The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics Part 5. In the past decade, Cognitive Linguistics has developed into one of the most dynamic and attractive frameworks within theoretical and descriptive linguistics The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics is a major new reference that presents a comprehensive overview of the main theoretical concepts and descriptive/theoretical models of Cognitive Linguistics, and covers its various subfields, theoretical as well as applied. | 10 DIRK GEERAERTS AND HUBERT CUyCKENS The first three sections of the book constitute an initial introduction to Cognitive Linguistics. Readers who have gone through the twenty-one chapters of the first three sections will have acquired a fairly thorough knowledge of the fundamental analytic concepts and descriptive models of Cognitive Linguistics and their background. The following three sections of the Handbook apply these basics to various more specific domains. The section Linguistic Structure and Language Use illustrates how Cognitive Linguistics deals with the traditional subdomains of grammar ranging from phonetics and morphology over lexicon and syntax to text and discourse. Separate chapters are devoted to topics that have received special attention in Cognitive Linguistics. The chapters in the section Linguistic Variation and Change focus on different types of variation within and between languages. Next to diachronic change and sociolinguistic variation these include typological variation with related chapters on anthropological linguistics and linguistic relativity and language acquisition seen as variation in the individual s knowledge of the language . A chapter on sign language may also be placed within this section given that sign language involves a change in the medium of communication. The final section groups chapters that deal with Applied and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. The interdisciplinary links with fields of research like philosophy and psychology are very important for Cognitive Linguistics. As it is one of the tenets of Cognitive Linguistics that linguistic knowledge is not separated from other forms of cognition the disciplines studying those other aspects of human knowledge will be natural conversation partners for Cognitive Linguistics. 5. The Appeal of Cognitive LINGUISTICS Cognitive Linguistics is definitely a success in terms of academic appeal. The ICLC conferences to give just one example have grown into major events with .
