[parislinguists] Lundi 23 Fevrier: Lin Chalozin-Dovrat "On the Time-Space interface in Language. Cognition and Cognitive Linguistics" (presentaiton en francais), Pouchet 14:00-16:00

[Asaf Bachrach asafbac@yahoo.com [parislinguists]]

Bonjour,Dans le cadre du Séminaire de l'equipe LCA (laboratoire SFL):  Lin Chalozin-Dovrat (TAU)  

 On the Time-Space interface in Language. Cognition and Cognitive Linguistics
le 23 février à 14h Centre Pouchet,  salle 159 (59 rue Pouchet 75017)La présentation aura lieu en Français

abstract:Over the past few decades, an impressive scope of scholarship has been devoted to spatial
cognition and the relation between spatial and temporal cognition. Research in linguistics,
language acquisition, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, artificial intelligence, and so forth
has suggested that the way we conceive of time is a metaphoric “transfer” of our experience
of space. According to this dominant view, temporal cognition is analogous to spatial
cognition, and spatial cognition takes precedence over the perception, data processing and
conceptualisation functions of temporal cognition.
Naming this scientific model The Spatial Priority Paradigm, we challenge it on empirical
and theoretical grounds, as well as on historical and epistemological ones. Firstly, we claim
that the spatial priority paradigm encounters great difficulties when attempting to explain the
findings of comparative studies (Alverson, 1994 ; Levinson, 2004 ; Levinson & Wilkins, 2006
; Chalozin-Dovrat, 2010 ; Radden, 2011), especially when relevant data involves relational
expressions in different languages (e.g. prepositions, prepositional compounds, conjunctions).
Hence, the universal stance of the spatial priority paradigm should be questioned (Evans &
Levinson, 2009).
Secondly, in view of the history of the time/space categorisation in grammar, the problem
appears to be a more fundamental one: the idea that time and space are the two fundamental
dimensions of human perception comes primarily from the philosophical work of Emmanuel
Kant (1781), basing his doctrine on the successful reception of classical mechanics. Hence,
both the analogy between time and space and the priority of space over time are conceptual
assets emanating from the history of physics. In fact, “space” is an extremely novel object in
the thought about humans and their experience, and this notion did not exist in western
European lexicons before the 18th century. Moreover, the word “space” (“espace” in French
and “spatium” in Latin) carried until recently a different meaning that could be extremely
useful for the understanding of both “spatial” cognition and “temporal” cognition.
Consequently, the idea that space as we know it is an elementary concept – grounded in
cognition, everyday experience, language and culture – should be strongly doubted.
Thirdly, the spatial priority paradigm generates serious obstacles to the research of linguistic
temporality. However, an alternative approach, stressing the role of image in the processing of
temporal data, may enable us to suggest several theoretical distinctions necessary for the
research of the rich phenomena of temporality in the languages of the world. Finally, such a
shift in the categories we use could lead us to see more clearly how “spatial” and “temporal”
modes of cognition may interact.
 
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