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1、Chapter1Categoriesinthoughtandlanguage1.0Overview1.1Categoriesandtheirinternalstructure1.2Conceptualgroupingsofcategories1.3Categoryextensionbymeansofmetonymyandmetaphor1.4Summary1.0OverviewHumanthoughtanditsexpressioninlanguageareintimatelyinterrelated.Thischapterseekstoshowhowcogn
2、itiveprocessesmediatebetweentheworldofconceptsandtheirlinguisticcrystallisationinthelexiconandgrammarofalanguage.Threetypesofcognitiveprocesseswillbedealtwithinthischapter:theformationofcategories,theconceptualgroupingofcategories,andtheextensionofconceptualandlinguisticcategoriesby
3、meansofmetonymyandmetaphor.1.1CategoriesandtheirinternalstructureThepracticalworldisnotaworldofclear-cutdistinctions.(Bloomfield1933)1.1.1CategoriesWecanonlymakesenseoftheworldofourexperiencesandcommunicateourthoughtsbymeansofwhatphilosophersandlinguistscallcategories.Acategoryisthec
4、onceptu-alisationofacollectionofsimilarexperiencesthataremeaningfulandrelevanttous,i.e.categoriesareformedforthingsthat“matter”inacommunity.Categoriesareconceptualinnature,andmany,butbynomeansall,ofourconceptualcategoriesarealsolaiddowninlanguageaslinguisticcategories.Letusthinkofan
5、everydaysituationthatmaygiverisetoameaningfulcategoryforwhichwedonothavealinguisticcategory.4CognitiveEnglishGrammarImaginethesituationofdrivingtocollegeorworkeverymorning.Wheneveryouap-proachaparticularjunction,theroadisclogged.Thetrafficsituationsyouexperienceatthisjunctionare,ofcou
6、rse,differentoneseachday:thetrafficjamsoccuratdifferenttimes,thetailbacksareofdifferentlengths,thecarsandthedriversstuckinthejamaredifferent,etc.Yetallthesesituationsappeartobesimilarenoughforyoutogroupthemtogetherinoneandthesamecollectionofexperiences.Sinceyouneedtogettocollegeorworkinti
7、me,thesearealsohighlyrelevantsituationstoyou.Youhavenow,accordingtotheabovedefinition,formedacategory,whichmaybedescribedas‘pronetotrafficjams’,andwheneveryoucomeacrossasimilarsituation,youmaysubsumeitunderthiscategory.Categorieswhichwehaveformedonthebasisofourownindividualexperiencess
8、uchas‘pronetotrafficj