Conceptualizations of the Verb "to Fall" in Persian: A Cognitive Approach

Cognitive linguistics investigates meaning in linguistic context, with particular attention to the role of human experience in its formation, and examines linguistic concepts in relation to the cognitive capacities of the human mind. In this type of research, the meanings that speakers of a particular language assign to concepts such as motor actions can reveal aspects of their conceptualization, attitudes toward those concepts, and knowledge acquired through experience. Accordingly, the aim of the present study is to examine the polysemy of the verb “to fall” in Persian within the framework of cognitive semantics, with the aim of identifying its different meanings and constructing its semantic network. The research data were obtained from the Hamshahri corpus and analyzed on the basis of three theoretical approaches: Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980), the theory of Conceptual Schemas (Johnson, 1987), and the Principled Polysemy approach (Tyler and Evans, 2001, 2003). The results of the analysis and semantic-network mapping of the verb “to fall” show that, in addition to its prototypical meaning, the verb has 15 marginal meanings, each of which results from the highlighting of particular components of the conceptual schema associated with the verb “to fall.” These findings demonstrate the extensive conceptual range of the verb and provide evidence of the richness of its semantic representation in the conceptual system of Persian speakers.
Introduction
Cognitive linguistics places meaning, particularly encyclopedic meaning, at the center of linguistic analysis. Encyclopedic meaning refers to meaning that is embedded in a conceptual system and arises from humans’ social and physical experiences. Drawing on frameworks and concepts such as radial categories, prototype meaning, metaphor, metonymy, and image schemas, cognitive linguistics analyzes and examines the meanings of linguistic concepts (Rasekh-Mahand, 2011).
The meanings that speakers of a particular language attribute to specific linguistic categories, such as verbs or prepositions, are shaped by their lived experiences and, consequently, by the semantic components that are most salient to them. For example, the extent to which particular semantic components of a verb are salient to speakers of the same language may contribute to the semantic extension of that verb and to an increase in its frequency of use. Examining such patterns is important because they can provide insight into how speakers conceptualize and interpret the concepts they encounter through experience, as well as how they perceive and understand those concepts. Therefore, examining the different meanings that speakers of a particular language assign to an action, as well as the metaphorical extensions associated with that action, can provide insight into how speakers conceptualize the action and help determine the range of meanings established within the linguistic community. In other words, this range constitutes the conceptual space associated with the concept. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study is to examine the polysemy of the verb “to fall” in Persian within the framework of cognitive semantics, with the aim of identifying its different meanings and constructing its semantic network. Thus, the present study seeks to answer the following research question: How can the semantic network of the verb “to fall” in Persian be constructed?
Method
The data for the present study was randomly extracted from all twenty volumes of the second edition of the Hamshahri Corpus. Methodologically, the study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach and is conducted within the framework of cognitive semantics, drawing on the theories of Principled Polysemy (Tyler and Evans, 2001, 2003), Conceptual Metaphor (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980), and Conceptual Schemas (Johnson, 1987). To collect the data, various morphological forms of the verb “to fall” were searched for in the corpus. The retrieved instances were then analyzed according to the aforementioned theoretical frameworks to identify the different meanings of the verb, including its central (prototypical) meaning and its marginal meanings.
Results
The relationships among the different meanings of the verb “to fall” can be described as follows. The meaning “to be in a place” is directly derived from the prototypical meaning of “to fall,” whereas the meanings “to be in time” and “to be in a state or condition” result from metaphorical extensions of this meaning. The meaning “to flash” is also metaphorically related to “to be in a place” through the conceptual metaphor “THE MIND/THOUGHT IS A CONTAINER” and, therefore, should be regarded as semantically connected to this meaning. The meanings “to be possessed” and “to be transformed” are likewise closely related to “to be in a place”, as they express forms of concrete or abstract transfer. Therefore, all of these meanings can be grouped into a single semantic cluster. In addition to these meanings, the meaning “to shine” can also be included in the same semantic cluster, because shining involves the transfer of light from its source to a particular location and is, in this respect, closely related to the meaning “to be in a place.” The meaning “to meet” can also denote the simultaneous occurrence of two or more phenomena or events at the same place or time and is, therefore, closely related to the semantic cluster under consideration. Finally, it is necessary to consider the meaning “to be understood,” which can be interpreted as a form of abstract transfer, that is, the transfer of a subject, meaning, or other conceptual content into the addressee’s sphere of perception. In other words, when the addressee understands the speaker’s subject or intended meaning, it can be conceptualized as though that subject or meaning “has fallen” (i.e., has been transferred) into the addressee’s mind or sphere of perception. Therefore, the meaning “to be understood” can also be included in this semantic cluster, which we label “objective or abstract meeting.” The meanings “to appear,” “to become common/popular,” and “to become visible” are closely related because they all involve the concept of emergence and can therefore be grouped into a single semantic cluster, which we label “emergence.”
The three meanings “to lose,” “to miscarry,” and “to reject” indicate a form of failure or movement in a negative or undesirable direction and can therefore be grouped into a single semantic cluster. All three meanings involve the conceptual notion of loss. We refer to this cluster as “lack.”
Based on the explanations provided above, the semantic network of the verb “to fall” comprises one prototypical meaning and three semantic clusters, encompassing a total of 16 distinct yet semantically related meanings.
Conclusion
The results of the study show that the verb “to fall,” in addition to its prototypical meaning of “to drop,” also has 15 marginal meanings, each of which has specific uses in different contexts. In other words, the verb “to fall” has a total of 16 meanings, with the marginal meanings developing from the prototypical meaning through the highlighting of one or more semantic components and, in some cases, through metaphorical extension. To better understand the process through which the marginal meanings develop from the prototypical meaning, a conceptual schema of the verb “to fall” was constructed. Thus, the semantic network of the verb “to fall” consists of a central prototypical meaning surrounded by 15 marginal meanings, which are organized into three distinct semantic clusters: “absence,” “occurrence,” and “concrete/abstract intersection.” The meanings that speakers of a particular language attribute to an action, as well as the semantic components of that action that they consider salient, can provide insight into how those speakers conceptualize the action and which elements they prioritize within its conceptual space. For this reason, studying actions across languages and comparing their semantic structures, particularly across languages belonging to different linguistic families or typological categories, can contribute to a better understanding of cross-linguistic differences in the conceptualization of seemingly similar concepts. Therefore, further research on the cognitive-semantic classification and taxonomy of verbs is recommended.
Ethical Considerations
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Funding
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Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest