COGNITIVE APPROACH IN LANGUAGE MEANING CONSTRUCTION: CRUSE AND CROFT’S MODEL

Abstract

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive study of the role of the encyclopaedic view and experiential view in meaning construction within the cognitive framework of studying the language. The analysis is based on the three hypotheses of meaning construction proposed by Cruse and Croft; first, Language is not an autonomous cognitive faculty.  Second, Knowledge of languages emerges from language use. And thirdly, Grammar is conceptualization. The three hypotheses are verified. To achieve the aim of this article, Cruse and Croft’s three models of language meaning are studied. The examples are taken from books and articles corpus. This study concludes that possessing encyclopedic view, which encompasses general knowledge and sufficient information about the words, are essential to truly understanding the meaning of the words. The encyclopedic background can attain through the experiential view; it is gaining by experience in words from various situations and activities encountered in daily life. Also, the cognitive approach suggests that ruling in all elements of language is crucial for the interpretation of meaning.