Motivation in Language Gnter Radden and KlausUwe Panther

Motivation in Language Günter Radden and Klaus-Uwe Panther Hamburg University 09/09/2020 Motivation 1

Motivation as understood in psychology and sociology “Motivation is an internal state or condition (sometimes described as a need, desire, or want) that serves to activate or energize behavior and give it direction. ” (Huitt 2001). “The conscious or unconscious stimulus for action towards a desired goal provided by psychological or social factors; that which gives purpose or direction to behaviour. ” (Oxford English Dictionary) What motivates Al Qaeda to carry out terrorist attacks? 09/09/2020 Motivation 2

Motivation in a wider sense and applied to language A motivational process involves: (i) a basis, or source, for the motivational process to operate on; (ii) independent factors triggering the motivational process; (iii) the “shaping” of at least some of the target’s properties by the source and independent factors; (iv) the resulting target of the motivational process. Definition of linguistic motivation: A linguistic sign (target) is motivated to the extent that some of its properties are shaped by a linguistic or non-linguistic source and language-independent factors. 09/09/2020 Motivation 3

Motivation of Benefactives: (a) English for as in Red wine is good for your health. (i) Source: preposition for ‘in front of, before’ (ii) Independent factor: metonymic reasoning: Objects that are in front of us are perceptible and accessible and hence potentially beneficial to us. (iii) Shaping: meaning extension of for (at the expense of its spatial sense) (iv) Target: sense of for: ‘benefactive’ 09/09/2020 Motivation 4

Motivation of Benefactives: (b) Case marker ná in. Ewe The Ewe verb ná ‘give’ has grammaticalized into the case functions Benefactive, Purpose and Dative. (i) Source: verb ná ‘give’, i. e. ‘Agent causes Recipient to have Object’ (ii) Independent factors: two metonymies: a) NEUTRAL FOR POSITIVE: Recipient to Benefactive b) EVENT FOR SALIENT PARTICIPANT OF EVENT: event of ‘giving’ for ‘benefitting recipient’ (iii) Motivational process: grammaticalization of verb into case marker (iv) Target: Case marker ná ‘Benefactive’ 09/09/2020 Motivation 5

Characteristics of motivation (i) Motivation is a causal relation but the notion of causation is non-deterministic—that’s why motivation is described as “shaping” or “influencing”). (ii) Motivation in language is “relative’, i. e. a matter of degree on a continuum between the poles of arbitrariness and predictability. (iii) A motivational process is based on post hoc, i. e. abductive reasoning by the analyst, i. e. it is inferred from some observed fact and general principles of reasoning to a conclusion that “best explains” the observed fact. 09/09/2020 Motivation 6

Non-determinacy in naming a thing What do we call this thing? The motivational source is the concept ‘screwdriver’. The motivational target is the name of it. 09/09/2020 Motivation 7

Words for ‘screw-driver’ across languages SCREW-DRIVE-ER screwdriver SCREW(S)-PULL-ER Schraubenzieher skruetrækker csavarhúzó SCREW-TURN-ER schroevedraaier neji-mawashi TURN-SCREW tournevis nasadolige SCREW-TURN śrubokręt DE/OUT-SCREW-ER destornillador STICK-IN/TAKE-OUT-SCREW cacciavite KEY OF CUT chave de fenda SCREW-KNIFE luósīdāo SCREW-CHISEL skruvmejsel ruuvimeisseli, ruuvitaltta 09/09/2020 Motivation English German Danish Hungarian Dutch Japanese French Korean Polish Spanish Italian Portuguese Chinese Swedish Finnish 8

Screwdriver ICM (Idealized Cognitive Model) Schrauben-zieh-er csavar-húz-ó schroeve-draai-er INSTRUMENT TOOL tourne-vis key ‘screwdriver’ ACTION APPLIED-TO cut of screw MATERIAL SHAPE PURPOSE drive-in MEANS METAL pull-out turn screw-driv-er 09/09/2020 chisel Motivation long thin rod with handle on one and blade at the other end long shaft with metal blade skruvmejsel chave de fenda 9

Screwdriver ICM – ‘screw’ Schrauben-zieh-er csavar-húz-ó schroeve-draai-er INSTRUMENT TOOL tourne-vis key ‘screwdriver’ ACTION APPLIED-TO cut of screw MATERIAL SHAPE PURPOSE drive-in MEANS METAL pull-out turn long thin rod with handle on one and blade at the other end long shaft with metal blade skruvmejsel chave de fenda screw-driv-er 09/09/2020 chisel Motivation 10

Screwdriver ICM – ‘drive’ Schrauben-zieh-er csavar-húz-ó schroeve-draai-er INSTRUMENT TOOL tourne-vis key ‘screwdriver’ ACTION APPLIED-TO cut of screw MATERIAL SHAPE PURPOSE drive-in MEANS METAL pull-out turn long thin rod with handle on one and blade at the other end long shaft with metal blade skruvmejsel chave de fenda screw-driv-er 09/09/2020 chisel Motivation 11

Screwdriver ICM – ‘pull’ Schrauben-zieh-er csavar-húz-ó schroeve-draai-er INSTRUMENT TOOL tourne-vis key ‘screwdriver’ ACTION APPLIED-TO cut of screw MATERIAL SHAPE PURPOSE drive-in MEANS METAL pull-out turn long thin rod with handle on one and blade at the other end long shaft with metal blade skruvmejsel chave de fenda screw-driv-er 09/09/2020 chisel Motivation 12

Screwdriver ICM – ‘turn’ Schrauben-zieh-er csavar-húz-ó schroeve-draai-er INSTRUMENT TOOL tourne-vis key ‘screwdriver’ ACTION APPLIED-TO cut of screw MATERIAL SHAPE PURPOSE drive-in MEANS METAL pull-out turn long thin rod with handle on one and blade at the other end long shaft with metal blade skruvmejsel chave de fenda screw-driv-er 09/09/2020 chisel Motivation 13

Screwdriver ICM - Instrument Schrauben-zieh-er csavar-húz-ó schroeve-draai-er INSTRUMENT TOOL tourne-vis key ‘screwdriver’ ACTION APPLIED-TO cut of screw MATERIAL SHAPE PURPOSE drive-in MEANS METAL pull-out turn long thin rod with handle on one and blade at the other end long shaft with metal blade skruvmejsel chave de fenda screw-driv-er 09/09/2020 chisel Motivation 14

Screwdriver ICM Schrauben-zieh-er csavar-húz-ó schroeve-draai-er INSTRUMENT TOOL tourne-vis key ‘screwdriver’ ACTION APPLIED-TO cut of screw MATERIAL SHAPE PURPOSE drive-in MEANS METAL pull-out turn long thin rod with handle on one and blade at the other end long shaft with metal blade skruvmejsel chave de fenda screw-driv-er 09/09/2020 chisel Motivation 15

Relativity of motivation [The principle of arbitrariness] would lead to the worst sort of complication if applied without restriction. But the mind contrives to introduce a principle of order and regularity into certain parts of the mass of signs and this is the role of relative motivation. There is no language in which nothing is motivated, and our definition makes it impossible to conceive of a language in which everything is motivated. Between the two extremes—a minimum of organization and a minimum of arbitrariness—we find all possible varieties. (de Saussure 1916/1959) Motivation 09/09/2020 16

Relativity of motivation Relative Arbitrariness M o t i v a t i o n Predictability 20 80 12 vingt quatre-vingt douze 09/09/2020 14 quatorze Motivation 19 21 dix-neuf vingt-et-un 17

Motivational processes within a wider framework (i) Motivational processes are triggered by independent factors, i. e. factors that are external to the human system the motivational entity belongs to. (ii) In principle, motivational relations may hold between any two human systems. (iii) We claim that all human systems interact with cognition as the central system and may, via cognition, interact with one another. Cognition thus functions as a switchboard that receives input from peripheral systems and may influence them in turn. 09/09/2020 Motivation 18

Cognition and its interaction with other human systems (Radden & Panther 2011) 09/09/2020 Motivation 19

Cognition: Reasoning (Kahneman 2011) A bat and a ball cost $1. 10. The ball costs one dollar more than the bat. How much does the ball cost? The answer 10 c is intuitive, appealing, and wrong. If the ball costs 10 c, then the total cost will be $1. 20 (10 c for the ball and $1. 10 for the bat), not $1. 10. The correct answer is 5 c. System 1 is fast, instinctive and emotional. (10 c) System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. (5 c) 09/09/2020 Motivation 20

Cognition: Categories A category is a conceptual unit formed on the basis of a collection of equivalent experiences that are meaningful and relevant to us, i. e. categories are formed for things that “matter” in a community. Concept: general and abstract idea, as opposed to percept Collection: Categories are types. Equivalence: Assessment of similarity of experiences Experience: “We see things not as they are but as we are. ” (Kant) Meaningfulness and relevance: “Language without meaning is meaningless. ” (Jakobson) Community: Collective experience 09/09/2020 Motivation 21

Recategorization: X and Y alike construction (Panther & Thornburg 2012) (1) A car-free family resort offering a warm welcome, summer and winter alike. (2) Doctors and citizens alike are concerned about the consequences of health-care reform. 09/09/2020 Motivation 22

Cognition: Inference and conversational implicature Conversational implicatures are inferences drawn by the hearer in order to recover the speaker’s intended meaning of an utterance. Sarah: “I've been asked to get married hundreds of times. ” Miriam (surprised): ”Really? ! By whom? ” Sarah: “My parents. ” Sarah’s statement invites the implicature that she has been asked to get married by hundreds of men. Her reply cancels this implicature. 09/09/2020 Motivation 23

Bodily Experience and Cognition 09/09/2020 Motivation 24

Bodily Experience and Cognition: Impact of bodily experience on cognition “This is Descartes' error: the abyssal separation between body and mind, between the sizable, dimensioned, mechanically operated, infinitely divisible body stuff, on the one hand, and the unsizable, undimensional, un-pushpullable, nondivisible mind stuff. Body and brain form an indissociable organism. ” (Damasio) UNDERSTANDING IS GRASPING: grasp a complex idea IDEAS ARE FOOD: She gave us some brain food. They swallowed whatever garbage he gave them. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested. (Bacon) 09/09/2020 Motivation 25

Bodily Experience and Cognition: Impact of cognition on bodily experience Cultural prohibition against the use of language referring to bodily functions: Taboo words are avoided and euphemisms used instead: Where can I wash my hands? We have a relationship. 09/09/2020 Motivation 26

Perception and Cognition 09/09/2020 Motivation 27

Perception and Cognition Müller-Lyer illusion 09/09/2020 Motivation 28

Perception and Cognition: Impact of perception on cognition KNOWING IS SEEING I see the solution to the problem. ‘know’ I see your point. ‘understand’ APPEARANCE FOR INFERRED REALITY John looks sad. ‘Judging from his appearance, I infer that John is sad’ You sound disappointed. ‘Judging from your tone of voice, I infer that you are disappointed’ 09/09/2020 Motivation 29

Perception and Cognition: Impact of cognition on perception “We see things not as they are but as we are. ” (Kant) Objects perceived (tokens) become meaningful by assigning them to a type, as in: That’s a poisonous snake. Cognition enables us to divide a perceived scene into Figure and Ground. Figure 2. 4. Figure and ground 09/09/2020 Motivation 30

The Canadian flag Two angry men with their foreheads pressed together: Jack and Jacques 09/09/2020 Motivation 31

Culture and Cognition: Impact of culture on cognition Metaphor: ANGER IS HEAT Variant a) English and Chinese: ANGER IS FIRE Variant b) English: ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER as in You make my blood boil. Chinese: ANGER IS HOT GAS IN A CONTAINER as in ‘He’s ballooned with gas’, i. e. ‘inflated with anger’ Philosophical theory of yin-yang: fluids (yin) are categorized with cold, while gas (yang) is categorized with heat because heat is understood as a necessary condition for the occurrence of gas. (Yu 1998: 55) Motivation 09/09/2020 32

Language and Cognition 09/09/2020 Motivation 33

Language and cognition: Impact of language on cognition “Language is the formative organ of thought. ” (Wilhelm von Humboldt, 1830 -35) “The limits of my language are the limits of my mind. All I know is what I have words for. ” (Ludwig Wittgenstein) 09/09/2020 Motivation 34

Whorfian effects: Grammatical gender (Lera Boroditsky) ‘key’ German der Schlüssel evokes “male” attributes: ‘hard’, ‘heavy’, ‘jagged’, ‘metal’, ‘serrated’, ‘useful’ Spanish la llave evokes “female attributes: ‘golden’, ‘intricate’, ‘little’, ‘lovely’, ‘shiny’, ‘tiny’ ‘bridge’ German die Brücke evokes “female” attributes: ‘beautiful’, ‘elegant’, ‘fragile’, ‘peaceful’, ‘slender’, ‘pretty’ Spanish el puente evokes “male” attributes: ‘big’, ‘dangerous’, ‘long’, ‘strong’, ‘sturdy’, ‘towering’ 09/09/2020 Motivation 35

die Rialto-Brücke 09/09/2020 Motivation 36

el puente de la torre de Londres 09/09/2020 Motivation 37

Herta Müller, Nobel prize winner Reporter: Sometimes you use the feminine gender with words that have the masculine gender in German. Herta Müller: Yes, this is because certain words in Romanian have a different gender. Winter in Romanian is a woman, and without being aware of it, I have made it into a woman. And I also know that I meant the Romanian winter. That’s crazy about language. The word gives us a view of something. The rose in Romanian is masculine, also the lily; they give us a different view. 09/09/2020 Motivation 38

Language and cognition: Basic semiotic relations of a sign SOURCE TARGET CONTENT FORM arbitrary relation Motivation 09/09/2020 FORM TARGET SOURCE CONTENT motivating FORM motivating CONTENT 39

Content motivating form: Iconicity Imagic iconicity applies to a sign that resembles its conceived referent. Pictograms: Onomatopoeia (imitative iconicity) Latin cuculus > OFr. coucoul (> cokold > Engl. cuckold) > OFr. coucou > Engl. cuckoo Cuckoo superseded Old English gēac, which lost its onomatopoeic quality through sound change, and did not undergo the regular sound change of /u/ to /Λ/. 09/09/2020 Motivation 40

Words for the cuckoo Afrikaans: koekoek Japanese: kakkou Albanian: ku ku Italian: cucú, cucú Catalan: cucut, cucut Korean: ppu-kkook-ppu-kkook Croatian: ku-ku Norwegian: koko Danish: kuk-kuk Portuguese: cucu Dutch: koekoek Russian: ku-ku English: cuckoo Slovene: ku-ku Estonian: kuku Spanish: cúcu Finnish: kukkuu Swedish: koko French: coucou Turkish: guguk, guguk German: kuckuck Ukrainian: ku-ku, ku-ku Hebrew: kuku Vietnamese: cuc-cu 09/09/2020 Motivation 41

Imagic iconicity: Kanji characters (ideograms) 09/09/2020 Motivation 42

Kanji characters for ‘Nihon’ 09/09/2020 Motivation 43

Kanji characters for ‘Tokyo’ 09/09/2020 Motivation 44

Form motivating content: Isomorphism Sameness of form signals sameness of meaning: phonesthemes, e. g. /sp/: spit, spank, spam stress pattern (Taylor 2004) Hamburg-er, Frankfurt-er, London-er, villag-er [’hæm, bə: gə] has the same stress pattern as dog-lover, man-hater, horse-breeding, etc. reanalyzed as ham-burger cheese-burger, etc. Motivation 09/09/2020 45

Phonesthemes: bang as in Bang goes the weekend (Taylor) Many monosyllabic words with the vowel /æ/ designate a noisy impact and/or sudden movement: slam, slap, crack, clap, flap, crash, bash, spank, smack Several words commencing in /b/ are associated with a sudden event: boo, beat, batter, bump, binge, bingo A number of words ending in a nasal are associated with sound or movement: sing, ring, ping, fling, sling, dong, gong, hum, boom 09/09/2020 Motivation 46

Content Content/Form: Compounds Example: ‘screwdriver’ ‘screw’ + ‘drive’ + INSTR screwdriver TARGET SOURCE CONTENT ‘ICM’ 1 C 1 F 1 3 C 2 F 3 2 TARGET CONTENT FORM 1+2+3 1: motivated conceptual relation 2: motivated form-form relation 3: motivated semiotic relation Motivation 09/09/2020 47