The Language of Stories: A Cognitive Approach by Barbara Dancygier (PDF)

Description

How do we read stories? How do they engage our minds and create meaning? Are they a mental construct, a linguistic one or a cultural one? What is the difference between real stories and fictional ones? This book addresses such questions by describing the conceptual and linguistic underpinnings of narrative interpretation. Barbara Dancygier discusses literary texts as linguistic artifacts, describing the processes which drive the emergence of literary meaning. If a text means something to someone, she argues, there have to be linguistic phenomena that make it possible. Drawing on blending theory and construction grammar, the book focuses its linguistic lens on the concepts of the narrator and the story, and defines narrative viewpoint in a new way. The examples come from a wide spectrum of texts, primarily novels and drama, by authors such as William Shakespeare, Margaret Atwood, Philip Roth, Dave Eggers, Jan Potocki and Mikhail Bulgakov.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review ‘Drawing on key developments in cognitive linguistics, including construction grammar and blending theory, this accessible, well-organized, and richly synthetic study outlines exciting new directions for research on narrative.’ David Herman, Ohio State University’For anyone who still needs to be convinced of the rich value of the cognitive turn in arts and humanities, this book provides it. It is erudite and elegant, readable and significant, and it succeeds by the force of its argument and the texture of its analysis. It is both precise and breathtaking in its range.’ Peter Stockwell, Chair in Literary Linguistics, University of Nottingham’A brilliant and original book on language and stories as twin creations of the human mind. Dancygier elegantly offers new insights into the way we think.’ Mark Turner, Institute Professor and Professor of Cognitive Science, Case Western Reserve University’Barbara Dancygier’s new approach to defining narrative viewpoint presented in her book The Language of Stories: A Cognitive Approach is very convincing and comprehensible. This book makes an important contribution to literary linguistics and at the same time outlines innovative directions for research on narrative. Dancygier’s study is of interest to linguists and literary scholars, is suitable for scientists and for students. It’s a remarkable and highly recommendable book.’ Natalia Shchyhlevska, Language and Dialogue Book Description How do we read stories? How do they engage our minds and create meaning? Drawing on blending theory and construction grammar, this book focuses its linguistic lens on the concepts of the narrator and the story, and defines narrative viewpoint in a new way. About the Author Barbara Dancygier is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Her publications include Conditionals and Prediction (Cambridge University Press, 1999) and Mental Spaces in Grammar (with Eve Sweetser, Cambridge University Press, 2005). Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This is a great read for everybody who is interested in the field of cognitive linguistics.You can use this book as an introduction to a cognitive approach of how to analyze narrative texts, which is what I did. I didn’t have any experience or knowledge about meaning construction prior to reading about it here.What you can expect from this book is an introduction to Dancygier’s framework which makes the discussion of the meaning of stories possible including her concept of viewpoint compression, blending theory and conceptualization.Currently, I’m using her concepts for a term paper and I’m very satisfied with the process of analyzing my text since it literally opens up more space for interpretation. Highly recommended.

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