The Cognitive Grounding of English Phrasal Verbs [MA thesis Preface]

This study investigates the cognitive grounding of English phrasal verbs on the basis of two fundamental cognitive processes; metonymy and metaphor. Formal approaches to English phrasal verbs focus on syntactic and morphological factors, however, through this thesis I will attempt to study this type of idiomatic expressions on the basis of the cognitive framework since I believe it profoundly explains how speakers convey meaning with the use of English phrasal verbs. I will place central emphasis on metonymy, metaphor and image schemas. More precisely, the introductory part reviews former approaches to English phrasal verbs, which however, account merely on morpho-syntactic factors. The approach followed adopts the theoretical framework of Cognitive Linguistics, and particularly cognitive semantics, which places central emphasis on meaning, on the role of cognition and on the conceptualization and expression of linguistic expressions. It is argued that the semantics of the particle blend with the semantics of the verb in such a way so that the idiomatic character of the particular expression arises. It is further proposed that English phrasal verbs could be studied as the in-between point of (de)compositionality and fixedness. With regard to idiomaticity, it is claimed that there is a continuum from metonymic to metaphoric interpretations of English phrasal verbs, or cases of strong interaction between the two processes. The final part of the thesis attempts to propose that English phrasal verbs are rooted in image schemas. 

Acknowledgements
It is a pleasure to thank those who made this paper possible. I am heartily thankful to my supervisor, Professor Angeliki Athanasiadou, whose encouragement, supervision and support from the preliminary to the concluding level enabled me to develop an understanding of the subject. She never accepted less than my best efforts.