Description

This book develops an exciting and highly innovative theoretical model that is long overdue. By drawing on what are cutting-edge theoretical concepts in several disciplines, including cognitive linguistics, it builds a model that successfully melds together various complementary approaches such as “language as a complex adaptive system” (LCAS), distributed cognition, and multi-agent systems theory. The result is a framework that has significant implications for those working in a multitude of theoretical and applied domains such as cognitive linguistics, cognitive psychology, cognitive anthropology, anthropological linguistics, intercultural communication, intercultural pragmatics, and political discourse analysis. The manuscript is a pioneering work in many senses. It sets forth a valuable new research initiative which draws on a highly nuanced multi-disciplinarily informed approach that, in turn, is particularly sensitive to the role of culture in linguistic choices and perceptions. I highly recommend the book and believe that it is an excellent way to initiate the series “Cognitive Linguistic Studies in Cultural Contexts”, for it clearly “demonstrates how language as a subsystem of culture transformatively interacts with cognition and how cognition at a cultural level is manifested in language”, as indicated in the description of the book series.