Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

What is a domain? Dimensional structures versus meronomic relations

Gärdenfors, Peter LU and Löhndorf, Simone LU (2013) In Cognitive Linguistics 24(3). p.437-456
Abstract
Within cognitive linguistics, the notion of domain is central. In the literature, the notion of domain has been interpreted in an all-encompassing way, which has led to conceptual confusion. The article proposes to distinguish between a more psychologically oriented description of domains based on dimensional structures, on the one hand; and meronomic relations, on the other. It is shown how Langacker's notion of a configurational domain can be analyzed as higher-level dimensional structures. An added benefit of the distinction between dimensional domains and meronomic relations is that it generates a natural account of the difference between metaphors and metonymies.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
domain, dimension, meronomy, locational domain, configurational domain, feature analysis, integral dimensions, separable dimensions, metaphor, metonymy
in
Cognitive Linguistics
volume
24
issue
3
pages
437 - 456
publisher
Mouton de Gruyter
external identifiers
  • wos:000323053500002
  • scopus:84888322331
ISSN
1613-3641
DOI
10.1515/cog-2013-0017
project
Thinking in Time: Cognition, Communication and Learning
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Cognitive Science (015001004), Linguistics and Phonetics (015010003)
id
0b72b85b-83dc-4819-92f3-792f4627b533 (old id 4042593)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:34:41
date last changed
2025-10-14 09:00:54
@article{0b72b85b-83dc-4819-92f3-792f4627b533,
  abstract     = {{Within cognitive linguistics, the notion of domain is central. In the literature, the notion of domain has been interpreted in an all-encompassing way, which has led to conceptual confusion. The article proposes to distinguish between a more psychologically oriented description of domains based on dimensional structures, on the one hand; and meronomic relations, on the other. It is shown how Langacker's notion of a configurational domain can be analyzed as higher-level dimensional structures. An added benefit of the distinction between dimensional domains and meronomic relations is that it generates a natural account of the difference between metaphors and metonymies.}},
  author       = {{Gärdenfors, Peter and Löhndorf, Simone}},
  issn         = {{1613-3641}},
  keywords     = {{domain; dimension; meronomy; locational domain; configurational domain; feature analysis; integral dimensions; separable dimensions; metaphor; metonymy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{437--456}},
  publisher    = {{Mouton de Gruyter}},
  series       = {{Cognitive Linguistics}},
  title        = {{What is a domain? Dimensional structures versus meronomic relations}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/cog-2013-0017}},
  doi          = {{10.1515/cog-2013-0017}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}