The Two Core Commitments of Cognitive Linguistics

Abstract

The paper outlines the core assumptions of Cognitive Linguistics (CL), an interdisciplinary approach that links language, meaning, and cognition within a usage‑based framework. It highlights two central commitments of Cognitive Linguistics: the cognitive commitment, which requires linguistic theory to be compatible with findings from cognitive science and neuroscience, and the generalization commitment, which seeks to identify unified cognitive principles underlying all aspects of language. Against this background, the paper explores embodied cognition, the encyclopedic organization of meaning, and the status of the symbolic unit as the basic building block of mental grammar. It also examines how language both reflects and shapes processes of conceptualization, while acknowledging ongoing debates about the nature of meaning and the cognitive mechanisms that underlie conceptual organization.