LINGUISTIC MEANING MEETS LINGUISTIC FORM IN ACTION
Manuscrito March 22, 2022 Nara Miranda de Figueiredo, Elena Clare Cuffari 4 citations
This paper argues that sign-based semantics can be freed from reliance on mental content by combining linguistic enactivism with insights from cognitive archeology. The authors accept Duffley's methodological use of corpus analysis but reject his ontological commitment to mental content. They propose that meaningful material engagement, as studied in cognitive archeology, shows how sign-using emerges as an enactive capacity—a practical, embodied skill rather than a mental representation. This reframing preserves the empirical rigor of corpus analysis while grounding meaning in situated, material interactions.