FOUNDATION THEORIES AND METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES IN COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS

Abstract

This paper explores the pivotal role of the linguistic sign in bridging language and cognition, emphasizing its function as a mechanism for activating conceptual structures within the human mind. Grounded in the principles of cognitive linguistics, the study examines how meanings encoded in linguistic signs serve as access points to individual and collective conceptual frameworks across diverse cultural and historical contexts. Employing methodological tools such as metaphor analysis, frame semantics, and mental space theory, cognitive linguistics reveals the dynamic organization of concepts and their semantic domains. Central to this approach is the recognition of human cognition as fundamentally nonverbal and mediated by a universal semiotic code, with concepts functioning as core cognitive units. The paper highlights the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive linguistics, underscoring its contributions to understanding the interrelations between language, thought, and culture, and its implications for fields such as artificial intelligence, anthropology, and language education.