The symbolicity of language in the debate between UniversalGrammar and Cognitive Grammar

Abstract

This contribution aims at investigating some shifts in the notion of “grammar” in the passage from Chomskyan theory to the cognitive theories of the “second generation”, which, starting from the radical critique of the generativist paradigm, proceed to a “semantization” of grammatical structures. Crucial in this transition is the renewed recognition of the symbolic nature of language and the close relationship between grammar and conceptualization. After having illustrated some areas of tension between the Chomskyan framework and the second-generation cognitive orientation – which, for the sake of brevity and clarity, I will discuss by referring mainly to Langacker’s “Cognitive Grammar” – I will briefly explore the concept of “symbol”, which in this area takes on contours not far removed from the “old” conception of language as nomenclature, without the substratum of a semiotic theory that shows the (mutual) relationship between bio-cognitive, historical-cultural and pragmatic levels.