Perceptual and conceptual reference point constructions in cinematographic shots
Perceptual and conceptual reference point constructions in cinematographic shots

Summary/Abstract: In Cognitive Grammar, the concept of reference point (R) designates the conception of one entity invoked in order to establish “mental contact” with another. The reference point access is a manner of mental scanning of a series of discrete elements in order to find a final element embedded in this chain. In film, we can dissociate between perceptual reference point (pRP) and conceptual reference point (cRP). The pRP can be perceptually present in long takes that, after the editing cut, focus on a metonymic element of a scene in order to track to another section of the scene. The paper analyses several pRP and cRP constructions in film sequences and conceptual phenomena involving metonymy. Diegetic metonymy is compared to symbolic metonymy, which ultimately leads to metaphoric construals. We can also establish metonymic categories used as pivots between semantic domains and metonymies that profile unbounded qualities similar to mass nouns.

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