A cognitive-semantic analysis of the English lexical unit "in"

Résumé

The standard semantic description of English in has been traditionally understood as a matter of geometric configuration of the participants in the spatial relation. The landmark is conceived of as an area or volume, or as a three-dimensional entity, the topological relation of inclusion being emphasised. The landmark may also be understood as a MEDIUM configuration, in opposition to the geometric conception based upon the idea of container. Other authors pose a meaning based on the relative function of the participants, i.e. the control of the container over the contained entity. Finally, dynamic uses are acknowledged, but the nature of the motion expressed has not been described. Our notion of conceptual schema - a gestalt configuration where some elements may be focused upon - refers to the central meaning from which other senses are derived. Our aim is to provide not just a list of uses, but a semantic structure that accounts for all the senses in terms of a radial network. The network extends through three conceptual regions that stand for topological, functional, and force-dynamic dimensions of the conceptualisation of the relationship. Three main imaginative procedures are described for meaning extension: First, shifts of the conceptual schema (rotation, profiling, semantic bleaching), second, partial sanction, which focuses on one or more dimensions (specialisation of meaning), and finally metaphorical mappings, which account for figurative meaning and idiomatic use.