This book fills a longstanding need for a basic introduction to
Cognitive Grammar that is current, authoritative, comprehensive, and
approachable. It presents a synthesis that draws together and refines
the descriptive and theoretical notions developed in this framework
over the course of three decades. In a unified manner, it accommodates
both the conceptual and the social-interactive basis of linguistic
structure, as well as the need for both functional explanation and
explicit structural description. Starting with the fundamentals,
essential aspects of the theory are systematically laid out with
concrete illustrations and careful discussion of their rationale. Among
the topics surveyed are conceptual semantics, grammatical classes,
grammatical constructions, the lexicon-grammar continuum characterized
as assemblies of symbolic structures (form-meaning pairings), and the
usage-based account of productivity, restrictions, and well-formedness.
The theory's central claim - that grammar is inherently meaningful - is
thereby shown to be viable. The framework is further elucidated through
application to nominal structure, clause structure, and complex
sentences. These are examined in broad perspective, with
exemplification from English and numerous other languages. In line with
the theory's general principles, they are discussed not only in terms
of their structural characterization, but also their conceptual value
and functional motivation. Other matters explored include discourse,
the temporal dimension of language structure, and what grammar reveals
about cognitive processes and the construction of our mental world.