies
Moscow
2015
Cognitive Linguistics

2. L. Talmy
the State University of
New York in Buffalo
photo: Uwe Feuerbach

3. Publications
Books:
 Toward a Cognitive
Semantics (2000) -- two volumes
 The Attention System of
Language (forthcoming)
Published Articles:
 "The Relation of Grammar to
Cognition"
 "Force Dynamics in Language and
Cognition"
 "How Language Structures Space"
 "Fictive Motion in Language and
`Ception'"
 "Lexicalization Patterns"
 "The Representation of Spatial
Structure in Spoken and Signed
Languages: a Neural Model"
 "Recombinance in the Evolution of
Language"

7. Talmy’s Cognitive Linguistics
 Language as a cognitive system shares
some of its fundamental features with other
cognitive systems (e.g. visual perception,
attention).
 Language also has some unique features
which distinguish it from other cognitive
systems.

8. “Toward a Cognitive Semantics. Volume 1”
revision by Pavel Stranák
 1) the grammatical and lexical
subsystems of language;
 2) the system of space and time in
language:
• “fictive motion”
• the structuring of space by language
…

9. “Fictive Motion” / The Fictivity Theory
“The mountain range goes
from Canada to Mexico.”
“The sun is shining into the
cave.”
(similar to Lakoff and Johnson’s approach)

10.  3) attention:
• How does omitting or mentioning of
participants of situations influence the
meaning of a sentence?
• “figure” and “ground” relations
 4) Force and Causation / Force
Dynamics

11. Force Dynamics
 Agonist vs Antagonist
“The ball kept rolling because of the wind blowing on it.”
“The shed kept standing despite the gale wind blowing
against it.”
“The water’s dripping on it made the fire die down.”
“The enemy overcame us as we stood defending the
border.”
Wind Ball
Wind
Shed

12. Force Dynamics
 A) autonomous
Ex. “The ball’s hitting it made the lamp
topple.”
 B) agentive
Ex. “I made the lamp topple by hitting it with
the ball.”