the dungeon has...

As suggested in the text, the first stage of the image schema for -OUT- can be regarded as the image schema of -IN-. Sketch out the image schema for -IN- making use of figure 4.6 (-OUT- Schema).

Image schemas are ‘simple and basic cognitive structures which are derived from our experience of the world.’[i] They are locative relations normally given in prepositions and are thought to be derived from our basic physical knowledge of being in the world.

For this assignment we are considering the preposition in with regard to the image schema -OUT-. From figure 4.6, shown below, we can see that the central image schema for -OUT- involves the movement of a trajector (the figure or most visually prominent part) along a path (marked by stages) from containment within a landmark to being no longer contained. The landmark is considered to be the ‘ground’ and acts as a reference for the movement of the object.

Figure 4.6

Central Image Schema for -OUT-

The -IN- image schema is a ‘Containment Schema’ which is considered in Cognitive Semantics to be central to our conceptions of our body as a container with boundaries. John Saeed says with regard to this: ‘Lakoff and Johnson (1980) identify CONTAINER as one of a group of ontological metaphors, where our experience of non-physical phenomena is described in terms of simple physical objects like substances and containers.’[ii]

The Central image schema for -IN-

From this we can see that the central image schema for -IN- is the first stage of the -OUT- image schema. The trajector is contained within the landmark.
The central image schema for -IN- can also be shown as a dynamic, rather than static, model and is represented another way below:

This schema shows the movement of the trajector (in this case a man) from outside the landmark (room) to inside it over a time period.

Look at the following examples and decide which of them render the central schema -IN- and which express elaborations of this schema. Compile diagrams for the elaborations, using figure 4.9 as a source of information.

Figure 4.9 - Some elaborations of the Central Schema for -OUT-

Elaborations are used to explain deviations from the central schema of a preposition. As can be seen above there are different uses of the word ‘out’ which require different elaborations of the -OUT- schema.

Following are four examples of elaborations on the central schema for -IN-, which shall be discussed with regard to the central schema:

I. The lipstick is in my handbag

This sentence is expressing the complete containment of an object within a container and can simply be expressed using the central image schema (as shown on the next page:

This is an example of the central image schema at work. It is therefore the most central of all the sentences and is in fact showing the central image schema as opposed to an elaboration. We can see that the trajector is contained completely within the landmark (lipstick and handbag respectively) and there is no need to show the dynamic relation because the sentence is not discussing the lipstick following a path or changing state/location.

If the sentence were ‘I put my lipstick in my handbag' then the elaboration would appear more like the one below.

St1 St3

This elaboration shows how the trajector moves from being outside the container at stage 1 to being contained within it at stage 3.

II. The flowers are in the vase

The sentence ‘The flowers are in the vase’ describe the movement from outside a container to inside a container. However, this sentence is less central because the flowers are not completely contained within the vase, so the trajector is not completely contained by the landmark.

The sentence can be elaborated by the following picture:

Shown here is the idea of containment of part of the object but not all.

However the sentence also expresses the concept that the flowers were not previously in the vase, although they are now. This is best shown by the following elaboration, which (as can be seen) is very similar to the elaboration used for ‘Pluck the feather out’.

St1 St3

So, as can be seen for this example and elaboration is needed because there has been a change from the notion of complete containment to the notion of part containment.

III. There is a hole in your shirt

The schema shown below is a simple elaboration on the sentence ‘There is a hole in your shirt’ where the trajector is, in fact, the area where the landscape is not and is thereby bounded by it.

The sentence ‘There is a hole in your shirt’ is again similar to one of the elaborations found in the -OUT- schema elaborations, except in this case the trajector is not the item moving.

St1 St3

This can be explained with reference to the perceptual prominence of the area, since the ‘hole’ is more perceptually prominent on the landscape.

IV. Find the mistake in this sentence

In this sentence the trajector actually forms part of the landscape. The trajector in this case is a conceptual part of the sentence. There can be no change over time in this elaboration because the sentence expresses a command which indicates that the trajector has existed alongside the landscape. The sentence also moves away from the concept of perceptual prominence because the mistake has to be ‘found’.

In the case of a sentence such as: ‘Find the mistaike in this sentence’ the mistake can be pointed out as being a specific part contained within the sentence. The beginning and end of the sentence act as boundaries. However with the sentence that we are discussing the mistake is that there is no mistake in the sentence, which means that the sentence can either be interpreted as having no trajector or can be understood as being exactly the same thing as the landscape. This elaboration has moved far from the original image schema and has become more conceptual than physical.

To conclude then, we have looked at our central image schema for -IN-, and considered different elaborations that can be made from it.

- - - - - - - - -

[i] F. Ungerer & H. J. Schmid, An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics, Longman 1996, p160

[ii] John Saeed, Semantics, Blackwell Publishers Limited 2000, p310

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://bluejoh.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/383