Cognitive Phonology

Abstract

Cognitive Phonology is a branch of Cognitive Grammar which has its origins from Langacker’s (1987, 2007, 2008), Lakoff’s (1987, 1993) and Taylor’s (2002) works. This theory adopts a non-modular paradigm of the mind and is based on the premise that the cognitive skills required for language are similar to those ones used in other cognitive tasks (COUPER, 2011). Since Cognitive Phonology is part of Cognitive Grammar, there is a correlation between phonology and other levels of structure (syntax, semantics, morphology, etc.), so sound cannot be learnt independently of meaning. Since Cognitive Phonology is an area explored in several countries, except in Brazil, this article aims to describe and discuss a topic which is still little explored by the academic environment in Brazilian territory, since most of the researches developed in that country are based on the theoretical and methodological assumptions of Phonology of Use, by Bybee (1994, 2001), which is another branch of Cognitive Linguistics.