Chapter Seventeen
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x Conceptual structure is embodied - which means that the essence of
conceptual organisation emerges from bodily experience.
x Semantic structure is conceptual structure – that is, semantic
structure (the senses conventionally related with words and other
linguistic elements) is equated with concepts.
x Meaning representation is encyclopaedic - words (and other
linguistic units) are considered as ‘points of access’ to a great
amount of knowledge concerning a specific concept.
x Meaning construction is conceptualisation - meaning construction
is associated with conceptualisation, a process in which linguistic
elements serve as hints for a range of conceptual operations and the
recruitment of background knowledge.It can therefore be concluded that meanings are interpreted on the basis
of previous experience, which systematises a given concept, arranges
relationships among particular elements and allows an understanding of
the detail based on broader conceptual categories in which the composition
is ranked. Since the goal of this discussion is to illustrate the relationship
between the elements of the frame of MANAGEMENT, we shall now
focus on the application of Frame Semantics models to the description of
vocabulary.
Before we proceed, it needs to be stressed that ‘frames’, ‘scripts’ and
‘image schemas’ are considered as fundamental cognitive models;
however, due to the limited volume of the present chapter, I will confine
myself to only the first two concepts. The notion of ‘frame’ was first
proposed by Minsky (1975) who refers to a conviction that people are able
to deal with the world they live in with the help of specific frameworks
that they remember.
In turn, Charles Fillmore transferred the notion into linguistics in the
1970s. Fillmore (1975: 124) explained ‘frame’ as “any system of linguistic
choices–the easiest case being collections of words, but also including
choices of grammatical rules or linguistic categories – that can get
associated with prototypical instances of scenes”. It should be noted that
different sources provide various ways in which the term ‘frame’ can be
interpreted. As far as the commonly accepted linguistic parameters are
concerned, Burkhanov (1999) observes that:
x Frame is a particular kind of knowledge structure,
x Frame is a complex knowledge structure,
x Frame allows operating with large knowledge structures,
x Frame is a socially-significant phenomenon,