Vantage Theory

A View on Language, Cognition and Categorization

Edited By: Adam Głaz, Marnie L. Moist

£54.99

This book introduces Vantage Theory, Robert E. MacLaury's model of categorization. The theory views categorization as constructing a point of view, by analogy to how humans orient in space-time. The volume includes MacLaury's unpublished studies and new research.

The book is concerned with Vantage Theory (VT), a model of categorization proposed by the American linguist, anthropologist, and cognitive scientist, Robert E. MacLaury (1944–2004).…

The book is concerned with Vantage Theory (VT), a model of categorization proposed by the American linguist, anthropologist, and cognitive scientist, Robert E. MacLaury (1944–2004). It consists of three of his previously unpublished studies and five chapters by other authors.

Vantage Theory views categorization as a process of vantage (point of view) construction by analogy to the way humans orient themselves in space-time. Originating in the domain of color, the theory was extended to cover other aspects of cognition and language. The chapters authored by MacLaury introduce the model, discuss the details of the analogy between space-time and categorization, and present four case studies.

The remaining chapters present an overview of the existing literature on VT, locate the model against the broader background of psychological and cognitive research, and propose its application to novel data.

Adam Głaz, Assistant Professor at Marie Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland, is interested in linguistic categorization and point of view in language and linguistics.

Marnie L. Moist, Associate Professor of Psychology at Saint Francis University, USA, researches in teaching pedagogy, culture and categorization, and service-learning assessment.

Elena Tribushinina, Assistant Professor at Utrecht Institute of Linguistics, the Netherlands, deals with cross-linguistic aspects of language acquisition and cognitive semantics.