Mouton de Gruyter is one of the leading publishers in the field of linguistics, with a particular reputation for journals, research monographs, reference works, multimedia publications, and bibliographies. It has two main offices, in Berlin and New York.

This book is part of its Applications of Cognitive Linguistics [ACL] Series, edited by Gitte Kristiansen, Michel Achard, Ren? Dirven and Francisco Ruiz de Mendoza Ib?ez (ISSN 1861-4078), which is focused on relevant contributions in any domain where the theoretical insights developed in Cognitive Linguistics (CL) have been fruitfully applied. In the past twenty years, the CL movement has articulated a rich and satisfying view of language around a small number of foundational principles.

The first principle argues that language faculties do not constitute a separate module of cognition, but emerge as specialized uses of more general cognitive abilities. The second principle emphasises the symbolic function of language. The grammar of individual languages (including the lexicon, morphology, and syntax) can be exclusively described as a structured inventory of conventionalized symbolic units. The third principle states that meaning is equated with conceptualization. It is subjective, anthropomorphic, and crucially incorporates humans' experience with their bodies and the world around them. Finally, CL's Usage-Based conception anchors the meaning of linguistic expressions in the rich oil of their social usage. Consequently, usage-related issues such as frequency and entrenchment largely contribute to their semantic import.

Taken together, these principles provide researchers in different academic fields with a powerful theoretical framework for the investigation of linguistic issues in the specific context of their particular disciplines. The primary focus of ACL is to serve as a high level forum for the result of these investigations.