At the Crossroads of Historical and Cognitive Linguistics

This volume explores the synergy between historical and cognitive linguistics, demonstrating how the two can jointly shed light on patterns of language change. Focusing on figurative language, particularly metaphor and metonymy, it features a range of case studies that zoom in on the emergence and evolution of meaning across time, with chapters addressing, among other topics, diachronic changes in the semantics of nouns (e.g. for emotions) and speech act verbs. Beyond lexical and grammatical change, the volume engages with broader issues such as belief systems, the conceptualization of the future, intersubjectification, etymology, and prototype theory. The contributors employ a variety of theoretical and methodological frameworks, including diachronic morphology, cultural history, and both exploratory and confirmatory statistics. Together, these studies exemplify the potential of interdisciplinary approaches and invite further dialogue on the tools and theories suited to tracing the evolution of figurative thought and language over time.