For most native speakers of English, the meanings of ordinary words like "blue," "cup," "stumble," and "carve" seem quite natural and self-evident. It turns out, however, that they are far from universal, as shown by recent research in the discipline known as semantic typology. To be sure, the roughly 6,500 languages around the world do have many similarities in the sorts of concepts they encode. But they also vary greatly in numerous ways, such as how they partition particular conceptual domains, how they map those domains onto syntactic categories, which distinctions they force speakers to habitually attend to, and how deeply they weave certain notions into the fabric of their grammar. Although these insights from semantic typology have had a major impact on the field of psycholinguistics, they have been mostly neglected by the branch of cognitive neuroscience that studies how concepts are represented, organized, and processed in our brains. In Concepts in the Brain, David Kemmerer exposes this oversight and demonstrates its significance. He argues that as research on the neural substrates of semantic knowledge moves forward, it should, to the extent possible, expand its purview to embrace the broad spectrum of cross-linguistic variation in the lexical and grammatical representation of meaning. Otherwise, it will never be able to achieve a truly comprehensive, pan-human account of the cortical underpinnings of concepts. Richly illustrated and written in an accessible interdisciplinary style, the book begins by elaborating the different perspectives on concepts that currently exist in the parallel fields of semantic typology and cognitive neuroscience. It then shows how a synthesis of these approaches can lead to a more unified and inclusive understanding of several domains of concrete meaning--specifically, objects, actions, and spatial relations. Finally, it explores a number of intriguing and controversial issues involving the interplay between language, cognition, and consciousness.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
This is a timely synthesis of cross-linguistic semantic knowledge with neuroscientific research that uses MRI studies and increasingly sophisticated analysis tools to reveal what is known (and not yet known) about where conceptual domains are processed in the human brainThis is more than a compilation; it is an in-depth tour, accompanied by objective commentary and led by a researcher who has done significant amounts of the neurobiological research discussed. * CHOICE * Concepts in the Brain takes us on a fascinating journey across the world's languages to examine how they carve up concepts. The book is a gold mine of mind-boggling examples from different languages that force us to rethink our assumptions about how things and events ought to be described, and what is 'natural' or 'obvious.' We are also treated to a state-of-the-art understanding of the neural basis of concepts. A sophisticated linguist and an equally virtuoso cognitive neuroscientist, David Kemmerer is one of the few people in the world who can pull off a work of this magnitude. A must read for anyone interested in concepts, meaning, language, and the brain." * Rutvik Desai, University of South Carolina * The last few years have seen an explosion in two areas: the cross-cultural study of semantic categories, and the neurobiological foundations of conceptual structure. This book finally builds a bridge between these thriving areas of inquiry. In a brilliantly programmatic and eminently readable treatise, Kemmerer deftly synthesizes the vast literature in both fields, and points to a rapprochement for the future." * Asifa Majid, University of York * This is a work of breathtaking scope, depth, and perspective. As Homo sapiens, we share common brain morphology. Yet there is striking variability in the ways that cultures carve up the world and represent its parts. David Kemmerer's book is a tour de force in detailing this variability from a multidisciplinary angle, integrating theories from linguistics, neuroscience, and philosophy into an emergent account (i.e., one that is more than the sum of its parts). The result is a text that uniquely situates human conceptual knowledge in both its biological and cultural contexts." * Jamie Reilly, Temple University *
Sprache
Verlagsort
Maße
Höhe: 157 mm
Breite: 236 mm
Dicke: 28 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-19-068262-0 (9780190682620)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
David Kemmerer has been a professor at Purdue University since 2000. He explores the complex relationships between semantics, grammar, perception, and action, often bringing together neuroscientific and cross-linguistic perspectives. He has published over 60 articles and chapters as well as a textbook called Cognitive Neuroscience of Language.
Autor*in
Professor, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, and Department of Psychological SciencesProfessor, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, and Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University
