Georgetown University LogoGeorgetown University Library LogoDigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • Georgetown College
    • Department of Linguistics
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Linguistics
    • View Item
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • Georgetown College
    • Department of Linguistics
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Linguistics
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    A Principled Cognitive Linguistics Account of English Phrasal Verbs

    Cover for A Principled Cognitive Linguistics Account of English Phrasal Verbs
    View/Open
    View/Open: Mahpeykar_georgetown_0076D_12719.pdf (2.7MB) Bookview

    Creator
    Mahpeykar, Narges
    Advisor
    Tyler, Andrea
    Abstract
    There have long been attempts to discover some systematicity in the semantics of English phrasal verbs. However, previous research has focused exclusively on the contribution of the multiple meanings of the prepositions in phrasal verbs and assumed a single meaning for the verb. No studies have recognized that the verbs also have multiple meanings, nor how these contribute to the multiple meanings of phrasal verbs. The current corpus-based study advances our understanding of phrasal verbs by examining the semantic interaction of the polysemy networks of sixteen frequent and highly polysemous English phrasal verbs with up, out, off and over.
     
    Tyler and Evans' (2003) approach to polysemy is used for the semantic networks of the particles. Following the methodology set out by Tyler and Evans, in conjunction with Langacker's (1991) analysis of verbs, a polysemy analysis of the semantics of get, take, turn and hold is laid out. The analysis revealed that a range of independently established meanings of the verb can combine with a range of meanings of the preposition. The result is a systematic, compositional set of meanings for each phrasal verb. The Cognitive Linguistics (CL) analysis of the semantics of phrasal verbs provides evidence for their non-arbitrary, compositional nature, demonstrating that the meanings of a phrasal verb can be systematically accounted for if one considers the interaction of the polysemy networks of the verb and preposition. Among the principles of cognition examined in CL literature, the notion of embodiment was found to play a particularly important role in understanding the meanings of phrasal verbs.
     
    Further analysis of verb-particle combinations showed that lexical aspect is partially compositional in phrasal verbs. The situation type meaning in a phrasal verb is formed through the combination of the situation types denoted individually by the verb and the particle. Depending on the construal, particles can make contributions to certain characteristics of a situation, which explains why they tend to combine with certain meanings of the verbs. Finally, a comparison between high and low frequency particles in the corpus revealed a tight relationship between frequency of use and the embodied meanings of the particle.
     
    Description
    Ph.D.
    Permanent Link
    http://hdl.handle.net/10822/710030
    Date Published
    2014
    Subject
    Cognitive Linguistics; Compositionality; Conceptualization; Embodiment; Phrasal Verbs; Polysemy; Linguistics; Linguistics;
    Type
    thesis
    Embargo Lift Date
    2015-02-21
    Publisher
    Georgetown University
    Extent
    241 leaves
    Collections
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Linguistics
    Metadata
    Show full item record

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Cover for Applying cognitive linguistics and task-supported language teaching to instruction of English conditional phrases

      Applying cognitive linguistics and task-supported language teaching to instruction of English conditional phrases 

      Jacobsen, Natalia Dolgova (Georgetown University, 2012)
      Due to their internal complexity, English conditional phrases (e.g., "If it rains tomorrow, we will cancel the picnic"; "If John had come to the party yesterday, he would have told you his favorite joke"; etc.) represent ...
    Related Items in Google Scholar

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2022 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility
     

     

    Browse

    All of DigitalGeorgetownCommunities & CollectionsCreatorsTitlesBy Creation DateThis CollectionCreatorsTitlesBy Creation Date

    My Account

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2022 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility