COGNITIVE MECHANISMS OF ELLIPSIS INTERPRETATION IN CONTEMPORARY GERMAN DISCOURSE

Abstract

Ellipsis, the omission of syntactically required elements recoverable from context, is a key feature of contemporary German discourse, as seen in expressions like "Kommst später?" (Are you coming later?) or "Kaffee?" (Want coffee?). This study explores the cognitive mechanisms enabling German speakers to interpret ellipsis in real-time discourse, integrating cognitive linguistics frameworks such as mental spaces, embodied cognition, and cultural schemas. Using a mixed-methods approach—corpus analysis, experimental tasks, and multimodal video analysis—the study identifies three core mechanisms: conceptual blending, contextual inference, and embodied simulation. Findings show that ellipsis interpretation varies across formal, informal, and digital contexts, shaped by German cultural schemas of directness and camaraderie, with non-verbal cues enhancing comprehension. A cross-linguistic comparison with English and Uzbek highlights German-specific patterns. The table summarizes ellipsis types, cognitive mechanisms, and contextual factors, offering insights for linguistic theory, language teaching, translation, and natural language processing.