HENK00025U English, 2013 curriculum - Free topic 15: Language and cognition

This course element introduces the students to Cognitive Linguistics, which - broadly speaking - is the study of the interrelation between language and cognition (i.e. the way we think). Introduced in the 1980s, Cognitive Linguistics draws on linguistics and the cognitive sciences and has a distinct interdisciplinary character. It has grown to become a very influential branch of linguistics which addresses virtually all aspects of language, and, thus, it is a good idea for students who are interested in language to acquaint themselves with Cognitive Linguistics. In this course, the students will become familiar with the basic tenets of Cognitive Linguistics as such and ways in which the interrelation between language and the mind can be addressed theoretically and methodologically as we discuss cognitive structures and processes of conceptualization and the interplay between these and linguistic structure, use, and function; we will also address cultural and social cognition and their role in Cognitive Linguistics. Moreover, students will be introduced to cognitive-linguistic approaches to grammar, semantics, the lexicon, metaphor, discourse, culture and variation among other things, as we explore subdisciplines within cognitive linguistics such as construction grammar, cognitive discourse analysis, and cognitive sociolinguistics. The goal of the course is to provide students with a basic understanding of Cognitive Linguistics and for students to acquire tools for further development of linguistic knowledge that can be applied in student research projects, such as the Master’s thesis.