Ronald Langacker
Encyclopedia
Ronald Wayne Langacker is an American linguist
and professor
emeritus
at the University of California, San Diego
. He is best known as one of the founders of the cognitive linguistics
movement and the creator of Cognitive Grammar
.
Langacker received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
in 1966. From 1966 until 2003, he was professor of linguistics at the University of California, San Diego
. From 1997 until 1999 he also served as president of the International Cognitive Linguistics Association.
Langacker develops the central ideas of Cognitive Grammar
in his seminal, two-volume Foundations of Cognitive Grammar, which became a major departure point for the emerging field of Cognitive Linguistics. Cognitive Grammar treats human languages as consisting solely of semantic units, phonological units, and symbolic units (conventional pairings of phonological and semantic units). Like Construction Grammar
, and unlike many mainstream linguistic theories, Cognitive Grammar extends the notion of symbolic units to the grammar of languages. Langacker further assumes that linguistic structures are motivated by general cognitive processes. In formulating his theory, he makes extensive use of principles of gestalt psychology
and draws analogies between linguistic structure and aspects of visual perception.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
. He is best known as one of the founders of the cognitive linguistics
Cognitive linguistics
In linguistics, cognitive linguistics refers to the branch of linguistics that interprets language in terms of the concepts, sometimes universal, sometimes specific to a particular tongue, which underlie its forms...
movement and the creator of Cognitive Grammar
Cognitive grammar
Cognitive grammar is a cognitive approach to language developed by Ronald Langacker, which considers the basic units of language to be symbols or conventional pairings of a semantic structure with a phonological label. Grammar consists of constraints on how these units can be combined to generate...
.
Langacker received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
in 1966. From 1966 until 2003, he was professor of linguistics at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
. From 1997 until 1999 he also served as president of the International Cognitive Linguistics Association.
Langacker develops the central ideas of Cognitive Grammar
Cognitive grammar
Cognitive grammar is a cognitive approach to language developed by Ronald Langacker, which considers the basic units of language to be symbols or conventional pairings of a semantic structure with a phonological label. Grammar consists of constraints on how these units can be combined to generate...
in his seminal, two-volume Foundations of Cognitive Grammar, which became a major departure point for the emerging field of Cognitive Linguistics. Cognitive Grammar treats human languages as consisting solely of semantic units, phonological units, and symbolic units (conventional pairings of phonological and semantic units). Like Construction Grammar
Construction grammar
The term construction grammar covers a family of theories, or models, of grammar that are based on the idea that the primary unit of grammar is the grammatical construction rather than the atomic syntactic unit and the rule that combines atomic units, and that the grammar of a language is made up...
, and unlike many mainstream linguistic theories, Cognitive Grammar extends the notion of symbolic units to the grammar of languages. Langacker further assumes that linguistic structures are motivated by general cognitive processes. In formulating his theory, he makes extensive use of principles of gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology or gestaltism is a theory of mind and brain of the Berlin School; the operational principle of gestalt psychology is that the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies...
and draws analogies between linguistic structure and aspects of visual perception.
Partial bibliography
- Foundations of Cognitive Grammar, Volume I, Theoretical Prerequisites. Ronald W. Langacker. Stanford, CaliforniaStanford, CaliforniaStanford is a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California, United States and is the home of Stanford University. The population was 13,809 at the 2010 census....
: Stanford University PressStanford University PressThe Stanford University Press is the publishing house of Stanford University. In 1892, an independent publishing company was established at the university. The first use of the name "Stanford University Press" in a book's imprinting occurred in 1895...
, 1987. ISBN 0-8047-1261-1. - Concept, Image, and Symbol: The Cognitive Basis of Grammar. Ronald W. Langacker. BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
& New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1991. ISBN 3-11-012863-2, ISBN 0-89925-820-4. - Foundations of Cognitive Grammar, Volume II, Descriptive Application. Ronald W. Langacker. Stanford, CaliforniaStanford, CaliforniaStanford is a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California, United States and is the home of Stanford University. The population was 13,809 at the 2010 census....
: Stanford University PressStanford University PressThe Stanford University Press is the publishing house of Stanford University. In 1892, an independent publishing company was established at the university. The first use of the name "Stanford University Press" in a book's imprinting occurred in 1895...
, 1991. ISBN 0-8047-1909-8. - Grammar and Conceptualization. Ronald W. Langacker. BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
& New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1999. ISBN 3-11-016603-8. - Cognitive Grammar: A Basic Introduction. Ronald W. Langacker. New York: Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-533196-7.