Naslov
The concept of refusal in English: A usage-based account of near-synonyms

Autori
Tuđman Vuković, Nina ; Opačak, Ana

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Poglavlja u knjigama, znanstveni

Knjiga
Cognitive Approaches to English: Fundamental, Methodological, Interdisciplinary and Applied Aspects

Urednik/ci
Brdar, Mario ; Omazić, Marija ; Pavičić Takač, Višnja

Izdavač
Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Grad
Newcastle upon Tyne

Godina
2009

Raspon stranica
129-149

ISBN
1-4438-1111-4

Ključne riječi
cognitive linguistics, usage-based approach, behavioral profile, corpus, refusal, cognitive model

Sažetak
This paper is an investigation into the form-meaning correlations found in English near-synonymous verbs related to the concept of refusal. A detailed analysis of large corpus samples of the verbs decline, refuse, reject, and turn down was performed, marking each usage along a number of morphosyntactic and semantic parameters. Based on an underlying cognitive model of refusal and its main elements, analyzed data show that frequencies of patterns for each verb point to the degree of conceptual prominence of the elements in the model, as well as their interrelations. The fine-grained quantitative pattern analysis proposed in the paper provides an insight into the integral behavior of verbs that cannot be gained by means of introspective methodologies. It results in a usage-based account of how the conceptual structure of the cognitive model of refusal is reflected on various levels of linguistic structures, enabling comparisons in the usage of near-synonymous verbs and identification of those patterns that point to either similarities or differences in meaning.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Filologija

POVEZANOST RADA