The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics Part 76. 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. | 720 RAYMOND W. GIBBS JR. what they do is an unreliable way of examining the conceptual foundations for figurative meaning. This is clearly an issue that will be debated in the future. One more important example of the conceptual basis of formulaic language is shown by cognitive linguists studies of proverbs. The main suggestion here is that various generic-level metaphors help motivate why proverbs mean what they do Lakoff and Turner 1989 . The generic is specific metaphor specifically provides a general cognitive mechanism for understanding the general in terms of the specific one of the key features of proverbs. Once again the mapping of source domain knowledge onto dissimilar target domains of experience preserves the cognitive structure or topology of the source domain. Imagine a scenario for example where a student is warned not to expose some cheating scandal in his her class by the expression It s better to let sleeping dogs lie Lakoff and Turner 1989 Gibbs and Beitel 1995 . The generic-level metaphor specifies that the knowledge structures used in comprehending the case of the cheating scandal share certain things with the knowledge structures used in comprehending the literal interpretation of let sleeping dogs lie. To start the generic-level schema for the source domain of It s better to let sleeping dogs lie has the following characteristics there is an animal that is not active animals can sometimes act fiercely if provoked therefore it is better to let the animal remain as it is rather than risk disturbing it and having to deal with its potential ferocity. This information constitutes a generic-level schema. There are a variety of ways that such a schema can be instantiated. For instance consider the following there is an unpleasant situation that is dormant such situations can prove difficult to handle if brought to people s attention therefore it is better to let the situation remain dormant than to risk having to deal with its negative consequences.
