Dr Kari Sullivan
Researcher biography
Human beings can communicate complex ideas using only a few words. We all share cognitive tools, such as metaphor, that allow us to activate complex meanings in other people's minds using language. My research focuses on how these cognitive tools are tied to linguistic forms, such as specific words and grammar. One of the ways I examine the relation between cognition and language is to compare language and non-linguistic communication, particularly the visual arts, as in my award-winning paper The Languages of Art and other publications. My 2013 book Frames and Constructions in Metaphoric Language examines how grammar helps us to communicate metaphor. I'm also interested in connections between (central) non-metaphoric senses and (extended) metaphoric senses in different languages.