Abstract:
The aim of the study is to highlight the role and place of those language elements
that, in the overall scheme of the linguistic worldview, are traditionally referred to as
grammatical. We, thus, side with those linguistic conceptions that assume that grammar
and lexicon constitute a continuum of symbolic structures. The key operational tool/notion
is that of cognitive equivalence, with grammatical conceptualization (grammaticalization)
and lexical conceptualization (lexicalization) being the two equivalent ways, or two
complementary cognitive tasks, of expressing conceptualizations in language. In the
analytical part of the article, the paradigm of the linguistic worldview comes to the fore,
and it is within its premises that the research question of how futurity happens to be
conceptualized in selected languages is attempted. The examples come from English,
Polish, and several other European languages.
