1 The current state of cognitive linguistics
1.1 What is cognitive linguistics?
Cognitive linguistics is an area of research that examines human cognitive ability. In general, human beings can receive information from the surrounding environment, store it in memory, and recall the information as necessary. Let us consider the following three processes and the sub-processes each comprises.
First, the process of perception is that we receive information by paying attention to the information coming from sense organs, and it is therefore important to know a good thing when one sees it. This process combines “perception and attention.”
Second, this acquired information is stored in memory, the source from which human knowledge enters the world. The process combines “learning and memory.”
Third, the acquired information serves the process of planning, wherein one analyzes a problem for a specific purpose and devises a solution. However, when the acquired information is insufficient, reasoning is necessary. Therefore, the third process combines “planning and reasoning.”
How is human cognitive ability established in a language? Let us consider the three aforementioned cognitive abilities.
The process of “perception and attention” emphasizes how things are perceived. For example, the perception of an image that leads to the structure of knowledge illustrates the combination of base and profile. The former is the background for recognizing an object and the latter is a focus position. In this instance, if a circle is a base, an arc is the profile.
Further, this process can determine how the line of sight moves. When the object moves and changes, the line of sight also moves and scans something. For example, the method that follows how a ping-pong ball travels with serial photographs is called a continuous scan. The method that does not consider the passage of time using piecemeal still images is called a summarized scan.
In the process of “learning and memory,” we absorb information from without and build it into an existing knowledge structure. The new information is compared to a concrete example and abstracted at that time. This abstract knowledge is called schema. The process abstracts the character in common with the concrete example, and therefore it is learning through experience. A schema applies not only to things but also to feeling and behavior.
Such ability is useful in the process of “planning and reasoning.” Daily cognitive activity supplements information partially, while adjusting information as necessary. A coordinating role is human reasoning. Many studies address reasoning. I have studied the characters’ dialogue in Thomas Mann’s “The Magic Mountain” to evaluate whether his irony and fuzzy logic could correlate.
花村嘉英著（2015）「从认知语言学的角度浅析鲁迅作品－魯迅をシナジーで読む」より translated by Yoshihisa Hanamura