ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Cognitive linguistics

Cognitive Linguistics is like a game where we try to understand how our brains use language to communicate. Let's play a game of pretend to understand better.

Imagine you're playing house with your friends. You might pretend to be the mommy and some of your friends will pretend to be the daddy or the children. To keep playing the game, you will need to use language to communicate with each other. When you speak, your brain is working hard to use the right words and phrases to express your ideas.

Cognitive Linguistics is like a game where we try to understand why we use certain words and phrases to express our ideas. It helps us figure out how our brains use language to make sense of the world around us.

For example, let's say you're trying to explain to your friends how to make a sandwich. You might say "first, take two pieces of bread" because you know that bread comes in slices and most people will understand that two slices make one sandwich. Your brain is using a cognitive rule to help you express your idea clearly.

Cognitive Linguistics is interested in the rules our brains use to make sense of language. It looks at things like how we form metaphors (saying one thing is like another thing) or how we use gestures to communicate. It also looks at the meanings behind words and how they change over time.

So, in summary, Cognitive Linguistics is a game where we try to understand how our brains use language to communicate. By studying the rules our brains use, we can better understand how we make sense of the world around us.