Information on the thesis

This dissertation presents an integrated approach to researching the conceptual and
cognitive models which organize the semantic structure of English human locomotion
verbs. The author adopts a cognitive linguistics perspective on verb semantics, which
allows for a more profound understanding of the complex hierarchy of linguistic and
extralinguistic knowledge associated with a lexical unit.
The study focuses on the use of 406 human locomotion verbs extracted from
English dictionaries, as well as 1000 syntactic constructions from FrameNet, and 2836 text
fragments containing human locomotion verbs selected from international English editions
of “The Economist” and “The New York Times” (2010 – 2014).
The author proposes a domain model for a fine-grained analysis of the semantic and
syntactic properties of human locomotion verbs, as well as a systemic description of their
metaphorization patterns. The analysis employs the conceptual apparatus of the semantics
of lingual networks developed by S. Zhabotynska on the basis of R. Langacker’s theory of
domains and Ch. Fillmore’s frame semantics, as well as traditional methods (componential
and definitional analysis).
The underlying assumption is that the logical notion of human locomotion
constitutes the basis of the conceptual model of human locomotion verbs. Thus the starting
point of research is a componential analysis of the term “human locomotion” followed by
a cognitive interpretation of the semes (based on Z. D. Popova and I. A. Sternin’s
approach). The resulting conceptual components of human locomotion serve as the basis
for selecting a corpus of human locomotion verbs, identifying further conceptual
components and grouping them by means of propositional schemas. As a result, the author
builds a multilevel conceptual model (HUMAN LOCOMOTION), which underlies the
semantics of human locomotion verbs and is composed of domains (CHANGE IN LOCATION,
MEANS OF SELF-PROPULSION, PERSON, MEDIUM OF LOCOMOTION, MANNER OF LOCOMOTION)
structured by means of propositional schemas.
The author illustrates how a conceptual model of verb meaning can be turned into a
cognitive (metaphoric) model by applying cognitive operations. It is stressed that verb
metaphors are based on implicit substantive metaphors. The corpora analysis shows that
when metaphorized, human locomotion verbs denote states and actions.
The author describes how the deep semantic structure of human locomotion verbs
imposes selection restrictions on their arguments. It is argued that the removal of selection
restrictions is possible by means of tautologization, schematization, specification,
association and change of semantic roles.
The research findings complement the existing approaches to cognitive modelling
and fine-grained semantic analysis and contribute to further study of issues related to the
conceptualization of locomotion.
Key words: cognitive model, conceptual model, domain, frame, human locomotion
verb, semantics of lingual networks, verb metaphor.