THE MATERIAL AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CLAUSE STRUCTURE OF TAGALOG USING COGNITIVE GRAMMAR

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THE MATERIAL AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CLAUSE STRUCTURE OF TAGALOG USING COGNITIVE GRAMMAR

Abstract

For this paper, the researcher attempts to describe the clause structure of Tagalog using Cognitive Grammar. Abiding by the said framework, sentences are regarded as grammatical constructions that represent different event schemas, which are then categorised into situations in: one, the material world, or how the structured world exists, changes, or undergoes processes; and two, the psychological world, or the internal world of human sensation, emotion, perception and thought. Analysing the semantic grammar of Tagalog, that is, looking at linguistic utterances as motivated by the meaning that the speaker wants to express, this study aims to provide new insights with regards to the characteristics of the components of grammar as a reflection of cognition.

Introduction

The concept of "grammar" that is not limited to morphosyntax, but incorporates the system of meaning assignment, or semantics, is fostered by a relatively new theoretical framework in the scientific study of language, Cognitive Linguistics, which arose during the seventies based on studies on Gestalt, and system of categorisation among humans. According to the cognitive framework, grammar is regarded as a meaningful system in itself; therefore it integrates and cannot be separated from semantics. One of the main ideas being advanced by Cognitive Linguistics is Cognitive Grammar, whose main principle states that a grammatically well-formed sentence should not be semantically anomalous; a grammatically sound construction is not separated from it being perceived as acceptable or sensible to the speaker.

Furthermore, one of the main doctrines of Cognitive Grammar is its high regard on semantics, or meaning assignment. Cognitive Grammar perceives semantics as incorporated into syntax; therefore; an utterance is seen as motivated by what needs to be expressed, more than deconstructing the meaning based on the syntactic structure of grammatical constructions; constructions that express what we will now call event schemas.

In this paper, different event schemas in Tagalog, one of the more well known Austronesian languages in the Philippines and the Southeast Asian region, shall be discussed, with emphasis on the form of sentence that occurs in the expression of a particular event schema. Data that were gathered are all basic sentences, and the predicates used are what can be considered as prototypes of the respective predicates of the event schemas. The researcher gathered and analysed Tagalog constructions that are used in everyday and common discourse. And, since the researcher is also a native Tagalog speaker, introspection is also used in order to determine the grammaticality and/or acceptability of the constructions that were gathered and analysed.

Studies on the structure of Tagalog are neither scarce nor relatively new; however, analysing its grammatical structure based upon the theoretical framework stated by Cognitive Grammar is preliminary. This paper therefore aims to look into the characteristics of Tagalog clause structure through the lens of Cognitive Grammar. In this study the researcher shall not look at the difference of Cognitive Grammar to other existing theories, even though the beginnings of the Cognitive Linguistics enterprise to which the said framework belongs resulted from an explicit reaction against the generative tradition of the scientific study of language. Hence, there will be a number of points in this research that carry this implication.

Clause structure as expression of event schema

Participant roles and event schema

Situations in the material world

a. Occurrence scheme

A steady process describes an action that involves a non-human or non-volitional THEME. Notice the following examples:

B. Spatial schema

c. Pertinence/possession schema

Situations in the psychological world

a. Emotion schema

b. Perception/cognition schema

Conclusion: Entrenchment of event schemas as images

Overview

The study provides an in-depth analysis of Tagalog clause structures via Cognitive Grammar, assigning meanings to grammatical constructions as reflections of human cognition. It focuses on how events in the material and psychological worlds are expressed linguistically.

Key Points

1The study employs Cognitive Grammar to analyze Tagalog's clause structure
2Event schemas are categorized into material and psychological worlds
3The clause structure reflects cognition through grammatical constructions
4The relationship between participant roles and event schemas is crucial to understanding Tagalog grammar
5The research contributes new insights into the characteristics of Tagalog as a cognitive linguistic framework.

Details

Category: Social Sciences

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