语言涉身性的原型论与语言构造的拓扑变换原理

Embodiment as Prototypes and the Principle of Topological Transformations in Language

涉身假设是认知语言学的立论之本。该假设试图在身体经验中解释心智和语言,但具体的界定大多超越身体经验,演变为涉身又非涉身的悖论。本文从涉身与非涉身的对立出发,对涉身性进行二元参量的多维综合界定。在全面考察和解析认知语言学和相邻学科思想基础上,本文提出涉身性的原型解释,认为语言以身体经验为有限结构原型,把表征扩展到无限非身体经验范围,形成共时层面的涉身与非涉身形态。语言在原型与非原型变换中演化建构,认知和语言建构是不变性基础上的拓扑变换,主要通过同域和跨域两种形式实现。本文对Talmy的语言拓扑论和Lakoff的不变性假设的深入阐释表明,语言通过认知拓扑变换实现与世界的非等同性同构,原型与非原型拓扑变换是统摄语言历时演化和共时建构的普遍原理。

Embodiment is the fundamental hypothesis of cognitive linguistics. Paradoxically,its actual explanations of cognition and the theorizing of language result mostly in a broad sense of embodiment,covering both bodily and non-bodily experience. This paper attempts to provide a multi-dimensional definition of embodiment in its binary relation to disembodiment. Based upon a systematic analysis of insights in cognitive linguistics and neighboring fields,this paper proposes that embodiment can be best understood as finite prototypes for the structuring of an infinite range of non-prototypical experience and language has evolved and been constructed in the topological transformations between the prototypes and non-prototypical experience. The elaboration of Talmy’s linguistic topology and Lakoff’s Invariance Hypothesis and their applications points to the conclusion that cognitive topological transformations is the very mechanism by which language achieves non identical isomorphism with the world and the topological transformations between prototypes and non-prototypical experience is the overarching principle of the diachronic evolution and synchronic structuring of language.