Can you describe a car? Possibly you will say it is simple. But actually it is not so simple. As experiments have shown，people will usually state that a car has a box-like shape， that it has wheels，doors，and windows，that it is driven by an engine and equipped with a steering wheel，an accelerator and brakes，and that it has seats for the driver and the passengers. Besides，it will also be mentioned that a car is comfortable and fast，that it offers mobility， independence  and perhaps social status. Some people may connect the notion of“car” with their first love affair，or with injury if they were once involved in an accident. This example tells us that the description of a car goes beyond objective descriptions，but provides a richer， more natural view of its meaning， and includes the use of metaphors. This approach that language and language use are based on our bodily experience and the way we conceptualize it is called cognitive linguistics.

As a new approach to the study of language and mind， cognitive linguistics began to appear in the 1970s and has been increasingly active since the 1980s. The interesting topics of cognitive linguistics include the structural characteristics of natural language categorization (such as what is a prototype，metaphor，mental imagery，and cognitive models)，the functional principles of linguistic organization (such as iconicity and naturalness)，the conceptual interface between syntax and semantics， the experiential and pragmatic background of language-in-use，and the relationship between language and thought. In the following sections we will have an introduction to some of the subjects.