Embodiment in Cross-Linguistic Studies - (Hardcover)

About the Book

This volume seeks to broaden our understanding of cross-domain mappings by examining foot and leg body parts across a diverse range of languages and cultures worldwide.

Book Synopsis

Over the past two decades, linguistic research into embodiment has paid considerable attention to the human body and its individual parts, particularly within typological and cognitively oriented studies. This volume continues that line of inquiry with a specific focus on the lower limb. It shows that, like other major body parts, the lower limb serves as a highly productive source domain for a wide range of conceptualisations across the world's languages and cultures. More generally, the book contributes to the growing body of work at the intersection of cognition, language, and culture. It also engages with embodiment theory, which posits that human cognition and language are fundamentally grounded in sensory-motor experience.

Contributors are: Kelsie Pattillo, Jaime Peña, Gema Silva, Franklin Espinoza, Marleny Rodríguez, Malgorzata Waśniewska, Rosanna Tramutoli, Izabela Will, Joseph Jaoko Ochieng, Annika Tjuka, Cristina Martins Fargetti, Carmen Lúcia Reis Rodrigues, Judit Baranyiné Kóczy, Iwona Kraska-Szlenk, Yi Tie, Yongxian Luo, and Mateus Cruz Maciel de Carvalho.

About the Author

Mateus Cruz Maciel de Carvalho, Ph.D (2017), Sao Paulo State University (UNESP). He is Professor of Linguistics at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of São Paulo. He has published a book on Deni language phonology and papers on Deni grammar.

Iwona Kraska-Szlenk, Ph.D. (1995), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is Professor at the University of Warsaw. She has authored books on general linguistics and Swahili and edited multi-authored volumes, including Body Part Terms in Conceptualization and Language Usage (Benjamins, 2020).