The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics Part 56. 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. | 520 RICHARD HUDSON Figure . Distinguishing relationships with and without the use of labels 7. Labels and Uniqueness This hierarchical analysis of link-types solves another problem. One of the characteristics of a network is that the nodes are defined only by their links to other nodes for instance the word CAT is the only word that is linked to the concept Cat to the pronunciation k t to the word class Noun and so on. No two nodes have exactly the same links to exactly the same range of other nodes because if they did they would by definition be the same node. As Lamb 1966 1999 59 points out one consequence of this principle is that the labels on the nodes are entirely redundant in contrast with non-network approaches in which labels are the only way to show identity. For example if two rules both apply to the same word class this is shown by naming this word class in both rules as we all know the name chosen does not matter but it is important to use the same name in both rules. In a network on the other hand labels only serve as mnemonics to help the analyst and they could in principle all be removed without loss of information. If we follow the logic of this argument by removing labels from nodes we face a problem because the labels on links appear to carry information which is not redundant because the links are not distinguished in any other way. This leads to a paradoxical situation in which the elements which traditionally are always labeled need not be but those which at least in simple associative networks are traditionally not labeled must be labeled. The hierarchical classification of links resolves this paradox by giving links just the same status as nodes so that they too can be distinguished by their relationships to other links that is by their place in the overall classification of links. By definition every distinct link must have a unique set WORD GRAMMAR 521 likes Figure . Where the subject and object of likes come from of properties so
