Alexey Yavetskiy - Factitive vs. Non-Factitive Concepts in Evaluation Processes: Cognitive representation and linguistic implications

The paper deals with types of cognitive models representing such concepts as FOOL, LIAR, IGNORAMUS, SCOUNDREL etc. in English, French, German and Russian.
   A cognitive-oriented analysis of the concepts above reveals a considerable difference in their structure. For instance, the conceptual bases of fool or ignoramus (FOOLISHNESS and IGNORANCE, respectively) prove to be static and homogeneous qualities. On the other hand, the bases of liar or scoundrel seem to include various components, which is corroborated by some attributive combinations, e.g. a big/bad/good/shrewd liar, an awful scoundrel (cf. *a bad/awful/shrewd fool). From the point of view of their structure, the concepts referring to a particular trait of a person’s inner world can be roughly grouped in two types. A hybrid cognitive model that assimilates two fundamental image-schemas, CONTAINER and SCALE, characterizes the first one. Typical examples are concepts based on static and homogeneous qualities, which can hardly form relationships with other concepts. Linguistically, this particularity manifests itself in abnormal constructions as *a good/shrewd ignoramus/fool. The second type, though described by the image-schema of SCALE, is based on the conceptual archetype (in R. Langacker’s sense) of EVENT. The emergence of combinations as a big/bad/good/shrewd liar etc. is explained by the fact that an event implies complex semantic structures, including an agent, a passive object and various ways of interaction between them. Consequently, the conceptual base of fool, scoundrel and other nouns of the same type can be represented as a recurrent cognitive structure close to frames but of a more abstract character.