36.2193, Calls: Languages - "Recent Developments on the Semantics of Perception Verbs" (Jrnl)

Thu Jul 17 13:05:02 UTC 2025

LINGUIST List: Vol-36-2193. Thu Jul 17 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.2193, Calls: Languages - "Recent Developments on the Semantics of Perception Verbs" (Jrnl)

Moderator: Steven Moran (linguist at linguistlist.org)
Managing Editor: Valeriia Vyshnevetska
Team: Helen Aristar-Dry, Mara Baccaro, Daniel Swanson
Jobs: jobs at linguistlist.org | Conferences: callconf at linguistlist.org | Pubs: pubs at linguistlist.org

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

Editor for this issue: Valeriia Vyshnevetska <valeriia at linguistlist.org>

================================================================

Date: 17-Jul-2025
From: Marlies Jansegers [Marlies.Jansegers at UGent.be]
Subject: Languages - "Recent Developments on the Semantics of Perception Verbs" (Jrnl)

Journal: Languages
Issue: Recent Developments on the Semantics of Perception Verbs
Call Deadline: 30-Nov-2025

Perception, the process by which a conscious entity captures, decodes,
and interprets external stimuli, can rightly be considered one of the
most sophisticated and fascinating processes of nature. As a cognitive
process fundamental to all living beings, the phenomenon of perception
has received considerable attention across various scientific fields,
including linguistics. Indeed, since language is used primarily to
talk about the world we perceive, language and perception are
inextricably interwoven (Miller & Johnson-Laird 1976). This relation
is reflected in the rich linguistic bibliography and the numerous
studies dedicated to verbs of perception (cf. for instance Enghels
2007; Evans and Wilkins 2000; Ibarretxe-Antuñano 1999; Jansegers 2017;
Norcliffe & Majid 2024; Sweetser 1990; Viberg 1984, 2001 among many
others).
Over the last few decades, perception verbs have garnered widespread
interest as a key to understanding the relationship between language
and cognition and how language mediates our human experience.
Therefore, they can be studied from many angles, including – but not
limited to – a typological, diachronic and syntactic perspective.
First, verbs of perception have been studied typologically in relation
to their polysemy and the (universal) patterns of lexicalization they
give rise to. This had led to the idea that the lexicalization of
perception verbs is constrained by a biologically grounded
sense-modality hierarchy (Viberg 1984, 2001): sight > hearing >
touch/taste/smell. According to this hierarchy, a verb having a basic
meaning belonging to a sense modality higher in the hierarchy can get
an extended meaning that covers some (or all) of the sense modalities
lower in the hierarchy. Verbs higher in the hierarchy also give rise
to metaphorical extensions. For example, it is well known that visual
perception verbs have developed extended meanings beyond their
denotational meaning linked to the domain of cognition (cf. ‘I see
what you mean’) and similarly auditory perception has extended towards
the notion of obedience (cf. ‘a child that does not listen’) (Evans
and Wilkins 2000; Sweetser 1990). Likewise, it is well known that
verbs of sight often give rise to a wide range of evidential values in
various typologically non-evidential languages (Albelda 2018). Also,
senses higher in the hierarchy are supposed to be more frequent,
diachronically stable and morphosyntactically complex.
>From a diachronic perspective, then, scholars also have focused on the
lexicalization and grammaticalization process of perception verbs
evolving towards discourse markers and serving a more pragmatic
function. This process typically involves a gradual shift from
concrete sensory meanings to more abstract, interactional and even
discursive uses helping to organize and manage the flow of
conversation (e.g. look in English, écoute in French, guarda in
Italian, mira in Spanish). These patterns of grammaticalization have
originated a rich bibliography on the cross-linguistic comparison of
these grammaticalization patterns including both major national
languages and under-studied indigenous languages (Van Olmen & Tantucci
2022; San Roque et al. 2018; Norcliffe & Majid 2024).
Third, perception verbs and their meaning extensions are closely
related to the choice of argument structure. Indeed, perception verbs
can select both nominal or sentential complements and this selection
interacts with their meaning (Dik & Hengeveld 1991).  This
syntax-semantics interface has been studied in large corpora, which
allows not only qualitative descriptions of perception verbs, but also
quantitative and statistical processing of the data (cf. among others
Divjak 2015; Gries et al. 2020).
The main purpose of this Special Issue consist of reporting on new and
current interest and developments  in research on the semantics of
perception verbs, focusing on studies that innovate in terms of their
topic, theoretical approach, and/or methodology. We welcome a wide
range of (relevant) topics, which may include but are not limited to:
 - Cross-linguistic variation of perception verbs: studying both major
national languages and under-studied (indigenous) languages, but also
dialectical variants of the same language and sign language;
 - Cross-linguistic comparisons of grammaticalization trajectories of
perception verbs: convergences and divergences;
 - A re-evaluation of the sense modality hierarchy through the
analysis of lesser-studied languages (e.g. descriptions of
tactile-dominant languages, alternative hierarchies in languages with
different sensory salience);
 - New (diachronic) case studies of perception verbs evolving into
discourse markers or modal particles. Perception verbs as markers of
stance, evidentiality or (inter)subjectivity; emergence of
discourse-level functions;
 - Lexicalization and grammaticalization of perception verbs as
observed in different kinds of corpora, including spoken data;
 - New quantitative approaches to the syntax-semantics interface of
perception verbs;
 - Corpus-based or experimental approaches to the analysis of the
syntax and semantics of perception verbs.
 - Relevant papers regarding all languages from different frameworks
are welcome.
Timeline:
Abstract Submission Deadline: September 10th
Notification of Abstract Acceptance: September 30th
Full Manuscript Deadline: November 30th
We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors
initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200 words
summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest
editors (Marlies.Jansegers at UGent.be) or to /Languages/ editorial
office (languages at mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest
editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of
the special issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind
peer-review.
More information and full list of references can be found on the on
the journal’s website:
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/languages/special_issues/6RKEQ25KPG

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics
                     Psycholinguistics
                     Semantics
                     Sociolinguistics
                     Syntax

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

********************** LINGUIST List Support ***********************
Please consider donating to the Linguist List, a U.S. 501(c)(3) not for profit organization:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=87C2AXTVC4PP8

LINGUIST List is supported by the following publishers:

Cascadilla Press http://www.cascadilla.com/

Language Science Press http://langsci-press.org

MIT Press http://mitpress.mit.edu/

Multilingual Matters http://www.multilingual-matters.com/

Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG http://www.narr.de/

----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-36-2193
----------------------------------------------------------