Words and Other Wonders: Papers on Lexical and Semantic Topics

by Dirk Geeraerts

The volume brings together seventeen previously published articles on lexical and semantic topics by one of the most influential authors in cognitive linguistic lexicology. Spanning the period from the late 1980s to recent years, the collection features a number of papers that may be considered classics. The book serves as an excellent introduction to the field. Key Excellent introduction to the field Includes papers from the late 1980s to recent years that may be considered as classics

503 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Dirk Geeraerts holds the chair of theoretical linguistics at the University of Leuven, Belgium. He is the founder of the research unit Quantitative Lexicology and Variational Linguistics (QLVL). His main research interests involve the overlapping fields of lexical semantics, lexicology, and lexicography, with a theoretical focus on cognitive semantics.

His involvement with cognitive linguistics dates from the 1980s, when in his PhD thesis he was one of the first in Europe to explore the possibilities of a prototype-theoretical model of categorization. As the founder of the journal Cognitive Linguistics and as the editor (with Hubert Cuyckens) of the Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics, he played an instrumental role in the international expansion of cognitive linguistics.

Geeraerts is one of the outspoken advocates of the implementation of empirical methodologies, such as corpus linguistics in cognitive linguistic research and also argues for the involvement of more pragmatic elements such as contextual factors that influence the construal of word meanings and the choice of 'names' for concepts and the historical implications these have in relation to etymology and lexicology.