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14Ibrohimov M. master student
Samarkand state institute of foreign languages Scientific supervisor: Mirsanov G., PhD.
Samarkand state institute of foreign languages
STUDY ABOUT COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS
Abstract: The article is devoted to the issues of considering such linguistic phenomena as conceptual metaphor, polysemy and modality in the English language from the standpoint of cognitive linguistics. The work analyzes the influence of cognitive human experience on the speed of memorization and the depth of assimilation offoreign language lexical units, reveals the concept of "conceptual metaphor". The author substantiates the need to study a foreign language not only as a sign system, but also as a system of understanding the world through the history and culture of representatives of different countries.
Key words and phrases: cognitive linguistics; foreign language; metaphor; semantic clarification; the cognitive structure of the source; lexical units.
Knowledge and proficiency of a foreign language at a high level is in great demand in modern society. Vocabulary is the foundation for further mastering and improving the language. Hardly anyone would argue that vocabulary knowledge is not the leading factor and the most striking indicator of the level of language proficiency. Without knowing a sufficient number of lexical units, it is impossible to carry out any type of speech activity, be it speaking, reading, listening, writing or translating.
The speed with which foreign language vocabulary is mastered and memorized depends on many factors, but the most significant is the frequency of the use of new words and expressions in speech. However, a fairly large number of scientists engaged in cognitive linguistics investigate involuntary aspects as stimuli (motivators) for better memorization and use of new words. In the past few years, cognitive-linguistic approaches to the study of various aspects of the language (including the study of vocabulary and word formation) have firmly taken their niches in the theory and practice of language learning.
In the course of numerous exams in foreign languages, it was found that to realize the understanding of foreign language texts at a sufficiently high level, knowledge of more than 7,000 words and their derivatives is required [8; 10; eleven]. This means that a person studying a foreign language must master a huge number of vocabulary forms and freely form their derivatives. For example, build, builds, building, buildings, builders, etc. Some scientists are inclined to assert that, knowing one of the forms in a particular group of words, a person understands the way of formation and the meaning of derived units. However, we adhere to the point of view of those who disagree with this statement [9], since it often happens that, having memorized the translation of the word "build", the student cannot form the
word "builder" or "building" from it. This problem arises from ignorance of the methods of word formation that exist in the English language.
Learning English vocabulary is complicated by the presence of a large number of polysemantic words. This phenomenon is most common among parts of speech such as prepositions and verbs. A good example is the verb to have, which has more than twenty meanings: to have, to have, to receive, to contain, to experience, to carry out, to know, to be exposed, to achieve, to endure, to understand, etc. Thus, the study of vocabulary requires a lot of time and effort, not only because any word has many derivatives, but also because the same word often has several meanings. Cognitive linguistics plays an important role here, considering language in relation to its use with human cognitive abilities, which are manifested in interaction with the outside world. From this point of view, linguistic phenomena can be considered certain motivators for mastering a foreign language.
Any language constructions are close to the usual perception of the world by a person and to his cognitive (cognitive) experience. Otherwise such phrases as "The car was flying", "The fish talked", etc., would not have seemed strange to us. If our perception and cognitive experience did not affect the structure and development of the language, its system, logical and semantic connections in sentences, then the language would have a huge number of meaningless phrases and expressions. Here's an example from English: The box is very heavy. Could you give me a hand, please? / The box is very heavy. Could you help me to convey (lift, move) it? (hereinafter the examples were compiled by the author of the article. - T. K.). The phrase Could you give me a hand, please? implies that we carry objects with our hands, so we use the word hand in it. If we did not analyze our cognitive experience, then the phrase The box is very heavy would be quite reasonable. Could you give me a foot, please? / The box is very heavy. Could you help me to convey it ?, where foot means a foot. The above examples confirm the evidence of the thesis about the influence of cognitive human experience on the system and structure of language.
On the one hand, cognitive linguistics seeks to describe linguistic phenomena as life-conditioned, based on life experience, logic, feelings, perception of the surrounding world, and on the other, certain phenomena in the language are not always obvious and understandable to the student. Let's turn to the polysemous parts of speech. A classic example of this phenomenon in cognitive linguistics are prepositions that show that seemingly different meanings of the same word "are associated with the use of its prototype and together form a radial network of meanings that go beyond this central prototype" [4, p. 211]. Many examples of semantic extensions relate to the use of words in their literal meaning. If this or that preposition is used in the meaning of contact: the book on the shelf (a book on a shelf), the water in the glass (water in a glass), etc., then it would be logical to compose and use similar constructions in speech: the plate on the table, the present in the box, etc.
Other extended meanings of the use of prepositions are due to the existence of metaphors in the language. In this regard, let us turn to the preposition beyond (for, outside, after, over, above) in the sentence Emma has changed be-yond
recognition. / Emma has changed beyond recognition. It would be logical to assume that in this example the meaning of the preposition beyond is associated with inaccessibility, inaccessibility, as, for example, in the sentence The doll fell beyond the fence (and so it was beyond the girl's reach). / The doll has fallen over the fence and is out of the girl's reach.
Another example of the multifunctional use of word meanings, which requires special attention from the standpoint of cognitive linguistics, is modal verbs. The epistemic interpretation of the meanings of such verbs is associated with the logic of statements or the logic of predicates and, as linguists note, refers to deontic meanings that characterize the possibility due to the concept of obligation, moral, legal and social norms. The main type of modality in such cases are the markers of obligation (should, should, necessary, necessary, etc.) [1].
So, in the sentences The sun has already risen, so we must be at work. / The sun has already risen, we must be at work or The light is on, so we must be at home. / The light has already been turned on, we must be at home the epistemic meaning expanded to deontic through the conclusions drawn, namely: if you are obliged to do something by a certain time, then there is a high probability that it will be done. Another area of cognitive linguistics, one way or another related to the expansion of vocabulary, is the theory of conceptual (cognitive) metaphors, which explores aspects of how we project our knowledge about concrete, known objects of our life onto abstract areas. In earlier works, the metaphor was studied directly as a linguistic phenomenon, while the anthropocentric paradigm offers the study of metaphor in its connection with the thoughts and mental operations of a person. The meaning of the cognitive structure of the source (source domain) influences the cognitive structure of the target (tar-get domain), where words and expressions are associated with the source, but at the same time acquire additional figurative meanings. According to the concept of the founders of the theory of conceptual metaphor J. Lakoff and M. Johnson, "the metaphor permeates our entire daily life and manifests itself not only in language, but also in thinking and action. Our everyday conceptual system, within the framework of which we think and act, is metaphorical in its essence "[7, p. 387], "a metaphor is not just a phenomenon in language, a metaphor is a speaker's feelings, feelings and thoughts" [6, p. 5].
A large number of metaphors in English are associated with eating / drinking processes. For example, Our teacher presents a lot of information. I cannot digest it! / Our teacher is giving too much information. I can't stomach it! or Unfortunately these young people are ready to swal- low a great deal of nonsense. / Unfortunately, these young people are ready to swallow a huge amount of nonsense. One of the variants of the cognitive aspect of cognition can be further stimulation of students to independently guess or decipher the meanings of metaphorically used words and phrases based on knowledge of the direct meaning of the word. Let's take the word fledgling as an example. Its direct meaning is a newly fledged chick. Students can show a picture of a chick, communicate the direct meaning of this word, and then ask them to translate the following phrases: a fledgling politician (young politician),
a fledgling specialist (young, inexperienced specialist), etc. The next step can be independent education of such examples and work in mini-groups.
In parallel with the study of metaphors from the standpoint of the cognitive aspect, when mastering a foreign language, great importance should be attached to the study of idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs, often based on their metaphorical meanings: Don't add fuel to the fire. / Do not add fuel to the fire, i.e. don't make the situation worse, or He's blown off steam. / He let off steam, i.e. gave way to excess energy, discharged, or Don't flog a dead horse. / Don't waste your time, etc. For a better memorization of idiomatic expressions or phraseological units, they should be categorized into different categories or topics: metaphors related to theater, sports, the expression of emotions, etc. For example, metaphors and phraseological units take on board, clear the deck, dead line, etc. belong to the topic "navigation". Students may be asked to put forward the alleged reasons for certain thematic metaphors. For example, many metaphorical and phraseological expressions found in the English language are associated with the sea, since the English have been sailing for centuries, and so on. And again, drawings, photographs, reproductions, which will convey the literal meanings of words included in metaphorical expressions, can be of great help in memorizing the meanings. A. Kh. Ishmukhametova argues that "the metaphorical mechanism of phraseological units has universal cognitive-logical connections inherent in human mental structures" [2, p. 568], this helps to understand the meanings of lexical units, metaphors, phraseological units, etc.
We fully support the point of view of the proponents of cognitive linguistics, who argue that this kind of exercise helps to better memorize vocabulary and retain it in memory for a longer time, since the memorization process depends on three reasons. The first is to stimulate the cognitive interaction of the native language with the foreign language being studied. In other words, the process of "deep" information processing is stimulated, which promotes memorization and understanding of a particular phenomenon in a language (including memorizing vocabulary) and implies a semantic clarification of the meanings of words and expressions in the native and target languages [4 ]. The second reason is the type of semantic refinement, which is associated, from the point of view of cognitive linguistics, with the student's imagination, his ability to develop associations, which, in turn, is due to two memory models and the ability to decode information [5]. There is a comparison of an abstract lexical element with its mental image (reproduction), which makes the meaning of a word or expression more concrete and, therefore, more memorable. And, finally, the third reason is to show students that language is a system that "is characterized by the presence not only of connections and relationships between the elements that form it (a certain organization), but also an indissoluble unity with the environment, in interaction with which it manifests its integrity "[3, p. 69].
From all of the above, we can conclude that currently the anthropocentric paradigm dominates in linguistics, characterized by the switching of researchers' interests from the object of research directly to the subject, in other words, the study
of a person in language and language in a person. If earlier the system and structure of the language were studied, now a new requirement is being put forward - to study the language ability, the language competence of a native speaker, knowledge about the world recorded in the language. The language itself from the standpoint of cognitive linguistics began to be interpreted as a dynamic, historically established sign system, which acts not only as a means of communication, but also cognition.
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