A cognitive and quantitative approach to mathematical concretization

Alexander, M. (2020) A cognitive and quantitative approach to mathematical concretization. In: Tubbs, R., Jenkins, A. and Engelhardt, N. (eds.) The Palgrave Handbook of Literature and Mathematics. Palgrave Macmillan: Cham, pp. 589-608. ISBN 9783030554774 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-55478-1_32)

Abstract

This chapter analyses the linguistic role of analogy as a strategy of concretizing abstract concepts addressed in popular science focused on mathematics. A rich analogy used in a text popularising number theory is explored through firstly a quantitative method and then using conceptual blending, a theory taken from cognitive linguistics. The chapter demonstrates the use of corpus-based and cognitive approaches to language in the analysis of the ways in which popular science texts aim to give non-experts a sense of understanding of complex mathematical concepts.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Alexander, Professor Marc
• Authors: Alexander, M.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics; P Language and Literature > PE English; Q Science > QA Mathematics
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Language and Linguistics
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• ISBN: 9783030554774
• Published Online: 31 December 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Author
• First Published: First published in The Palgrave Handbook of Literature and Mathematics: 589-608
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy