From Library Journal
Lakoff reviews a wide range of studies in "cognitive semantics," a new field that attempts to understand mind through empirical studies of the way people categorize. He provides several detailed conceptual "case studies," which aptly bring out the richness of the English language, and Whorfian-type examinations of the way different cultures view the world as exemplified in their language (the book's title derives from a classification in Dyirbal, an aboriginal language of Australia). Though this new "science" is supposed to yield insights more accurate and useful than traditional (i.e., "non-empirical") philosophy, the approach to philosophy here is superficial. For academic linguistics collections. Leon H. Brody, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Présentation de l'éditeur
"Its publication should be a major event for cognitive linguistics and should pose a major challenge for cognitive science. In addition, it should have repercussions in a variety of disciplines, ranging from anthropology and psychology to epistemology and the philosophy of science. . . . Lakoff asks: What do categories of language and thought reveal about the human mind? Offering both general theory and minute details, Lakoff shows that categories reveal a great deal."—David E. Leary, American Scientist
