Conceptual Integration and Formal Expression

Metaphor and Symbolic Activity, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 183-203, 1995

33 Pages Posted: 30 Jul 2010

See all articles by Mark B. Turner

Mark B. Turner

Case Western Reserve University - Department of Cognitive Science

Gilles Fauconnier

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Cognitive Science

Date Written: July 28, 1995

Abstract

We pursue here our exploration of conceptual blending and of the "many-space" model, which replaces the standard "two-domain" model. In blending, structure from two or more input mental spaces is projected to a separate "blended" space, which inherits partial structure from the inputs, and has emergent structure of its own. New examples are presented. We show that meaning is not compositional in the usual sense, and that blending operates to produce understandings of composite forms. Formal expression in language is a way of prompting hearer and reader to assemble and develop conceptual constructions, including blends; there is no encoding of concepts into words or decoding of words into concepts. Blending is at work in many areas of cognition and action, including metaphor, counterfactuals, and conceptual change. We point out two fundamental aspects of this general process: cross-space mapping of counterparts, and integration of events.

Keywords: grammar, blending, conceptual integration

Suggested Citation

Turner, Mark B. and Fauconnier, Gilles, Conceptual Integration and Formal Expression (July 28, 1995). Metaphor and Symbolic Activity, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 183-203, 1995, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1650417

Mark B. Turner (Contact Author)

Case Western Reserve University - Department of Cognitive Science ( email )

10900 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106-7068
United States

HOME PAGE: http://markturner.org

Gilles Fauconnier

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Cognitive Science ( email )

9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0515
United States