Through as a means to metaphor

In this paper, we argue against the view that prepositions designate motion. We make the case for prepositions such as to and through being associated with spatial properties in addition to a functional element. The functional element arises as a consequence of our daily interaction with the spatial configuration associated with the particular preposition. While to is associated with a spatial configuration in which a TR is oriented in the direction of a LM, its functional element is that of the LM constituting the TR's goal. Due to the integration of spatial and functional elements with sentential context, particularly motion verbs, a movement reading is derived. Previous scholars have assumed this is due to the preposition itself. With regard to through, its semantics are associated with a spatial configuration involving contiguous locations from one side of a bounded LM to the other. The functional element is that of path, which, while correlating with motion, is distinct from it. The notion of motion which often arises in sentences involving through is due to the integration of the spatial and functional character of through with other sentential prompts for movement such as motion verbs. In essence, we argue for carefully articulating the nature of conventional content associated with prepositions, including both spatio-geometric and functional content, and for teasing apart distinct and distinguishable (albeit related) concepts such as orientation, path, trajectory, goal, and motion.

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“…10. It is worth noting that the proto-scene we posit is consonant with the 'spatial image' of through presented by Hilferty (1999).…”

Section: Notessupporting

confidence: 52%

Rethinking English ‘Prepositions of Movement’

Evans

Tyler

2004

BJL

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“…The basic tenet of cognitive semantics is that various senses of a given polysemous word are neither arbitrary nor idiosyncratic, but instead systematic and semantically motivated (Lakkoff, 1987;Taylor, 1988). There have been multiple lines of research that have sought to investigate the intra-lexical structures of polysemous words such as over (Brugman, 1981;Dewell, 1994;Lakoff, 1987;Tyler and Evans, 2001, 2004), in, on (Beitel et al, 1997Goddard, 2002;Herskovits, 1986) and through (Hilferty, 1999). One of the key concepts in such analyses is image-schema (Johnson, 1987;Lakoff and Johnson, 1980;Lakoff, 1987;Sloń, 1999), which can be defined as the schematic structures which are generated through our perceptual interactions and bodily movements in our physical environment that 'make it possible for us to experience, understand, and reason about our world' (Johnson, 1987: 19).…”

Section: Polysemy In Cognitive Semanticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the key concepts in such analyses is image-schema (Johnson, 1987;Lakoff and Johnson, 1980;Lakoff, 1987;Sloń, 1999), which can be defined as the schematic structures which are generated through our perceptual interactions and bodily movements in our physical environment that 'make it possible for us to experience, understand, and reason about our world' (Johnson, 1987: 19). Making use of image-schema, researchers in cognitive semantics have sought to visualize the sense network of various polysemous words (Brugman, 1988;Dewell, 1994;Hilferty, 1999;Lakoff, 1987).…”

Section: Polysemy In Cognitive Semanticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of the effects of image-schema-based instruction and translation-based instruction on the acquisition of L2 polysemous words

Morimoto

Loewen

2007

Language Teaching Research

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This quasi-experimental study investigated the effectiveness of two types of vocabulary instruction — image-schema-based instruction (ISBI) and translation-based instruction (TBI) — on the acquisition of second language (L2) polysemous words. Fifty-eight Japanese high school learners of English were divided into two treatment groups (ISBI and TBI) and a control group. The treatment groups were given 20 minutes of instruction on the target words, namely the verb break and the preposition over. In order to examine the effectiveness of instruction, an acceptability judgment test and a production test were administered prior to instruction (pre-test), two days after instruction (post-test 1) and two weeks after instruction (post-test 2). The results showed that ISBI tended to be as effective as TBI for both acceptability judgment test and production test scores, except in one case where ISBI was significantly more effective than TBI. This study suggests that image-schema from the field of cognitive semantics can serve as a pedagogical devise in teaching L2 polysemous words.

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“…I think three elements are really important-that you have prerequisite knowledge and skills, that you continue updating that knowledge and skill, and that you have opportunities to participate in important decision making about what it is that you do. (P1: [260][261][262][263][264][265] For executives, the concept of expertise was based firstly on tertiary qualifications. Extensive experience teaching history in schools and continuous updating of knowledge through further study and professional development were also central to their notion of specialised knowledge and skill.…”

Section: Defining Teacher Professionalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contesting the Curriculum: An Examination of Professionalism as Defined and Enacted by Australian History Teachers

Hilferty

2007

Curriculum Inquiry

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In this article, I present an analysis of professionalism as defined and enacted by the History Teachers' Association of New South Wales (HTANSW). This analysis was part of a larger doctoral project (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) in which I employed critical qualitative inquiry to compare and contrast the contribution that two subject teaching associations (science and history) make to the project of teacher professionalism in Australia. My aim for this project was to explore what professionalism means in practice for a unique group of teachers: those who have made an active and fundamental commitment to their subject community by voluntarily serving on the executive committee of their subject-based professional association. In this article, I present findings from the case account of the HTANSW-an organization that operates locally as a professional teacher community and a representative organization for school-based history teachers. This case account details the manoeuvrings of an association that powerfully asserts an expansive role for history teachers as both contributors to, and critical commentators on, curriculum policy. In this article, I conceptualise the actions of this association as an enacted form of teacher professionalism. Drawing on study findings, I explicate my conception of professionalism as an enacted discourse of power and I show how this discourse is enacted in subject-specific ways.

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Through as a means to metaphor

Cited by 5 publications

References 2 publications

Rethinking English ‘Prepositions of Movement’

Rethinking English ‘Prepositions of Movement’

A comparison of the effects of image-schema-based instruction and translation-based instruction on the acquisition of L2 polysemous words

Contesting the Curriculum: An Examination of Professionalism as Defined and Enacted by Australian History Teachers

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