Blending basics (linguistic aspects of conceptual blending theory and conceptual integration)

This article serves as a primer for the theory of online meaning constructi on known alternately as conceptual blending, conceptual integration, the ma ny space model, and the network theory. Our tutorial proceeds by analyzing novel and conventional examples of linguistic and nonlinguistic blends that pertain to topics of reference, partitioning, mapping, structure projectio n, and dynamic mental simulation. Principal concepts and processes of blend ing theory are described, including composition, completion, elaboration, e mergent structure, and optimality constraints. We review recent work on ble nding theory from the perspective of linguistics, psychology, computer scie nce, and neurobiology, and conclude with a discussion on potential weakness es of the theory.