Hide
Show all
Email this article In Search of Panchrony: Saussure versus Cognitive Linguistics
Abstract
The notion of panchrony is discussed in the context of the on-going polarization between structurally- and functionally-oriented linguistic paradigms. The two radically divergent conceptions of panchrony are thus surveyed, as envisaged by, respectively, Saussure and cognitive linguistics. As panchrony is not as yet a widely accepted research paradigm, it is suggested that while functionalists seem to be still in search of an appropriate understanding of panchrony, some lesson as to what functionally-driven panchrony should be can be derived from a critical reading of Saussure’s original proposal. It is concluded that as long as cognitive linguists hold that language is symbolic and interactive, panchrony must be attempted not in terms of linguistic universals, as for Saussure, but in terms of functional universals, such as cognitive and experiential patterns of behaviour.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Culler, J. (1986). Ferdinand de Saussure (Rev. ed.). Cornell University Press.
Harris, R. (1987). Reading Saussure. A Critical Commentary on the Course de Linguistique Generale. Duckworth.
Heine, B., Claudi, U., & Hunnemeyer, F. (Eds.). (1991). Grammaticalization: a Conceptual Framework. University of Chicago Press.
Heinz, A. (1983). Dzieje językoznawstwa w zarysie. Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe.
Holdcroft, D. (1991). Saussure: Signs, System, and Arbitrariness. Cambridge University Press.
Jakobson, R. (1972). Principles of historical phonology. In A. R. Keiler (Ed.), A Reader in Historical and Comparative Linguistics (pp. 121–138). Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
Janda, L. A. (2013). Quantitative Methods in Cognitive Linguistics. An introduction. In L. A. Janda (Ed.), Cognitive Linguistics: The Quantitative Turn. The Essential Reader (pp. 1–31). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110335255
Kiełtyka, R. (2020). The role of historical context responsible for the figurative use of common words derived from place-names. Lege artis. Language yesterday, today, tomorrow, 5(1), 54–98.
Kiełtyka, R. (2023). In Search of Metonymic Motivation for Semantic Change: The Case of Words with Remarkable Origins. Lublin Studies in Modern Languages and Literature, 47(1), 83–96. https://doi.org/10.17951/lsmll.2023.47.1.83-96
Kuteva, T. (2001). Auxiliation. An Enquiry into the Nature of Grammaticalization. Oxford University Press.
Langacker, R. W. (2007). Cognitive grammar. In D. Geeraerts, & H. Cuyckens (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics (pp. 421–462). Oxford University Press.
Langacker, R. W. (2008). Cognitive Grammar. A Basic Introduction. Oxford University Press.
Łozowski, P. (2008). Language as Symbol of Experience: King Alfred’s cunnan, magan, and motan in a Panchronic Perspective. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej.
Łozowski, P. (2014). Od semantyki do gramatyki, czyli o wyższości panchronii nad synchronią i diachronią. In M. Gębka-Wolak, J. Kamper-Warejko, & A. Moroz (Eds.), Leksyka języków słowiańskich w badaniach synchronicznych i diachronicznych (pp. 89–100). Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika.
Łozowski, P. (2018). Panchronia, czyli język jako symbol doświadczenia, In P. Stalmaszczyk (Ed.), Metodologie językoznawstwa. Od diachronii do panchronii (pp. 165–177). Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego.
Łozowski, P. (2022). The will and be going to Constructions as Panchronic Inferences: in Search of Cognitive Motivation. Lege Artis. Language yesterday, today, tomorrow, 7(2), 39–75.
Mithun, M. (2003). Functional Perspectives on Syntactic Change. In B. D. Joseph, & R. D. Janda (Eds.), The Handbook of Historical Linguistics (pp. 552–572). Blackwell. https://doi.
org/10.1002/9781405166201.ch17
Mompean, J. A. (2015). Cognitive Linguistics and Phonology. In J. Littlemore, & J. R. Taylor (Eds.), The Bloomsbury Companion to Cognitive Linguistics (pp. 253–276). Bloomsbury Academic.
Polomé, E. (1990). Language Change and the Saussurean Dichotomy: Diachrony vs. Synchrony”. In E. Polomé (Ed.), Research Guide on Language Change (pp. 3–10). De Gruyter.
Ramat, A. G., Mauri, C., & Molinelli, P. (Eds.). (2013). Synchrony and Diachrony: A Dynamic Interface. John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.133
Rissanen, M. (2014). On English Historical Corpora, with Notes on the Development of Adverbial Connectives. In A. A. Sintes, & S. V. Hernandez (Eds.), Diachrony and Synchrony in English
Corpus Linguistics (pp. 109–140). Peter Lang Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.325.06ris
Ritt, N. (2004). Selfish Sounds and Linguistic Evolution: A Darwinian Approach to Language Change. Cambridge University Press.
Saussure, F. de (1916/1983). Course in General Linguistics (R. Harris, Trans.). Duckworth.
Taylor, J. (2003). Linguistic Categorization: Prototypes in Linguistic Theory (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. https://www.degruyter.com/database/COGBIB/entry/cogbib.11793/html.
Thibault, P. J. (1997). Re-Reading Saussure. The Dynamics of Signs in Social Life. Routledge.
Ullmann, S. (1957). The Principles of Semantics (2nd ed.). Blackwell.
Ullmann, S. (1962). Semantics: An Introduction to the Science of Meaning. Blackwell.
Verveckken, K. D. (2015). Binominal Quantifiers in Spanish: Conceptually-Driven Analogy in Diachrony and Synchrony. De Gruyter.
Winters, M. E. (1992). Diachrony within Synchrony: the Challenge of Cognitive Grammar. In M. Putz (Ed.), Thirty Years of Linguistic Evolution: Studies in Honour of René Dirven on the Occasion of his Sixtieth Birthday (pp. 503–511). John Benjamins.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/lsmll.2023.47.2.153-164
Date of publication: 2023-07-19 13:54:07
Date of submission: 2023-04-15 12:28:13
Statistics
Indicators
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2023 Przemysław Łozowski
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.