Encyclopaedic semantics

Research into the encyclopaedic nature of meaning has mainly focused on the way semantic structure is organised relative to conceptual knowledge structures. One proposal concerning the organisation of word meaning is based on the notion of a frame against which word-meanings are under stood. This idea has been developed in linguistics by Charles Fillmore (1975, 1977, 1982, 1985a). Frames are detailed knowledge structures or schemas emerging from everyday experiences. According to this perspective, knowledge of word meaning is, in part, knowledge of the individual frames with which a word is associated. A theory of frame semantics therefore reveals the rich network of meaning that makes up our knowledge of words (see Chapter 7).

 By way of illustration, consider the verbs rob and steal. On first inspection it might appear that these verbs both relate to a THEFT frame, which includes the following roles: (1) THIEF; (2) TARGET (the person or a place that is robbed); and (3) GOODS (to be) stolen. However, there is an important difference between the two verbs: while rob profiles THIEF and TARGET, stealprofiles THIEF and GOODS. The examples in (12) are from Goldberg (1995: 45).

In other words, while both verbs can occur in sentences with all three participants, each verb has different requirements concerning which two participants it needs. This is illustrated by following examples (although it’s worth observing that (13a) is acceptable in some British English dialects):

As these examples illustrate, our knowledge of word meaning involves complex networks of knowledge.

 A related approach is the theory of domains, developed by Langacker (e.g. 1987). In his theory of domains (also discussed in Chapter 7), Langacker argues that knowledge representation can be described in terms of profile-base organisation. A linguistic unit’s profile is the part of its semantic structure upon which that word focuses attention: this part is explicitly mentioned. The aspect of semantic structure that is not in focus, but is necessary in order to understand the profile, is called the base. For instance, the lexical item hunter profiles a particular participant in an activity in which an animal is pursued with a view to it being killed. The meaning of hunter is only understood in the context of this activity. The hunting process is therefore the base against which the participant hunter is profiled.

اخر الاخبار

اخبار العتبة العباسية المقدسة

خدمات صحية متكاملة قدَّمها قسم الشؤون الطبية لزائري ليلة النصف من شعبان في مجمَّع الشيخ الكليني

خدمات صحية متكاملة قدَّمها قسم الشؤون الطبية لزائري ليلة النصف من شعبان في مجمَّع الشيخ الكليني

في ذكرى ولادة الإمام المهدي (عجّل الله فرجه).. قسم الشؤون الفكرية يصدر عددًا خاصًّا من مجلة العقيدة

للاطّلاع على خدماته المقدمة للزائرين مركز السيد جعفر الحلي يستقبل المدير العام لمديرية العمليات والخدمات الطبية في وزارة الصحة

المزيد

الآخبار الصحية

دراسة تكشف "سر الوسادة".. ودورها في حماية البصر

بالأشعة تحت الحمراء.. "ثورة علمية" في علاج اللاعبين

مشروب أحمر يخفض ضغط الدم "بشكل ملحوظ"

الصحة العالمية تكشف حقيقة انتشار فيروس نيباه خارج الهند

المزيد

الآخبار التكنلوجية

دراسة تدفعك لشراء ساعة ذكية "فورا".. هذا ما تقوله عن قلبك

علماء حاصلون على "نوبل": الذكاء الاصطناعي لن يستبدل الإنسان

وانغ هو: القمة العالمية للعلماء تجسد تقدير الإمارات للعلم

رئيس رابطة كبار العلماء يعلن تأسيس مقر في الإمارات

المزيد

مواضيع ذات صلة

Cognitive Grammar

The Conceptual Structuring System Model

Distinct cognitive approaches to grammar

The architecture of the model

The usage-based thesis

The symbolic thesis

Guiding assumptions

What is a cognitive approach to grammar?

Cognitive approaches to grammar

Cognitive semantics in context Summery

Comparison with cognitive semantics

Metaphor