Cognitive Grammar

Cognitive grammar is a theory of grammar originally proposed by Robert Langacker which contends that the lexicon, syntax, and semantics form a continuum of symbolic elements and that all grammatical processes consist of meaning‐building. The theory was explicitly conceived as an alternative to the dominant formalist approaches to grammar in which syntax is an autonomous system interpreted through an objectivist semantics. Cognitive grammar falls squarely within the family of functionalist approaches, sharing with cognitive linguistics broadly the goal of associating the mechanisms of language with what is known about human cognitive systems. Usage‐based theories such as cognitive grammar require that language knowledge is built from generalizations over actual usage events. Constructions in the grammar are conventionalized, and informed through a user's embodied and cultural experience.