认知语言学是在反对以生成语法为首的主流语言学的基础上建立起来的，在哲学基础和工作假设上它都与主流语言学有很大的差别。其哲学基础是经验主义哲学或非客观主义的经验现实主义哲学。在本书中两位作者细致入微地阐释了认知语言学的核心概念，同时，又探讨了在诸如象似性、词汇变化、语法化和语言教学等研究中引入认知概念的种种益处。此次第二版增加了构式语法理论、概念合成理论、关联理论等内容，并对原来的内容进行了修订。

《认知语言学入门》第一版于1996年问世，成为当时国内外第一本认知语言学教科书。在书中，两位作者细致入微地阐释了认知语言学的核心概念，同时，又探讨了在诸如象似性、词汇变化、语法化和语言教学等研究中引入认知概念的种种益处。

此次第二版增加了构式语法理论、概念合成理论、关联理论等内容，并对原来的内容进行了修订，从而更全面地反映认知语言学研究近年的最新成果，更好地适应不同读者的需求，是语言学界不可多得的一本内容广泛的认知语言学教科书。

Publisher’s acknowledgements

Preface to the second edition

Typographical conventions

Introduction

1 Prototypes and categories

 1.1 Colours，squares，birds and cups：early empirical research into lexical categories

 1.2 The internal structure of categories：prototypes，attributes，family resemblances and gestalt

 1.3 Context·dependence and cultural models

2 Levels of categorization

 2.1 Basic level categories of organisms and concrete objects

 2.2 Superordinate and subordinate categories

 2.3 Conceptual hierarchies

 2.4 Categorization and composite word forms

 2.5 Basic level categories and basic experiences：actions，events，properties，states and locations

3 Conceptual metaphors and metonymies

 3.1 Metaphors and metonymies：from figures of speech to conceptual systems

 3.2 Metaphors，metonymies and the structure of emotion categories

 3.3 Metaphors as a way of thinking：examples from science and politics

 3.4 Thinking in metonymies：potential and limitations

4 Figure and ground

 4.1 Figure and ground，trajector and landmark：early research into prepositions

 4.2 Figure，ground and two metaphors：a cognitive explanation of simple clause patterns

 4.3 Other types of prominence and cognitive processing

5 Frames and cOnstructions

 5.1 Frames and scripts

 5.2 Event-frames and the windowing of attention

 5.3 Language-specific framing and its use in narrative texts

 5.4 Construction Grammar

6 Blending and relevance

 6.1 Metaphor，metonymy and conceptual blending

 6.2 Conceptual blending in linguistic analysis and description

 6.3 Conceptual blending in advertising texts，riddles and iokes

 6.4 Relevance：a cognitive·pragmatic phenomenon

7 Other issues in cognitive linguistics

 7.1 lconicity

 7.2 Lexical change and prototypicality

 7.3 Cognitive aspects of grammaticalization

 7.4 Effects on foreign language teaching

Conclusion