The interpretation of different perceptual cues take place at a
high cognitive level, where they are mapped
onto the cognitive representation of space. That means that there is
no direct connection between perception and language. Perceptual features
are reflected in language only via conceptualization.
As Lakoff (1987) defines it: "SEEING TYPICALLY INVOLVES CATEGORIZING".
Seeing includes always seeing-as, that is categorizing what is perceived.
Perception has to do with the interaction between the perceiver and the
perceived world. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) describe metaphor
as a fundamental principle of conceptual organization, which is based
on facts of our physical and cultural experience, as the field of spatial
metaphors show. The natural connection between body and space (movement
in space, upright posture) is the basis for our cognition of space. The
embodiment of concepts provides an iconic connection
between the perceiver and the perceived world. The mediation between
perception and language is achieved by social, cultural and cognitive schemata
which can be named as semiotic determinants of
linearization.
