Abstract：Cognitive semiotics is a new transdisciplinary field which emerged in the early 1990s, seeking to explore multi-aspects of meaning. Its emergence was inspired by cognitive linguistics. Firstly, this paper reviews the development of cognitive linguistics in terms of “three axes” and “three dimensions”. Then the paper discusses the transition from cognitive linguistics to cognitive semiotics and illustrates its uniqueness and extension. Finally, it elaborates the philosophical basis of cognitive semiotics and the two main views on how signs and meanings are made. The paper attempts to highlight the importance and necessity of cognitive semiotics. It proposes a shift from cognitive linguistics to cognitive semiotics, based on the argument that cognitive linguistics mainly focuses on language, whereas cognitive semiotics explores the generation of signs and meanings from a broader scope.
Key words: cognitive semiotics; cognitive linguistics; semiotics; cognitive science
