Cognition, categorization and language: Cognitive Grammar meets Vantage Theory

Abstract

Cognitive linguistics becomes more credible if it gains support from independent research on cognition. The study juxtaposes a cognitive linguistic model, Ronald W. Langacker's Cognitive Grammar (CG), with a model of categorization, primarily in the color domain, called Vantage Theory (VT), proposed by Robert E. MacLaury. The study shows that in spite of different goals and scopes of application, as well as terminological differences, the two models are congruous. Moreover, they yield parallel results when applied in analyses of language data, although VT must be adapted for the purpose. The congruence results from the cognitive basis of both CG and VT, with common ground to be found in the broadly explored notions of figure vs. ground, point of view, subject-oriented nature of meaning, and active role of the conceptualizer.