Linguistic Categorization Prototypes in Linguistic Theory

by Taylor, John R.

• ISBN13: 9780198239185
• ISBN10: 0198239181
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1991-09-12
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This book explores the far-reaching implications for linguistic theory of Eleanor Rosch's seminal work on categorization. A common assumption is that all members of a category necessarily share a common set of attributes. Rosch's research suggest, instead that categories are definable in the first instance in terms of best examples--or "prototypes"--and that things get associated with the category on the basis of some kind of similarity with the prototype. John R. Taylor extends the prototype approach from its obvious applications to lexical semantics, opening up exciting possibilities for the study of morphology, syntax, and phonology. He explores a number of topics along the way, including the encyclopedic nature of all semantic knowledge, the redundancy of pragmatics, the phenomenon of polysemy, the processes of metonymic and metaphorical extension, and language acquisition.

Table of Contents

The categorization of colour

The classical approach to categorization

Prototype categories: I

Prototype categories: II

Linguistic and encyclopeadic knowledge

Polysemy and meaning chains

Category extension: metonymy and metaphor

Polysemous categories in morphology and syntax

Polysemous categories in intonation

Grammatical categories

Syntactic constructions as prototype categories

Prototype categories in phonology

The acquisition of categories

Recent developments (1995)

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