Perspectives on Language in Performance

8/17/2019 Perspectives on Language in Performance

1/26

^Perspectives on Language

in

Performance

S t u d i es i n L i n g u i s t i c s , L i t e r a r y C r i t i c i s m ,

a n d L a n g u a g e T e a c h i n g a n d L e a r n i n g

T o H o n o u r W e r n e r H ü l le n

o n

t he O c c a s i o n o f H i s S i x t ie t h B i r t h d a y

E d i t e d

b y

W o l f g a n g L ö r s c h e r a n d R a i n e r S c h u lz e

ffilW G u n t e r N a r r V e r l a g T ü b i n g e n


2/26

Deutsche

Bibliothek

Cataloguing

in Publication Data

P e r s p e c t i v e s on language in p e r f o r m a n c e :

studies

in linguistics,

literary criticism and language teaching and learning ; to honour Wer ner

Hüllen

on

the occasion of his 60. birthday / ed. by Wolfgang

Lörscher

u. Rainer Schulze. -

Tübingen

: Narr , 1987.

Tübinger Beiträge zur Linguistik ; Bd. 3 17

I S B N

3 - 8 7 8 0 8 - 3 7 7 - 7

N E : Lörscher,

Wolfgang [Hrsg.];

H ü l l e n

Werner: Festschrift: G T

Gedruckt mit

Unters tü tzung

der

Universität

Essen-Gesamthochschule

© 1987 • Gunter Nar r Verlag, P. O. Box 25 67, D-7 400

Tübingen

A l l rights, including the rights of publicat ion , distr ibution and sales, as

we l l

as the right

to translation, are reserved. No

part

of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may

be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic or

mechanical including photocopying, recording, taping, or information and retrieval

systems - without written permission of the publisher .

Printed in Germany

I S B N

3 - 8 7 8 0 8 - 3 7 7 - 7


3/26

Con ten t s

Volume

Preface

V

Werner Hüllen: A Biographical

Sketch

XV

Werner Hüllen: A Bibliography XIX

Reinhold Freudenstein

Hochschule u nd

Schule

im Dialog.

Analyse

einer

fremdsprachlichen Verbandszeitschrift 1

Parti Linguistics

Foundations

o f Lang u a g e

Horst Arndt,

Ri c h a r d W. Janney

Th e

Biological

a nd

C ultur al Evolution

o f

Human

Co mmunica tio n 19

Walter

A. Koc h

Genes

and Mernes: Modes o f Integratio n f o r Natural and

Cultural Evolution i n a

Holistic

World Model ('ELPIS») 46

Lexemic and Morphemic Studies

Wolf-Dietrich Bald

R e d u c e d Structures i n English

Grammar

69

Wolfram Bu blitz, Jürge n Strauß

Heah Cyning v s . Heahcyning - Time-Stability

i n

Old English Compounding 88

R e né Dirven

Diminutives i n Afrikaans and Du tc h 100

Klaus

Faiss

Words, Words, Words:

Compound

o r

Suffi xation

i n German

a nd

English

110

R e inh a r d R. K. Hartmann

Th e

Dictionary

i n

Vo c a b ula r y Learning, with Particular

R e f e r e n c e

to Englis h

Learners

o f German 133

Udo O. H.Jung

'Nemini Parcetur': Morphological As p e ct s o f Acr onyms

i n English a nd German: A Contrastive Analysis 148

Dieter K a s t o v s k y

Boundaries i n English a nd German Mor ph olo gy 159

E k k e h a r d König, Be rnd Kortmann

Absolute

Complementation in the Lexical Struc ture

of English and German 171

VII


4/26

Alfred Sc h o p f

TAKE and TOOK: English Mor p h olo g y from Vario us Points of

View

199

John Speicher

Word Play in Shop and Business

Names

208

John R. Ta ylor

Tense and Metaphorisa tions of Time i n Zu lu 214

Syntactic and Related Issues

Flor G. A. M. Aar ts

Imperative

Sentences

in Eng lish : Pro per ties and Cons trai nts 230

D a f y d d G i b b o n

Notes o n Computational Linguistics (and Language

T e a c h i n g )

250

Raymond

Hickey

Sie hat ihn versucht zu erreichen:

On

Interlocking

i n

P r e s e nt - D a y German Syntax 271

New Semantic Appr oa ch es

Le on h a r d

Lipka

Prototype

Semantics

or Feature Semantics: An Alter nati ve ? 282

Rainer Schulze

The Perce ption of Space and the Functio n of Topological Prep ositions

i n English : A Contribution to Cognitive Grammar 299

Pragmatics and the Te xt

Hans-Jürgen D i l l e r

Always Irreverent,

Never

Unchar itab le: The Style and Status

o f

Katherine

Whitehorn

323

Nils

E r i k Enkvist

More

About

Text Stra teg ie s 337

Rosemarie

Gläser

Metakommunikative S p r a c h h a n d l u ng e n

in Fac htexten - dargestellt

an englischen Lehrb uch texten für

Schüler

u nd Studenten 351

Lothar

Hoffmann

Basic LSP for

Academic

Stu di es 369

C a rl

James

On the Pragmatics of E xamination Que sti ons 380

B e r n d

Spillner

Pragmatische u nd textlinguistische Ansätze in der klass is ch en Rhe tori k 390

E i j a

Ventola

Textb o ok Dialogues and Disc ours e Realities 399

Karl-Heinz Wandt

Schweigen

- ein Desiderat sprachw issenschaftlicher

F o r s c h u n g ?

412

VIII


5/26

Translation and Performance

Wolfgang Lörscher

On

Analysing

Translation Performance 424

Danica Seleskovitch

Context-Free Lang u a g e and Sense in Translatio n 441

Special Lang u a g e s: C u r r e n t and

Historical

Perspectives

R i c h a r d

J . B r u n t

My w ate rw o rks a r e playing me up something chronic."

Th e De s c r i pt i on of th e English of Medicine and Some Didactic Implications .. 447

Ac h i m E s c h b a c h

Salomon Maimons Abh a ndlung übe r d i e s ymb oli s c h e

E rkenntnis

im Lichte der Geschichte der Semiotik 470

L i l i t h

M.

Haynes

Of P ineapples, Pomelos, and Unknown Plants:

Maria

Sybilla

Mer i an

and

th e Lang u a g e

of

Science

485

Michael

Isermann

Thomas

Hob b e s: N atu r

und

Kunst i n

der

S p r a c h e

509

Gabriele Stein

Reference Point and Authorial Involvement in Joh n Palsgrave's

Esclarcissement

de la

langue francoyse 530

Langu a g e s in

Contact

Werner Enninge r

Amish

English: Dutchified? 547

Leo Lov e d a y

Sino-Japanese Lang u a g e

Contact:

A C a s e f o r

Historic al

Sociolinguistics 579

P ar tii Literary riticism

Literary C a s e

Studies

Rüd i g e r Ahr ens

Th e

Educative

P a r a d i gm

of

the

Modern

N o v e l

of

Initiation

611

Peter

Freese

'Teaching People How to

Write

Who Don't Know What to

Write':

B e r n a r d Malamud's New

Life

and the Myth of the West 642

Albert-Reiner Glaap

From Albert

to

Werne r: Cons c i o u s

Linguists and

Co mmunication

i n

C ontemp o r a r y Drama

658

F r e d r i k J . Heinemann

Beowulf

665b-738:

A Mock Approach -to-Battle

Typ e Sc ene

677

Valerie Heitfeld

'With the e a r not the eye' - On R e a d i n g H o p k i n s 695

IX


6/26

R u t h

F r e i f r a u

von L e d e b u r

D e r

'Geist' von

Shakespea r e s Sommernachtstraum

Überlegungen

zu B oth o Strauß' Der Park 712

Elmar Lehmann

A Grammar of Hi s t o r i o g r a p h y and the Art of Historical Ficti on.

On Robert Graves' Claudius Novels 738

Helmut

S c h r e y

Language at P l a y . A

Philologist

as Author -

J .

R. R. Tolkien with Horse s 747

Literature in the Classroom

Lothar

Bredeila

From

New Criticism to Response T h e o r y : The Epistemologica ,

Aesthetic, and Peda gog ica l Implications 760

Hans Weber

Tom Stoppa rd als Schulautor? 786

Fr anz Ru do lf Weller

Literatur im F r e m d s p r a c h e n u nt e r r i c h t der S e k u n d a r s t u f e I 799

Volume

Part oreign Language Teaching Practice

Historical

and

P o l i t i c a l

Aspects

H e r b e r t C h r i st

F r e m d s p r a c h e nl e h r e r

im Portrait.

B i o g r a p h i s c h e s

und

A u t o b i o g r a p h i s c h e s aus vier J a h r h u n d e r t e n 819

Ingeborg C h r i st

Die Entd ec kung Hispanoamerikas für den Sp a n i s c h u n t e r r i c h t 839

Wolfgang Kühlwein:

Roger Ascham: An

Early Elizabethan Linguist

857

F r anz Josef Zapp

Politische

V o r g a b e n

für den

F r e m d s p r a c h e n u nt e r r i c h t .

V e r s u c h einer Bestandsaufnahme 878

Practical Aspects

Albert

B a r r e r a - V i d a l

P r a gmatische Didaktik und d i d a k t i s c h e P r a x i s 884

Michael Bludau

Some T h o u g h t s on D e s i d e r a t a of EFL Syllabus es

at

the Intermediate Le ve l 897

Wolfgang

Butzkamm

Grammar in Context: Theo ry on

T r i a l

906

X


7/26

F r an c i z s e k G r u c z a , Karl-Die ter

B unting

Das Konzept einer Grammatik d e r d e u t s c h e n S p r a c h e

für polnisch e

Mutterspr achler

917

Albert

R a a s c h

Video für d en Fr e md s p r a c h ene r w e r b -

am Beispiel de s Französischen 927

Part IV Language Le arning and Tea ching Research

Research

Methodology and Langua ge Measurement

A r b e i t s g r u p p e F r e m d s p r a c h e n e r w e r b

Welc h e r Typ v on Fo r s c h ung in de r F r emds p räc hend i d aktik?

Zum Verhältnis v o n

qualitativer

u nd

quantitativer

F o r s c h ung 943

Waldemar Pfeiffer

Z u r Methodologie de r Method iken 976

Douglas K. Stev enson

Authority, Accountability, a nd Modern Lang ua ge Measu rement 993

Socio-Psychological Implications

R u p p r e c h t

S . B a u r

Kein Huhn im Top f? Alltagswi sse n

u nd interkulturelle Kommunika tio n 1006

Karlfried

Knapp

English as an International lingua

fra nca

and the

Te a c h ing

o f

Intercultur al

Co mmunicati on 1022

G e r d a L a u e r b a c h

S p r a c h e , Identität, Persönlichkeit -

Interkulturelle Kommunikatio n als Krise? 1040

Günte r R a d dèn

National Stereotypes:

Th e

English ,

the Americ ans,

th e F r enc h ,

and the

Germans

1061

Cognitive a nd Psycholinguistic Issues: Theoretical

Studies

W i l l i s

J .

Edmondson

'Acquisition' a nd

'Learning

1

:

Th e

D i s c o u r s e

System

Integration Hyp ot he si s 1070

Lothar A. Ju ng

Psycholinguistik u n d L e r n p h a s e n i m

F r emd s p r a c h enunte r r i c h t

1090

Gertr ud Jungblut

B e g r ün d u n g e n f ü r

eine

einsprachig e

Wortvermittlungsphase

im F r emd s p r a c h enunte r r i c ht

1107

Annelie

Kna p p - P o t t h o f f

Speaking f o r Oth e r s - On a

Neglected

Asp e ct

of

Using

a

Foreign

Lang ua ge 1125

XI


8/26

G u d u l a

L i s t

Träumen in fremden

Spra chen. Psychologisch e Reflexionen

über

ein

vernachlässigtes Thema 1143

Dorothea Möhle, Manfred Raupach

The Repres entation Problem in Interlanguage Theo ry 1158

Jürgen Quetz

C h ild-Adult

D i f f e r e n c e s

in

Second

Language

Learni ng:

Reformulating the A p p r o a c h 1174

Ka r i Sajavaara

Intake

in

Second

Language

Acquisition

1190

Cognitive

and

Psycholinguistic Issues: Empirical Studies

Hans

W. Dechert

Pseudo-Discrimination in

Second-Language

P r o c e s s i n g :

Answers and Questions 1200

Claus Faerch

F o c u s Shifts in FL Classroom Disc ou r s e 1226

Juliane

House,

Gabriele Kasper

Interlanguage Pragmatics: Requesting in

a

F o r e i g n

Language 1250

Andrew Rad for d, Michelle Aldrid ge

Th e

Acquisition

of the Inflection System 1289

Dieter Wolff

Auf-

und

absteigende Verar be itu ngsproz e s s e

b e i der T ext v e r a r b e i t u n g in einer zweiten Sprache 1310

R e s e a r c h and the Classroom: Some Implicati ons

Ka rl - R i c h a r d

B a u s c h

Anmerkungen

zum

Prinzip

der

G e n e r a l i s i e r u n g b e i

der

E r f o r s c h u n g

und Durchführung von

F r e m d s p r a c h e n u nt e r r i c h t

1324

Wolf

ang Börner

S c h r e i b e n im F r e m d s p r a c h e n u nte r r i c h t :

Überlegungen zu einem Modell 1336

Hans-Jürgen

Krumm

Effecting Change in

T e a c h i n g B e h a v i o u r

i n

the Modern Language

Classroom

1350

Dieter

Mindt

New Ways

f o r R e s e a r c h

on Grammar

fo r English

as a F o r e i g n

Language:

Outline and Application 1361

R u d olf Niss en

Beyond

Sinclair/Coulthard:

'Free Didactic Conversations'

i n

the German EFL Classroom 1373

Joachim Raith

Englischunterricht und türkische L e r n e r - B e r e i c h A u s s p r a c h e 1385

Johannes-Peter Timm

Operationelle Regeln für den Englischu nterricht 1398

XII


9/26

Albert Valdman

Interlinguistic Variability:

Th e

Control

o f

Variable

'è'

by American Grad uate Student Fr enc h Instructors 1418

Wolfgang Zydatiß

Fossilized

Grammar Proficiency? A Developmental View

of German Obers tu f en-Pupils' Written English

1429

Tabula

gratulatoria

1447

XIII


10/26

P r o t o t y p e S e m a n t i c s

o r

F e a t u r e

S e m a n t i c s : An A l t e r n a t i v e ? *

L e o n h a r d L i p k a (München)

1. D e f i n i t i o n s

Over th e

l a s t

few y e a r s , a new a p p r o a c h t o J L e j ^ c a J L j n e a n i ng h a s d e v e l

oped,

w h i c h

may be l a b e l l e d

P r o t o t y p e

S e m a n t i c s

( h e r e a f t e r P S ) . I t h a s

a r i s e n m a i n l y

u n d e r t he i n f l u e n c e o f

p s y c ^ h o ^

n a t u r e o f

human

c a t e g o r i z a t i o n . R o s c h (1977) and R o s c h / M e r v i s (1975)

a r e p o s s i b l y t he

most s i g n i f i c a n t

p u b l i c a t i o n s i n

t h i s f i e l d .

T h i s a l

t e r n a t i v e s e m a n t i c t h e o r y s e e s

i t s e l f

a s b e i n g i n o p p o s i t i o n to A r i s t o

t e l i a n S e m a n t i c s , w h i c h F i l l m o r e

(1975)

h a s l a b e l l e d " c h e c k l i s t

t h e o

r i e s o f

meaning .

O t h e r

l i n g u i s t i c

r o o t s c a n b e s e e n i n e m p i r i c a l i n

v e s t i g a t i o n s i n t o th e d e n o ta t i v e s t r u c t u r e o f E n g l i s h

nouns,

as

sum

m a r i z e d

i n

L a b o v ( 1 9 7 8 ) . R e c e n t

c o n t r i b u t i o n s to PS a re th e

a r t i c l e s

b y L a k o f f , P o s n e r ,

T v e r s k y ,

and

Givòn

i n C r a i g

1 9 8 6 ) , w i t h

L a k o f f

3 3 - 3 6 )

d i s t i n g u i s h i n g d i f f e r e n t

" t y p e s

o f p r o t o t y p e s " . At f i r s t s i g h t ,

y t h e r e i s a v e r y c o n s i d e r a b l e d i f f e r e n c e between PS and th e

c l a s s i c a l

f e a t u r e t h e or y o f

s e m a n t i c s .

We

w i l l

s ee i n t he f o l l o w i n g

whether

i t

i s a v i a b l e a l t e r n a t i v e , a s F i l lm o r e

(1975)

c l a i m s .

1 . 1 . To

answer t h i s

q u e s t i o n , we f i r s t

have

t o l o o k a t some

e x p l i c i t

d e f i n i t i o n s o f p r o t o t y p e s . In g e n e r a l , ' p r o t o t y p e s ' c a n be d e f i n e d a s

b e s t

examples

o f a

c a t e g o r y

o r " th e c l e a r e s t

c a s e s

o f

c a t e g o r y

member

s h i p " ( R o s c h 1 9 7 8 : 3 6 ) . The f o l l o w i n g s i x d e f i n i t i o n s

e a c h

f o c u s o n

d i f f e r e n t a s p e c t s

o f

t h i s

phenomenon.

T h u s , R o s c h / M e r v i s (1975:

5 7 5 )

f i r s t d e f i n e 'p r o t o t y p e

1

v e r y v a g u e l y as:

1. " th e a b s t r a c t r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of a

c a t e g o r y " .

T h e i r s e c o n d

d e f i n i t i o n (1975:

5 7 5 ) e m p h a s i s e s th e p o i n t o f v i e w o f

c o m p a r i s o n

( a s i n

d e f i n i t i o n

6) .

P r o t o t y p e s

a r e t h e r e f o r e :

2. " t h o s e

c a t e g o r y

members to w h i c h s u b j e c t s compare i t e m s

when

j u d g i n g

c a t e g o r y

membership .

R o s c h (1977:

2 f . , 46) s p e a k s o f c o g n i t i v e p r o t o t y p e s .

T h e s e

a r e d e

f i n e d as:

3 . " p e r c e p t u a l l y

s a l i e n t

p o i n t s i n t he

domain ( a r o u n d

w h i c h c a t e

g o r i e s

f o r m )" ,

and

4. " th e o b j e c t s w h i c h most s t r o n g l y

r e f l e c t

th e a t t r i b u t e s t r u c

t u r e o f t h e

c a t e g o r y

as a

whole .

H e r e , t he c o g n i t i v e a nd p e r c e p t u a l a s p e c t i s o b v i o u s l y r e l e v a n t . At

th e same

t i me , p r o t o t y p e s

a r e

r e g a r d e d

as s t r u c t u r e d c a t e g o r i e s , i n

282


11/26

w h i c h

a t t r i b u t e s

p l a y a r o l e . Th e

c o g n i t i v e

a s p e c t i s

a l s o s t r e s s e d

i n Coleman/Kay ( I98 I: 27), wljo say t h a t a s e m a nt i c p r o t o t y p e :

5. " a s s o c i a t e [ s ] a

word

o r p h r a s e w i t h a p r e l i n g u i s t i c ,

c o g n i t i v e

schema

o r image t h e y

a l s o

c l a i m t h a t

6 .

" s p e a k e r s a r e e q u i p p e d w i t h a n

a b i l i t y

t o j u d g e t h e d e g r e e t o

w h i c h

an o b j e c t . . .

matches

t h i s

p r o t o t y p e

schema

o r

image .

T h e i r n o t i o n o f

schema

i s no t

p r e c i s e l y

d e f i n e d . At any r a t e , i t i s

no t i d e n t i c a l w i t h th e c o n c e p t u s e d i n some

p u b l i c a t i o n s

on t e x t

l i n

g u i s t i c s ( e . g . de Beaugrande

(I98O:

164, 171

f f . ) ,

de

Beaugrande/

D r e s s l e r ( 1 9 8 I ) ,

where

i t i s c o n s i d e r e d as a dynamic s e q u e n c e o r ' p r o

g r e s s i o n ' ) .

1. 2. A l l d e f i n i t i o n s o f p r o t o t y p e s q u o t e d s o f a r a r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h

t h e

p s y c h o l o g i c a l , c a t e g o r i a l c o m p r e h e n s i o n

o f th e w o r l d , i . e . t h e

e x t r a l i n g u i s t i c

c l a s s e s

o f

r e f e r e n t s

o r d e n o t a t a . We c a n t h e r e f o r e

c o n s i d e r a n d d e f i n e PS a s a r e f e r e n t i a l , o r d e n o t a t i v e s e m a nt i c s . T h i s

a p p r o a c h i s t o be

d i s t i n g u i s h e d

f r o m language-immanent s e m a n t i c t h e o

r i e s , s u c h a s e . g . C o s e r i u ' s o r L y o ns ' t h e o r y .

Now

words

a r e no t s i m p l y

names

f o r i n d e p e n d e n t ly

e x i s t i n g e x t r a l i n g u i s

t i c o b j e c t s . Th e

r e l a t i o n s h i p

between l a n g u a g e a nd e x t r a l i n g u i s t i c

r e a l i t y i s f a r

more

complex. Th e c a t e g o r i e s f o r o u r p e r c e p t i o n o f t he

w o r l d a r e o n l y c r e a t e d by

i n d i v i d u a l

la n g u a g e s , as

c l a s s e s

o f d e n o t a t a .

A c c o r d i n g to

L e i s i

(

2

1985:

15), the

d i f f e r e n t

ways

o f d r a w i n g

bounda

r i e s

and

d i v i d i n g

u p th e

same

e x t r a l i n g u i s t i c w o r l d i n two l a n g u a g e s

A a nd B c a n be r e p r e s e n t e d a s

f o l l o w s :

(.1)

Sprache A

|

Worti| |

Wort 21

|

Wort 3

außersprach

lic h e

Welt

Sprache B | Wort i jWort^

wo

Wort

3'

L e i s i ' s t h e o r y c a n a l s o b e d e s c r i b e d a s r e f e r e n t i a l o r d e n o t a t i v e s e

m a n ti c s . B e f o r e t u r n i n g t o

some

c l a s s i c a l examples o f p r o t o t y p e s , l e t

u s l o o k a t

some f u r t h e r

p a r a l l e l s between t h i s a p p r o a c h a nd L e i s i ' s

t h e o r y .

L e i s i

(

2

1985:

57)

s t a r t s

o u t f r o m

some

r e l a t i o n a l

norms

('Be

zugsnormen ' ) , i n c l u d i n g

a s p e c i e s - n o r m (

1

S p e z i e s n o r m ' ). By

t h i s

he un

d e r s t a n d s a n i m p l i c i t c o m p a r i s o n w i t h an a v e r a g e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f a

s p e c i e s .

F o r

example,

h e s a y s

t h a t

a

p e n c i l

75 cm lo ng may be d e s

c r i b e d

a s

'enormous',

w h i l e a s k i o f t h e same

s i z e

w o u l d be ' t i n y ' .

283


12/26

A n o t h e r i m p o r t a n t c o n c e p t in

L e i s i ' s

t h e o r y of

meaning

i s his c o n d i

t i o n s f or the use of

words ('Gebrauchsbedingungen

1

)

(see 4.

b e l o w ) .

In

c o n n e c t i o n w i t h

PS,

L e i s i ' s

(

2

1 9 8 5 : 38 , 40) two

complementary

d e f i n i

t i o n s of

meaning

are a l s o r e l e v a n t . For him,

meaning ('Bedeutung')

i s :

a) Ein Bezug zwischen der La u t g e s t a l t und a l l e n Gegenständen e i n e r

b e s t i m m t e n

K a t e g o r i e

( . . . e i n e r Menge von Gegenständen) , and

b) the meaning of a s p e c i f i c word: die Bedeutung des Wortes A...

i s t

i d e n t i s c h mit den Bedingungen, u n t e r denen die L a u t g e s t a l t

d e s Wortes A... i n der

Z e i g e d e f i n i t i o n

v e r w i r k l i c h t werden d a r f " .

L e i s i

t h e r e f o r e s t a r t s - as do the p s y c h o l o g i s t s

Rosch

and M e r v i s -

f r o m a

set,

a

c a t e g o r y

of


r e f e r e n t s ,

which

are r e l a t e d

t o

the

form

of a

word ( d e f i n i t i o n

a).

Membership

in s u c h a

c a t e g o r y

depends

on c e r t a i n c o n d i t i o n s

( d e f i n i t i o n

b).

2.

Some

C l a s s i c Examples

I

now

wish

to

i l l u s t r a t e

PS by i n t e g r a t i n g some c l a s s i c

examples

w h i c h are

t r e a t e d

in Rosch (1977), ( 1978 ), Rosch/Mervis (19 75) , and

L e e c h (

2

1 9 8 l )

i n t o

the

t h e o r y .

As when d e a l i n g w i t h d e f i n i t i o n s , I

w i l l a g a i n c o n t r a s t some

model examples

of PS w i t h p a r a l l e l c a s e s in

L e i s i (

2

19 85: 37) .

2.1.

The

c a t e g o r y

BIRD i s s a i d to be

c h a r a c t e r i z e d

by the f o l l o w i n g

' a t t r i b u t e s ' ,

as

r e p r e s e n t e d

in

(2):

' c e r t a i n ' SI Z E ,

SHAPE,

l a y s

eggs,

has f e a t h e r s ,

has

wings,

can

f l y ,

e t c . ' . In b o t h the

diagram

and the

t e x t , c a t e g o r i e s and s e m a n t i c

dimensions ( l i k e SIZE)

are

s y m b o l i z e d

by

c a p i t a l s , p r o t o t y p i c a l r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s are in i t a l i c s , and

impor

t a n t

a t t r i b u t e s are i n d i c a t e d . In (2)

t h e r e

i s an i n te r d e p e n d e n c e b e t

ween 'has

wings'

and 'has

f e a t h e r s '

on the one

hand

and 'can f l y ' on

th e

o t h e r . T h i s

l a s t

a t t r i b u t e i s m i s s i n g f or

example w i t h

the o s t r i c h ,

t h e penguin,

and the

c h i c k e n . From

the p o i n t of

view

of s i z e and

shape,

s p a r r o w , r o b i n , and

swjTlow

can be

r e g a r d e d

as p r o t o t y p i c a l

r e p r e s e n t a

t i v e s of the

c a t e g o r y .

(2)

o w l ,

f l a m i n g o

c e r t a i n

SIZE, SHAPE

l a y s

eggs

BIRD

»

sparrow,

r o b i n ,

swallow

( o s t r i c h ,

penguin,

c h i c k e n )

284


13/26

S e v e r al a t t r i b u t e s

f r o m

t h i s c a t e g o r y ,

s u c h

a s ' l a y i n g

e g g s '

and 'hav

ing a beak', may o c c u r i n c o n j u n c t i o n i n c o m p l e t e l y d i f f e r e n t o t h e r

c a t e g o r i e s . T h i s i s d e m o n s t r a t e d by t h e A u s t r a l i a n p l a t y p u s , a l s o

c a l l e d a d u c k b i l l o r d u c k b i l l e d p l a t y p u s . A l t h o u g h i t h a s a beak o r

b i l l l i k e t h a t o f a

duck,

a nd l a y s

e g g s ,

i t i s f u r r y a nd s u c k l e s i t s

young.

In the c a t e g o r y DOG, t h e Al s a t i a n ( o r

German

s h e p h e r d ) i s g e n e r a l l y

c o n s i d e r e d to be the

p r o t o t y p e . O t h e r

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , l i k e the St.

B e r n h a r d

and th e P e k i n e s e , a r e r a t h e r o n t h e p e r i p h e r y of the c a t e g o r y .

On the

o t h e r

hand, th e r e t r i e v e r

a g a i n b e l o n g s

t o th e p r o t o t y p i c a l

k e r n e l . Th i s c l a s s o f dogs i s n ot

d e t e r m i n e d

by a s p e c i f i c

b r e e d ,

but

by i t s f u n c t i o n . T h u s , FUNCTION a l s o c a n be a r e l e v a n t a t t r i b u t e f o r

p r o t o t y p i c a l i t y .

The i r r e l e v a n c e of b i o l o g i c a l a t t r i b u t e s i n t h i s

c a s e

i s

a p p a r e n t f r o m

t h i s d e f i n i t i o n o f r e t r i e v e r i n th e LDCE: 'Any o f

s e v e r a l t y p e s o f s p e c i a l l y b r e d m i d d l e - s i z e d h u n t i ng d o g, t r a i n e d to

b r i n g b a c k s h o t b i r d s ' . A l l t h i s i s summarized i n th e f o l l o w i n g d i a

gram

:

3 )

St B e r n a r d , P e k i n e s e

S I Z E , SHAPE

DOG Al s a t i a n (=

German

Shepherd) b a r k i n g , t a i l - w a g g i n g

r e t r i e v e r FUNCTION

In the

c a t e g o r y F I S H ,

th e members t r o u t and h e r r i n g a r e

n o r m a l l y

c o u n t

ed as p r o t o t y p e s ,

w h i l e

eel and o c t o p u s ar e o f te n sa i d to be on the

b o r d e r of the

c a t e g o r y ( Le e c h

2

1 9 8 l : 84; b u t c f . a l s o guppy - a v i v i

p a r o u s f i s h - , whale, p l a i c e , s e a h o r s e , and s t a r f i s h ) . R o s c h / M e r v i s

(1975:

5 7 3 , 5 7 8 f . ) d i s c u s s e m p i r i c a l , p s y c h o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h i n t o th e

c a t e g o r y FURNITURE.

The e x p e r i m e n t s

show

t h a t c h a i r a nd t a b l e a r e

p r o

t o t y p i c a l , w h i l e

r a d i o a nd v a s e ar e not. Fo r

t h e s e

e x p e r i m e n t s a t t r i

b u t e s s u c h as f o r

example

'h as l e g s ' were u s e d . S i m i l a r t e s t s f o r t h e

c a t e g o r y

VEHICLE

show

t h a t c a r a nd t r u c k b e l o n g t o th e p r o t o t y p i c a l

k e r n e l ,

w h i l e r a f t

and e l e v a t o r do n o t . H e r e , a t t r i b u t e s

l i k e

'you

d r i v e i t ' were

employed (1975:

5 7 6 ) .

2 . 2 . In h i s ' P r a x i s d e r e n g l i s c h e n

S e m a n t i k ' , L e i s i

i n v e s t i g a t e s t h e

e t y m o lo g i c a l l y r e l a t e d words Turm and t o w e r and

i l l u s t r a t e s

h i s d i s c u s

s i o n

w i t h

th e f o l lo w i n g , s i m p l i f i e d s i x t y p e s o f b u i l d i n g (

2

1 9 8 5 :

3 7 ) :

285


14/26

4 )

T h e c o n d i t i o n s of use i n German and E n g l i s h are d i f f e r e n t ,

a l t h o u g h

FORM and POSITION p l a y a r o l e i n b o t h l a n g u a g e s . The" o b j e c t s of t y p e

3

and 4 c a n n o t be d e n o t e d i n E n g l i s h by t o w e r . I n s t e a d the words s t e e p

l e

, s p i r e , t u r r e t , or p i n n a c l e must be u s e d . As

o p p o s e d

to

L e i s i ' s

d e s

c r i p t i o n ,

Turm w o u l d not be

u s e d

i n German f o r t y p e 4, but r a t h e r

Türm

c h e n or the t e c h n i c a l t e r m F i a l e . A c c o r d i n g to

L e i s i

(

2

1 9 8 5 : 4 5 ) , the

u s e of t o w e r r e q u i r e s t h a t the denotatum be not p o i n t e d and

s t a r t

f r o m

th e g r o u n d .

T h e s e

p o s i t i v e and n e g a t i v e c o n d i t i o n s of use of

L e i s i

o b v i o u s l y c o r r e

s p o n d to the r e l e v a nt a t t r i b u t e s of PS. On the o t h e r

hand, b o t h

can

be i d e n t i f i e d

w i t h

the f e a t u r e s of s t r u c t u r a l and g e n e r a t i v e

l e x i c a l

s e m a n t i c s , a l t h o u g h

the

p r o p o n e n ts

of PS do not

a d m i t t h i s . B e f o r e

re

t u r n i n g to

t h i s

p r o b l e m, l e t us l o o k at a n o t h e r

f i e l d

( i n the n o n- t e c h

n i c a l

s e n s e )

f a v o u r a b l e to PS.

3 .

The

D e n o t a t i o n

of Some C o n ta i n e r Terms

In a h i g h l y i n t e r e s t i n g and s t i m u l a t i n g

a r t i c l e e n t i t l e d

" D e n o t a t i o n a l

S t r u c t u r e " ,

L a b o v (1978)

r e p o r t s on s e v e r a l e m p i r i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s

o f the use of c o n t a i n e r

t e r m s l i k e

cup,

b o w l ,

g l a s s , e t c . A number of

c o n t r o l l e d e x p e r i m e n t s

w i t h i n f o r m a n t s

were c a r r i e d out and e v a l u a t e d

s t a t i s t i c a l l y .

The aim of L a b o v

1

s

s t u d y

was to e x p l o r e the " c o n d i t i o n s

f o r the d e n o t a t i v e use of cup,

b o w l ,

g l a s s , and o t h e r c o n t a i n e r

t e r m s "

(1978: 2 2 1 ) .

T h i s f o r m u l a t i o n r e m i n d s one s t r o n g l y of

L e i s i ' s

c o n d i

t i o n s f o r use ( ' G e b r a u c h s b e d i n g u n g e n ' ).

3 . 1 . L a b o v

i s not p r i m a r i l y i n t e r e s t e d in the p r o t o t y p i c a l k e r n e l of

c a t e g o r i e s , but r a t h e r i n

t h e i r b o u n d a r i e s ^ .

He t h e r e f o r e a p p r o a c h e s

c a t e g o r i e s not f r o m the i n s i d e , but r a t h e r f r o m the o u t s i d e , f r o m

t h e i r

p e r i p h e r y . In hi s o p i n i o n ,

c a t e g o r y

b o u n d a r i e s

have been

l a r g e l y

n e g

l e c t e d i n p r e v i o u s r e s e a r c h . Hi s e x p e r i m e n ts are

d e s i g n e d

to q u e s t i o n

th e

a s s u m p t i o n

t h a t s h a r p and

r i g i d b o u n d a r y l i n e s

e x i s t

between

c a t e

g o r i e s . For

t h i s p u r p o s e , L a b o v makes

use of

' c o n t i nu o u s

s e r i e s ' of

o b j e c t s ,

n o r m a l l y p r e s e n t e d

in the f o r m of

i l l u s t r a t i o n s .

The

i n f l u -

286


15/26

enee o f c o n t e x t i s t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t . F i r s t t h e s u b j e c t s i n t h e e x

p e r i m e n t s were a s k e d t o name i t e m s w i t h o u t a ny p a r t i c u l a r c o n t e x t .

In a s e c o n d

e x p e r i m e n t

t h e y were a s k e d t o

assume

t h a t t he c o n t a i n e r s

were

f i l l e d

w i t h c o f f e e , f o o d , s o u p , o r f l o w e r s , o r t h a t t h e y saw

some

one s t i r r i n g i n s u g a r w i t h a

s p o o n

o r d r i n k i n g ou t o f them.

B e s i d e s

d i a m e t e r ,

h e i g h t , and

s h a p e ,

L a b o v

a l s o i n t r o d u c e d m a t e r i a l

( e . g . c h i n a o r g l a s s ) a s a v a r i a b l e . Th e

examples

5 b ) and 5 c ) a r e

e x t r e m e s

o f th e r e l a t i o n s h i p between h e i g h t a nd d i a m e t e r . T h i s r a t i o

o f h e i g h t t o w i d t h p r o v e d r e l e v a n t f o r t he

d i s t i n c t ^

cup

and b o w l . 5 a ) shows t he p r o t o t y p i c a l p r o p o r t i o n f o r t he us e o f c up .

Th e p r o t o t y p e f o r mug i s r e p r e s e n t e d by 5 d ) . Th e f o l l o w i n g

i l l u s t r a

t i o n

( L a b o v 1 9 7 8 : 2 2 2 ) d e m o ns t r a t e s t h e r e l e v a n c e o f SHAPE and o f the

p r e s e n c e o r a b s e n c e o f a h a n d l e f o r some c o n t a i n e r

t e r m s :

5 )

BOWL TUMBLER

In g e n e r a l , a c c o r d i n g t o

L a b o v

1

s f i n d i n g s , th e f o l l o w i n g f a c t o r s o r

p a r a m e t e r s a r e r e l e v a n t i n d i s t i n g u i s h i n g c o n t a i n e r

t e r m s : s h a p e ,

p r o

p o r t i o n , m a t e r i a l , f u n c t i o n , h a n d l e , e t c .

T h e s e

' p a r a m e t e r s ' ca n be

i d e n t i f i e d

w i t h t h e

' a t t r i b u t e s '

of PS.

L a b o v

shows c o n v i n c i n g l y t h a t t he b o u n d a r i e s

between

cup and

bowl

a r e

vague a nd t h a t c o n t e x t p l a y s an i m p o r t a n t r o l e . In

s p i t e

o f i n c r e a s i n g

w i d t h , a c o n t a i n e r

l i k e

e . g . 5 b ) i s s t i l l

c a l l e d

a c up i f i t i s f i l l e d

w i t h c o f f e e . Th e

p r e s e n c e

o r

a b s e n c e

o f a

h a n d l e

a l s o h as c o n s i d e r a b l e

i n f l u e n c e . L a b o v (1978: 2 2 3 ) a r r i v e s a t th e c o n c l u s i o n t h a t r e f e r e n t i a l

287


16/26

o r d e n o t a t i o n a l b o u n d a r i e s have two f u n d a m e n t a l

p r o p e r t i e s :

They

a r e

1 . vague and 2 . m u t u a l l y i n t e r d e p e n d e n t . By i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e L a b o v means

t h a t

v a r i a b l e s

l i k e

h e i g h t , w i d t h , o r

f u n c t i o n

a r e no t i s o l a t e d and

i n d e p e n d e n t o f e a c h o t h e r .

I t c a n b e c l a i m e d t h a t f o r t he p r o t o t y p i c a l c u p 5 a ) 1 0 0 o f t h e s u b

j e c t s

w o u l d

a l w a y s u s e c u p . I n

t h i s ,

a c c o r d i n g t o

L a b o v

(1978:

2 2 1 ) ,

t h e r a t i o o f h e i g h t t o w i d t h i s 0 . 6 8 . Th e p r o t o t y p i c a l shape f o r MUG

i s 5 d ) , t h a t o f BOWL and TUMBLER a r e 5 e ) a nd 5 f ) . Th e l a t t e r a r e

i d e n t i c a l t o 5 b ) and 5 d ) , bu t do not have a h a n d l e . A t u m b l e r may a l

so be

c o n i c a l ,

l i k e

f i g u r e

5 g ) , b u t i t

must

have a f l a t b o t t o m .

3 . 2 . L a b o v (1978: 229-231) b r i e f l y d i s c u s s e s B o o r t i e n ' s s t u d y o f b o t

t l e s . He

s t a t e s

t h a t " t h e p r o t o t y p i c a l

b o t t l e . . .

a p p e a r s t o b e a g l a s s

o b j e c t w i t h a narrow o p e n i n g a nd a neck o n e - t h i r d t h e w i d t h o f t h e b o t -

l e (1978: 2 3 1 ) . I w i l l h e r e e x t e nd t h i s

d i s c u s s i o n

a nd c o n t r a s t t h e

c a t e g o r i e s

BOTTLE and DECANTER.

T h i s ,

i n my o p i n i o n , d e m o n s t r a t e s b o t h

t h e p r o b le m o f b o u n d a r i e s d i s c u s s e d by L a b o v a nd t h e u s e f u l n e s s o f

t h e c o n c e p t o f p r o t o t y p e . - I n

a d d i t i o n ,

i t i l l u s t r a t e s t h e c o n c e p t o f

' ' f a m i l y r e s e m b l a n c e s ' w h i c h i s t h e

t i t l e

o f R o s c h / M e r v i s ( 1 9 7 5 ) . Con

s i d e r

t h e

f o l l o w i n g

i l l u s t r a t i o n :

6 )

BOTTLE

v s .

DECANTER

a) b) c) d)

O b v i o u s l y ,

a l l v e s s e l s o r c o n t a i n e r s i n 6 )

have

a g r e a t d e a l i n com

mon. C o n s e q u e n t l y , t h e d e f i n i t i o n s o f d e c a n t e r i n LDCE and COD 7 b o t h

c o n t a i n t he s u p e r o r d i n a t e t er m b o t t l e . On t h e o t h e r

hand,

t h e p r o t o

t y p i c a l DECANTERS

6 b ) t o 6 d )

have

a t t r i b u t e s

i n common, s u c h a s ' w i t h

a s t o p p e r ' , w h i c h a r e m i s s i n g i n t h e c a t e g o r y BOTTLE.

They

f u r t h e r

have

i n common t h e FUNCTION ' f o r d e c a n t i n g ' . Th e v e r b t o d e c a n t i s d e f i n e d

i n LDCE a s :

288


17/26

" To p o u r ( l i q u i d , e s p . wine) f r om one c o n t a i n e r , i n t o a n o t h e r ,

e s p . s o as t o le a v e a l l t h e u n d r i n k a b l e p a r t s ( s e d i m e n t) i n

th e f i r s t c o n t a i n e r " .

I t

c a n n o t b e d e n i e d

t h a t

a c a t e g o r y o f c o n t a i n e r s l i k e DECANTER,

whose

f u n c t i o n i s t i e d u p w i t h th e c o n s u m p t i o n o f M e d i t e r r a n e a n w i n e s

l i k e

s h e r r y

o r

p o r t ,

w h i c h

c o n t a i n a c o n s i d e r a b l e

amount

o f s e d i m e n t, i s

a

h i g h l y c u l t u r e - s p e c i f i c

c a t e g o r y . A

s o c i e t y w h i c h f o r b i d s a l c o h o l i c

d r i n k s f o r r e l i g i o u s r e a s o n s w i l l n o t d e v e l o p s u c h a r t i f a c t s o r l i n

g u i s t i c s i g n s f o r t h e i r d e n o t a t i o n .

3 . 3 -

Th e

names

o f

n a t u r a l

o b j e c t s a s

w e l l ,

s u c h as

c e r t a i n c l a s s e s

o f

l i v i n g b e i n g s , a r e by no means i n d e p e n d e n t o f l a n g u a g e a nd

c u l t u r e .

As

m e n t i o n e d

above

i n 1.2., th e phenomena o f t h e e x t r a l i n g u i s t i c w o r l d a r e

n o t i n t h e m s e l v e s

s t r u c t u r e d

by i nd e p e n d e n t , s h a r p b o u n d a r i e s . A lt h o u g h

t h e r e

may be

c e r t a i n

u n i v e r s a l

k e r n e l a r e a s a s a f o c u s , a s f o r

example

w i t h c o l o u r words, t h e

s t r u c t u r i n g

o f e x t r a l i n g u i s t i c r e a l i t y i s i n t h e

l a s t

r e s o r t

p e r f o r m e d - b y l i n g u i s t i c

c a t e g o r i z a t i o n .

A few e x a m p l e s ,

some

o f

w h i c h

a r e q u i t e

w e l l

known,

w i l l

d e m o n s t r a t e t h i s t y p e o f o r

g a n i z a t i o n .

4. Language- a nd C u l t u r e - D e p e n d e n t

C a t e g o r i z a t i o n

I n

t h e

f o l l o w i n g

I w i l l no t r e s t r i c t m y s e l f , however, t o

n a t u r a l

phe

nomena. T h i s

w o u l d

o b s c u r e t h e f u n d a m e n t a l ly c u l t u r e - d e p e n d e n t c a t e

g o r i z a t i o n

o f t h e c o m p le t e


w o r l d . I t

w o u l d

a l s o

i n t r o

duce d i v i s i o n s

between examples f r o m t h e same l a n g u a g e .

4.1. My f i r s t e x a m p l e s ,

summarized

i n ( 7 ) , a r e f r o m C h i n e s e , a s d i s

c u s s e d i n

L e i s i

(

2

1985: 14) and Le ec h (

2

1 9 8 l : 2 6 ) .

(7)

^ ^ s h e e p ^ ^ c u p ^ ^ , t a b l e

y a n g bëizi mug z h u ô z i . ^

^ g o a t

V

^ g l a s s d e s k

Th e C h i n e s e c a t e g o r y y a n g i n c l u d e s b o t h

s h e e p

and g o a t , bëizi c o v e r s

t h e

E n g l i s h

c a t e g o r i e s c u p , mug, a nd g l a s s , a nd f i n a l l y z h u o z i i n c l u d e s

b o t h

t a b l e

and d e sk . From t h e C h i n e s e p o i n t o f v i e w ,

E n g l i s h

i s o v e r -

d i f f e r e n t i a t i n g

b y i t s much

f i n e r

c a t e g o r i z a t i o n .

289


18/26

On the o t h e r

hand,

F r e nc h f l e u v e and

r i v i è r e ,

as w e l l as German

S t r o m

a nd F l u ß ,

c o n v e r g e

in the E n g l i s h c a t e g o r y r i v e r , as r e p r e s e n t e d in

8 ) . F r e n c h and German d i s t i n g u i s h

between

a

' r i v e r

f l o w i n g i n t o the

s e a ' and a ' t r i b u t a r y r i v e r ' .

8 ) (9)

f l e u v e / S t r o m

. a p e ( M e n s c h e n a f f e )

r i v e r

A f f e

riviere/Fluß

monkey (Äffchen)

In

c o n t r a s t to

t h i s example,

the German c a t e g o r y Af f e i s more

compre

h e n s i v e , s i n c e i t i n c l u d e s the E n g l i s h ape and monkey. For the

d i f f e r

e n t i a t i o n

between

t h e s e two c a t e g o r i e s , the a t t r i b u t e s ' w i t h or w i t h o u t

t a i l ' and S I Z E p l a y a

r o l e .

P r o t o t y p i c a l membership in the c a t e g o r y APE

may be a s s i g n e d to:

g o r i l l a , c h i m p a n z e e ,

and g i b b o n . W i t h r e g a r d to

r e l a t i v e

s i z e the OALD

e v e n

g i v e s a v e r a ge s i z e in c e n t i me t r e s . In ad

d i t i o n , t h i s

d i c t i o n a r y and the LDCE g i v e

i l l u s t r a t i o n s . T h e s e

are

more

s u i t a b l e

f or r e c o g n i z i n g p r o t o t y p e s of the i n d i v i d u a l c l a s s e s of

a p e s

t h a n are the two i n d e t e r m i n a t e and

r e l a t i v e

a t t r i b u t e s .

I t

has

been

known for a l o n g ti m e t h a t the German c a t e g o r y S c h n e c k e i s

f u r t h e r d i f f e r e n t i a t e d in the s i m p l e p r i m a r y v o c a b u l a r y of E n g l i s h and

F r e n c h

i n t o

s n a i l and s l u g , e s c a r g o t and li m a c e . S i m p le l e x i c a l i t e m s

do not e x i s t in German for t h i s d i s t i n c t i o n any more t h a n f or ape and

monkey. If t h e y n e e d to make a d i s t i n c t i o n , German s p e a k e r s have to

t ak e r e c o u r s e to complex

lexemes

s u c h as W e i n b e r g s c h n e c k e , N a c k t s c h n e k -

ke , Me n s c h e n a f f e , and Ä f f c h e n .

4 . 2 . At

t h i s

p o i n t I s h o u l d

l i k e

to d i g r e s s

b r i e f l y

and at the same

t i m e

i l l u s t r a t e

the a d v a n t a g e s of PS and the d i s a d v a n ta g e s of a F e a t u r e

S e m a n t i c s ( h e r e a f t e r FS)

w h i c h

o n l y makes use of o b l i g a t o r y f e a t u r e s .

I w i l l

h e r e use ' f e a t u r e ' in a

wide

s e n s e , w i t h o u t

d i s t i n g u i s h i n g

be

tween 'components'

and ' f e a t u r e s ' (but c f . L i p k a 1979: 194). F i l l m o r e

(1978: 153) p o i n t s out t h a t the E n g l i s h v e r b to c l i m b - and t h e r e f o r e

t h e c a t e g o r y of a c t i o n d e n o t e d by i t - c o u l d be a s s i g n e d the two com

p o n e n t s ' c l a m b e r i n g ' and ' a s c e n d i n g ' in an FS a p p r o a c h . However, a c c o r

d i n g

to F i l l m o r e b o th components or a t t r i b u t e s

n e e d

not n e c e s s a r i l y be

p r e s e n t at the same t i m e , but may be o p t i o n a l . T h i s can be d e m o n s t r a t e d

by

the

f o l l o w i n g s e n t e nc e s :

290


19/26

1 0 a ) Th e monkey i s c l i m b i n g

down

t he f l a g p o l e

1 0 b ) Th e s n a i l i s c l i m b i n g up th e f l a g p o l e .

F i l l m o r e (1978: 1 5 3 ) s t a t e s : " The

p r o t o t y p e

ha s two c r i t e r i a , b ut e i

th e r one o f them c a n be m i s s i n g " . T h u s , PS

c a n n o t

o n l y be a p p l i e d t o

nouns, d e n o t i n g

o b j e c t s , b ut a l s o t o

v e r b s , d e n o t i n g

a c t i o n s . As i n F S,

th e v e r b c lim b has two c r i t e r i a , a t t r i b u t e s , o r components, bu t i n PS

one o f t h e a t t r i b u t e s may b e a b s e n t i n a

s p e c i f i c

c a s e .

F i l l m o r e (19 78: 1 5 3 ) sums up h i s argument i n t h e f o ll o w i n g wa y: "t h e

p r o t o t y p e s e m a n t i c s makes i t p o s s i b l e t o t a l k a b o u t a c e n t r a l o r nu

c l e a r s e n s e

o f a word, and t h e n , i f n e c e s s a r y , a b o u t th e v a r i o u s w e i g h t

i ng s o f th e i n d i v i d u a l c r i t e r i a t h a t go i n t o s p e c i f y i n g t he p r o t o t y p e .

The c h e c k l i s t

s e m a n t i c s

on the o t h e r hand i s e mb a r r a s s e d by f u z z i n e s s

and d e g r e e s o f c a t e g o r y membership .

I t

i s

o b v i o u s

t h a t t h e

c o n c e p t

o f

p r o t o t y p e

may be

more

e a s i l y a p p l i e d

to n a t u r a l c l a s s e s , noun c l a s s e s and t he c a t e g o r i z a t i o n o f o b j e c t s

t h a n t o v e r b s and

more

a b s t r a c t c a t e g o r i e s ( C r a i g 1 9 8 6 ) . In p r i n c i p l e ,

however, t h i s i s by n o means i m p o s s i b l e . Th e n o t i o n may b e

b r o u g h t

t o

b e a r

on the o ld p r o b l e m o f p a r t s o f

s p e e c h

( L i p k a

1 9 71 ) .

Thus th e p r o

t o t y p i c a l s y n t a c t i c c l a s s o f noun w i l l have a l l th e f o u r a t t r i b u t e s

C r y s t a l

m e n t i o n s i n h i s d i s c u s s i o n o f t he p r o b l e m ( L i p k a 1 9 7 1 : 2 3 4 f . ) :

' s u b j e c t - f u n c t i o n ' , i n f l e c t i o n f o r number, a r t i c l e , 'm o r p h o l o g i c a l i n

d i c a t i o n ' ,

w h i l e

more

p e r i p h e r a l members of th e c a t e g o r y w i l l not.

W i t h i n

th e word c l a s s ' a d j e c t i v e ' , a c e n t r a l c l a s s o f words w i l l s a t i s

f y a l l c r i t e r i a ,

s u c h

as a t t r i b u t i v e and p r e d i c a t i v e p o s i t i o n , g r a d a -

b i l i t y , m o r p h o l o g i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ( e . g . - ou s, - i s h , e t c . ) and th e

e x i s t e n c e o f antonyms, w h i l e o t h e r a d j e c t i v e s w i l l n o t . Th e c e n t r a l

o r

p r o t o t y p e

a d j e c t i v e i s

f u r t h e r m o r e

s t a t i v e ;

.and„^noJ.ç.s..m...lnlie]2ent.....

p r o p e r t y .

4 . 3 . F i l l m o r e ' s

example

b r i n g s us t o v e r b a l c a t e g o r i e s , a s

t h e y

a r e

i l l u s t r a t e d

i n t he f o l l o w i n g d i a g r a m :

11)

e s s e n w i t h c h o p s t i c k s ( A s i a )

p r o t o t y p e ( E u r o p e ) : w i t h

k n i f e ,

f o r k , a n d

s p o o n

f r e s s e n

( p e a n u t s , a p p l e s ) w i t h

f i n g e r s

291


20/26

Here we c o u l d

speak

o f an o v e r d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n i n German, namely i n t o

e s s e n v s . f r e s s e n , b u t we c o u l d a l s o speak o f s p e c i f i c a t i o n gaps i n

E n g l i s h . I t i s t r u e t h a t f r e s s e n may b e

r e n d e r e d

t o

some

ext en t by

t o g u z z l e . However, d i c t i o n a r i e s d e f i n e t h i s

v e r b

as 'eat o r d r i nk

g r e e d i l y ' ,

w h i c h means th a t we have a

c o n v e r g e n c e

o f f r e s s e n and s a u f e n

i n

t h i s

E n g l i s h c a t e g o r y . At a ny r a t e , t h e d i f f e r e n t v e r b s

d e m o n s t r a t e

c l e a r l y th e f a c t o f l a ng u a g e - and

c u l tu r e - d e p e n d e nt

c a t e g o r i z a t i o n

i .

Th e

w i d e r

E n g l i s h c a t e g o r y E AT o b v i o u s l y

d e n o t e s

v e r y d i f f e r e n t k i nd s

o f a c t i v i t y . Th e

p r o t o t y p e s

f o r t h e s e a r e c l e a r l y d i f f e r e n t i n A s i a

a n d i n

E u r o p e .

In t h e E a s t , e a t i n g w i t h c h o p s t i c k s i s t he r u l e , w h i l e

i n E u r o p e e a t i n g w i t h k n i f e and f o r k o r spoon i s t h e

norm.

Th e e a t i n g

o f p e a n u t s

w i t h

t he f i n g e r s , o r o f

a p p l e s

and

p e a r s

f r o m th e hand,

i s no t a p r o t o t y p i c a l a c t i v i t y and b e l o n g s to the ma r g i n o r p e r i p h e r y

o f t h e c a t e g o r y E AT. A l l t h i s goes t o show t h a t p r o t o t y p e s c a n e q u a l l y

b e a p p l i e d t o v e r b s , n o t o n l y t o

nouns,

a nd a r e no t u n i v e r s a l , b u t l a n

guage-dependent

.

4.4. A f u r t h e r

example

o f

c u l t u r e - d e p e n d e n t

c a t e g o r i z a t i o n , w i t h

d i f

f e r e n t

p r o t o t y p e s i n E u r o p e a nd A s i a , i s shown i n t he f o l l o w i n g i l l u s

t r a t i o n

:

12)

a)

b)

B o t h

th e complex lexeme S c h r e i b t i s c h and t h e s i m p l e i t e m desk r e p r e s e n t

a

c a t e g o r y

o f

a r t i f a c t s

whose

p r o t o t y p e

i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d by th e

a t t r i

b u t e

' w i t h

d r a w e r s ' .

These a r e m i s s i n g i n o b j e c t ( 1 2 b ) . Ic can ne v e r

t h e l e s s be c a t e g o r i z e d as a S c h r e i b t i s c h , as was done i n a r e c e n t e x h i

b i t i o n o f J a p a n e s e a r t i n Munich. In o r d e r t o u n d e r s t a n d

t h i s ,

we have

t o r e a l i z e t h a t t h e t r a d i t i o n a l a c t i v i t y o f w r i t i n g i n t he E a s t i s c a r

r i e d o u t d i f f e r e n t l y t h a n i n

E u r o p e .

T h e r e f o r e , b o t h a r t i f a c t s a r e a p

p r o p r i a t e t o t h e i r FUNCTION ' f o r w r i t i n g ' . In

C h i n a

and J a p a n w r i t i n g

wa s t r a d i t i o n a l l y p e r f o r m e d s i t t i n g c r o s s - l e g g e d o r on one's h e e l s ,

w i t h

a

b r u s h .

292


21/26

O t h e r

examples

of the a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s of a r t i f a c t s f or

t h e i r

FUNCTION

a r e the d i f f e r e n t t y p e s of d e c a n t e r in ( 6 ) , w i t h

t h e i r

g l a s s s t o p p e r s .

F u n c t i o n a l i t y i s

p a r t i c u l a r l y s t r i k i n g

in ( 6 d ) , the s o - c a l l e d s h i p ' s

d e c a n t e r , whose p r o t o t y p i c a l s h a p e , w i t h an e x t r e m e l y low c e n t r e of

g r a v i t y , i s

p a r t i c u l a r l y

w e l l

s u i t e d

to the c o n d i t i o n s on a s h i p .

4 . 5 .

O b v i o u s l y ,

a

c a t e g o r y

l i k e

t h a t

of

DECANTER

c o n t a i n s

f u r t h e r

p r o

t o t y p i c a l s u b c a t e g o r i e s .

T h u s ,

for

example,

(6c) w i t h i t s s q u a r e s h a p e ,

i s a

t y p i c a l s p i r i t

d e c a n te r . W i t h i n the c a t e g o r y of

TUMBLER,

the s u b

c a t e g o r y of w h i s k y t u m b l e r i s d i s t i n g u i s h e d by n o r m a l ly b e i n g d e c o r a t e d

o r ornamented.

In the

examples

j u s t q u o te d , s u b c a t e g o r i e s are d e n o t e d

by

complex lexemes w h i c h

r e p r e s e n t hyponyms of

t h e i r d e t e r m i n a t u m .

From c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s

l i k e

a p e / M e ns c h e n a f f e , s n a i l / W e i n b e r g s c h n e c k e ,

d e s k / S c h r e i b t i s c h i t can

c l e a r l y

be s e e n t h a t

t h i s l i n g u i s t i c

p r o c e s s ,

a s w e l l as the

f i n e r

c a t e g o r i z a t i o n i t s e l f , i s c u l t u r e - and l a n g u a g e -

d e p e n d e n t , r e l a t i v e ,

and n o n - u n i v e r s a l . F i n a l l y ,

t h i s

i s a l s o demon

s t r a t e d by the p a r a p h r a s e ' t r i b u t a r y r i v e r ' f or German F l u ß .

5 . A F e a t u r e A n a l y s i s of C o n t a i n e r Words

I w o u l d now

l i k e

to r e t u r n to the d e s c r i p t i o n and a n a l y s i s of c o n t a i n e r

words and c o n s i d e r ma i n ly the a c c o u n t g i v e n in L e h r e r

(1974:

85 f . ) .

5 . 1 .

Beyond

the

examples

a l r e a d y d i s c u s s e d , L e h r e r i n v e s t i g a t e s a c o n

s i d e r a b l e number of o t h e r i n t e r e s t i n g words f r o m t h i s f i e l d . She u s e s

f i v e

p a r a m e t e r s

for the

d i s t i n c t i o n

of

words, namely:

1.

m a t e r i a l ,

2 . s h a p e ,

3-

s i z e ,

4.

s u b s ta nc e u s e d f o r , and

5 .

f u n c t i o n ( s t o r i n g ,

e t c . ) . B e s i d e s o b l i g a t o r y f e a t u r e s , w h i c h are s y m b o l i z e d by s q u a r e

b r a c k e t s , she a l s o a d mi ts o p t i o n a l f e a t u r e s , for whose n o t a t i o n she i n

t r o d u c e s b r a c e s . A f u r t h e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of her a p p r o a c h , w h i c h i s not

f o u n d in any o t h e r v e r s i o n s of FS, are d i s j u n c t i o n s , s y m b o l i z e d by 'v'.

L e h r e r a n a l y s e s c o n t a i n e r words i n the f o l l o w i n g way:

1 3 )

b o t t l e

: [ N a r r o w n e c k ]

[For s o m e t h i n g p o u r a b l e { L i q u i d } ] -

{ G l a s s }

c a r a f e


[For s e r v i n g b e v e r a g e s ]

{ G l a s s }

d e c a n t e r


[For

l i q u i d s

{ A l c o h o l i c b e v e r a g e s } ]

[ F o r p o u r i n g v d e c o r a t i o n ]

c u p

:

[ S h a p e : . . . , h a n d l e ] [For d r i n k i n g ] - c f .

{+s a u c e r}

g l a s s : [ G l a s s ] [{For d r i n k i n g } v { C y l i n d r i c a l } ]

bowl

: [{For e a t i n g f r o m v f o o d p r e p a r a t i o n } v

{Shape:

H a l f s p h e r i c a l } ] { U t e n s i l } .

293


22/26

5 . 2 . T h i s a n a l y s i s

c o r r e s p o n d s

t o t h e o ne g i v e n i n t h e d e s c r i p t i o n by

Hansen et a l .

2

1 9 8 5 : 180 f . ) o f E n g l i s h

1

B e h ä lt n i s b e z e i c h n u n g e n ' . In

t h i s

t r e a t m e n t

a m a tr i x r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i s

u s e d , w h i c h

c o n ta i n s t he b i

n a r y f e a t u r e s

[ s i c ]

.

Thus

f o r

example

i s t o be i n t e r p r e t e d a s ' w e i t h a l -

s i g ' . On t h e s i d e o f th e mat r ix , two n o n - b i n a r y f e a t u r e s ar e added,

namely:

" a = 'a us G l a s

1

" and "b =

1

a us P l a s t ' " ,

w h i c h

o b v i o u s l y c o r r e

s p o n d

t o L e h r e r ' s

p a r a m e t e r MATERIAL.

C up i s d e f i n e d a s ' s m a l l non-me

t a l l i c w i d e - n e c k e d

bowl

( f o r i m m e d i a t e c o n s u m p t i o n o f d r i n k a b l e s ) ' .

5 . 3 . L e h r e r 's d e s c r i p t i o n d e s e r v e s a few comments, w h i c h m o s t l y a l s o

h o l d f o r Hansen e t a l . (

2

1 9 8 5 ) .

A lt h o u g h

th e m o d i f i c a t i o n o f t he t r a d i

t i o n a l F S by o p t i o n a l f e a t u r e s and d i s j u n c t i o n s c an a v o i d c e r t a i n d i s - -

a d v a n t a g e s ,

th e

i n a d e q u a c y

o f t h e

a p p r o a c h

f o r t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f

c o n

c r e t e

o b j e c t s i s o b v i o u s . I w i l l no t d i s c u s s i n d e t a i l t h e s p e c i f i c

weakness

o f L e h r e r 's d e s c r i p t i o n , b ut I

w i l l

name

a few.

T h u s ,

t h e a l

t e r n a t i v e {F or d r i n k i ng } o r { C y l i n d r i c a l } f o r th e c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n o f

g l a s s i s no t r e a l l y c o n v i n c i n g o r r e v e a l i n g . What does t he o p t i o n a l

f e a t u r e { U t e n s i l } , a t t a c h e d t o

b o w l , mean?

A f e a t u r e

l i k e {SHAPE:

H a l f

s p h e r i c a l } , a l s o w i t h b o w l , s t r i k e s o ne a s r a t h e r na i v e a f t e r t h e d i s

c u s s i o n o f

L a b o v ' s

r e s e a r c h .

5 . 4 . Th e c a s e o f c o n t a i n e r words makes c l e a r a l r e a d y t he

f u n d a m e n t a l

d i f f i c u l t i e s o f FS a s r e g a r d s t he d e s c r i p t i o n o f o b j e c t s i n

w h i c h shape

i s

r e l e v a n t . I t

becomes

p a r t i c u l a r l y

o b v i o u s

when

we lo o k at the

a n a

l y s i s

o f cup by

means

o f an o b l i g a t o r y f e a t u r e

[ S h a p e : . . . ,

h a n d l e ] ,

w h i c h

c an a l m o s t be c a l l e d an a d m i s s i o n o f d e f e a t . In t h e l a s t r e s o r t ,

s u c h a f e a t u r e r e a l l y i n d i c a t e s a r e n u n c i a t i o n o f a n a l y s i s . A v e r b a l

d e s c r i p t i o n

o f SHAPE -

e v e n

i f i t

were

g i v e n - i s

c l e a r l y

i n s u f f i c i e n t .

A ls o th e p r o p o r t i o n , i . e . th e r e l a t i o n s h i p between h e i g h t a nd w i d t h

must

be c a p t u r e d i n

some

way, as we have

s e e n .

I n c i d e n t a l l y , n e i t h e r

L e h r e r , no r t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l work r e p o r t e d o n by L a b o v , no r e v e n most

d i c t i o n a r y

d e f i n i t i o n s

m e n t i o n

an i m p o r t a n t c o nt e xt u a l a t t r i b u t e , name

l y

th e

p r e s e n c e

o f a s a u c e r . We

must

t h e r e f o r e p o s t u l a t e an a t t r i b u t e

' s a u c e r ' .

Such

c o n t e x tu a l a t t r i b u t e s

w h i c h

can be

i d e n t i f i e d

w i t h v a r i

a b l e , o p t i o n a l

s e m a n t i c

f e a t u r e s , a r e no t

u s e d

i n most work on FS.

6.

P r o b l e ms

w i t h F e a t u r e S e m a n t i c s

W i t h t h e s e r e m a r k s on L e h r e r ' s f e a t u r e a n a l y s i s o f c o n t a i n e r words,

we now t u r n t o g e n e r a l p o i nt s o f c r i t i c i s m l e v e l e d a g a i n s t th e c o n c e p t

o f

s e m a n t i c

f e a t u r e .

6.1. The

most

c o m p r e h e n s i v e

and d e t a i l e d

a c c o u n t

o f t h e

p r o b l e ms

o f FS

t h a t I

know

o f i s t o b e f o u n d i n

S p r e n g e l

I 9 8 O ) . He d i s c u s s e s q u e s t i o n s

294


23/26

o f d i s c o v e r y p r o c e d u r e s f o r f e a t u r e s ('Merkmale', i n a wide s e n s e ) ,

t h e i r

c i r c u l a r

d e f i n i t i o n , t h e i r m e t a l i n g u i s t i c s t a t u s , l e x i c a l

vague

n e s s , th e d i s t i n c t i o n between l i n g u i s t i c a n d e n c y c l o p e d i c knowledge,

t h e h i e r a r c h y and c o n c a t e n a t i o n o f f e a t u r e s , and f i n a l l y , t h e i r u ni v e r

s a l i t y

and p s y c h o l o g i c a l r e a l i t y . N ot a l l o f h i s arguments c a r r y t he

same c o n v i c t i o n . N e v e r t h e l e s s , h i s a p p r o a c h i s on the whole b a l a n c e d

and

does

no t r e s u l t i n a r e j e c t i o n o f F S.

I n t h i s c o n n e c t i o n , i t s h o u l d p e r h a p s be

m e n t i o n e d

t h a t ( i n a d d i t i o n

t o work i n TG) a f e a t u r e a n a l y s i s h a s

been

p r o p o s e d f o r f u nc t i o n words,

l i k e

E n g l i s h p r o n o u n s , p r e p o s i t i o n s , and q u a n t i f i e r s , e .g . by

Thome,

S t r a n g ,

F i l l m o r e , a n d L e e c h .

6 . 2 . In t h e f o l l o w i n g , I

w o u l d l i k e

t o

summarize

th e

most i m p o r t a n t

;

g e n e r a l

arguments

a g a i n s t F S, e s p e c i a l l y

t h o s e

a d v a n c e d i n r e c e n t

pub

l i c a t i o n s .

Th e a t t a c k s a r e o f t e n d i r e c t e d a g a i n s t th e s o - c a l l e d ' A r i s

t o t e l i a n

S e m a n t i c s ' , o r i n F i l l m o r e ' s f o r m u l a t i o n , a g a i n s t t h e

' c h e c k

l i s t t h e o r y o f

s e m a n t i c s ' .

In s u c h p u b l i c a t i o n s FS i s u s u a l l y

c h a r a c

t e r i z e d

g l o b a l l y

w i t h

th e f o l l o w i n g p o i n t s . I t i s s a i d t o i n v o l v e :

1. c l e a r

c a t e g o r y

b o u n d a r i e s ,

•

. • . . .

2 . f e a t u r e s as d i s c r e t e p r o p e r t i e s ,

3 . y e s / n o - d e c i s i o n s on the p r e s e n c e o f f e a t u r e s , a nd

4-.

e q u a l

s t a t u s o f a l l f e a t u r e s (no w e i g h t i n g ) .

As

o p p o s e d

t o

t h i s ,

Coleman/Kay

(19 8I )

and

G e e r a e r t s

1 9 8 4 ) ,

f o r e x- /

ample,

s t r e s s th e a d v a n t a g e t h a t o nl y PS c a n e x p l a i n: *

1.

vague,

c o n t i n u o u s

c a t e g o r y

b o u n d a r i e s ( f u z z i n e s s ) ,

2 . g r a d u a l

c a t e g o r y

membership, r e s e m b l a n c e ,

3 . c a t e g o r i e s w i t h p r o t o t y p i c a l k e r n e l s , and

4 . t he d i f f e r e n t

i m p o r t a n c e

o f a t t r i b u t e s ( w e i g h t i n g ) .

6 . 3 . I

w o u l d l i k e

to

c o u n t e r th e s e

c l a i m s

w i t h

a m o d i f i e d a nd e l a b o r

a t e d F S ,

w h i c h

c a n

overcome most

o f t h e

weaknesses

e x p o s e d i n s u c h

c r i t i c i s m .

In p a r t i c u l a r , th e a n a l y s i s o f th e E n g l i s h

v e r b

l i e a nd t h e

s p e e c h a c t o f l y i n g

d e n o t e d

by i t ,

w h i c h Coleman/Kay ( I98I)

t r e a t a s

a model c a s e f o r P S, c a n

d e f i n i t e l y

be t r e a t e d s u c c e s s f u l l y w i t h i n th e

framework o f s u c h an F S. Th e d i a c h r o n i c a n a l y s i s o f D u t c h

d a t a

i n

G e e r a e r t s

(1984) c a n a l s o b e managed e a s i l y w i t h i n a m o d i f i e d F S. Th e

n e c e s s a r y m o d i f i c a t i o n s w i l l be tr e a te d now.

7 . I n f e r e n t i a l

F e a t u r e s

a nd a n I n t e g r a t e d

View

Th e c o n c e p t o f f e a t u r e i s b y no means, as i s o f t e n

c l a i m e d ,

u n i t a r y

and

i n d i v i s i b l e .

N o t h i n g p r e v e n ts us f r o m d i s t i n g u i s h i n g v a r i o u s t y p e s

o f f e a t u r e ,

w h i c h

ar e s u i t a b l e f o r d i f f e r e n t phenomena and p u r p o s e s .

295


24/26

T h u s , f o r example, M e i n h a r d

(1984:

6 0, 64 f . , 6 6 f . ) , i n a

p a p e r whose

g e n e r a l d r i f t i s

s i m i l a r

t o t h a t o f th e p r e s e n t

a r t i c l e ,

i n t r o d u c e s a

d i s t i n c t i o n between

i n v a r i a n t ,

v a r i a n t , and p r o t o t y p i c a l f e a t u r e s .

7.1. In an a r t i c l e o n s e m a nt i c components o f E n g l i s h

nouns

a nd v e r b s ,

I have s e t u p a

taxonomy

o f

s e v e n

c l a s s e s o f se ma nt ic f e a t u r e s , o f

w h i c h

o n l y a f ew a r e b i n a r y

(1979: 194-196) .

I

w o u l d

l i k e

t o

summarize

t h i s t y p o l o g y h e r e . On th e b a s i s o f v a r i o u s

c r i t e r i a

we can d i s t i n

g u i s h t he f o l l o w i n g t y p e s o f f e a t u r e :

(14)

1 .

d e n o t a t i v e ( e . g . [±HUMAN] i n g i r l v s . f i l l y )

2. c o n n o t a t i v e ( e . g . [±ARCHAIC] i n s t e e d / h o r s e )

3. r e l a t i o n a l ( e . g . OPARENT] [-«-PARENT i n f a t h e r / s o n )

4 . t r a n s f e r f e a t u r e s ( e . g . o r

i n t o d r i n k )

5 . d e i c t i c

( e . g . [±PR0XIMATE] i n come/go, now/then)

6 .

i n f e r e n t i a l f e a t u r e s ( e . g .

{STICK}

i n b e a t, {TO

GET ATTENTION} i n n u d g e ) .

7.2. W i t h th e e x c e p t i o n o f t h e l a s t t y p e , i n f e r e n t i a l f e a t u r e s , a l l

f e a t u r e s a r e a l s o D i s t i n c t i v e F e a t u r e s ( D F s ) . T h e s e c o u l d be r e g a r d e d

a s a s e v e n t h , g e n e r a l ,

c o m p r e h e n s i v e

t y p e . I n f e r e n t i a l f e a t u r e s , w h i c h

I have t r e a t e d i n d e t a i l i n L i p k a ( 1 9 8 5 ) , have a

s p e c i a l

s t a t u s a l s o

i n t h a t t h e y e n a b l e t h e l i n g u i s t t o c a p t u r e s y n c h r o n i c a nd d i a c h r o n i c

v a r i a t i o n .

An FS w h i c h r e s t r i c t s i t s e l f t o o b l i g a t o r y f e a t u r e s

c a n n o t

e x p l a i n change o f meaning,

b e c a u s e

i n s u c h a framework i t i s i m p o s s i b l e

f o r f e a t u r e s t o be added o r t o d i s a p p e a r .

I have

a d o p t e d

th e t e r m

' i n f e r e n t i a l

f e a t u r e s '

f r o m

N i d a , b ut have d e

v e l o p e d t he c o n c e p t my s e l f . Th e n o t a t i o n i n b r a c e s d e r i v e s

f r o m

L e h

r e r ' s a p p r o a c h ,

w h i c h ,

as we have s e e n , a d m i t s o p t i o n a l f e a t u r e s . I n

f e r e n t i a l

f e a t u r e s a r e no t

d i s c r e t e ,

o b l i g a t o r y a nd i n h e r e n t , b u t

r a t h e r o p t i o n a l , s u p p l e m e nt a r y , and d e p e n d e n t on l i n g u i s t i c a nd e x t r a -

l i n g u i s t i c c o n t e x t ,

f r o m

w h i c h t h e y a r e

i n f e r r e d .

They

l a r g e l y

c o r r e

s p o n d

t o

M e i n h a r d ' s

(1984) ' v a r i a n t ' f e a t u r e s .

D i c t i o n a r i e s mark them

by u s i n g

l a b e l s

s u c h a s u s u a l l y ,

e s p e c i a l l y ,

o f t e n . T h u s , f o r example th e v e r b b e a t c o n t a i n s a n

i n f e r e n t i a l

f e a t u r e

{WITH

STICK}

a nd t h e v e r b

nudge

an


f e a t u r e { T O G E T ATTEN

TION}.

C o n t a i n e r t e r m s may have


f e a t u r e s f o r

MATERIAL,

s u c h

a s

{GLASS}

i n b o t t l e o r {EARTHENWARE} i n p i t c h e r , b u t t h e y may a l s o

r e f e r t o c o n t e n t o r o t h e r a t t r i b u t e s , s u c h a s e . g .

{DECORATED}

and

{WINE} i n d e c a n t e r .

296


25/26

7 . 3 .

As we

have

s e e n , s u c h f e a t u r e s c a n a l s o be r e g a r d e d as a t t r i b u t e s

o f p r o t o t y p i c a l c a t e g o r i e s . I n d e e d , I b e l i e v e t h a t f e a t u r e s - e s p e c i a l

l y i f t h e y a r e no t o b l i g a t o r y -

c o r r e s p o n d

t o t he a t t r i b u t e s o f PS.

C o n s e q u e n t l y , th e

p r o b l e m s

r a i s e d

u n d e r 6 . above

a r e s o l v e d t o a l a r g e

e x t e n t i n a m o d i f i e d P S.

However, I

w o u l d

no t

w i s h

to c o n c e a l t h e

f a c t

t h a t

some d i f f i c u l t i e s

r e m a i n

f o r F S.

T h e s e c o n c e r n

e s p e c i a l l y th e

s i m u l t a n e o u s p r e s e n c e

o f

c o n t r a d i c t o r y f e a t u r e s . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e q u e s t i o n o f t h e i n t e r n a l

s t r u c t u r e o f s e t s o f f e a t u r e s o f a

lexeme,

w h i c h

was a l r e a d y r a i s e d

i n 1966

by

We i n r e i c h (1972) w i t h

h i s

d i s t i n c t i o n between

c l u s t e r s a nd

c o n f i g u r a t i o n s ,

s t i l l r e m a i n s

to be

answered.

F i n a l l y ,

we

have

s e e n

t h a t i n t he d e s c r i p t i o n o f c o n c r e t e


o b j e c t s i n

w h i c h

shape

a nd p r o p o r t i o n i s r e l e v a n t , PS and t h e u s e o f

i l l u s t r a t i o n s have

many a d v a n t a g e s .

Th i s i s e s p e c i a l l y t r u e f o r th e p s y c h o l o g i c a l s i d e o f

t he p e r c e p t u a l c a t e g o r i z a t i o n o f th e


w o r l d .

R o s c h

(1977: 3 6 )

h a s p o i n t e d o ut t h a t p r o t o t y p e s , a s u n i t a r y G e s t a l t - p e r c e p -

t i o n s , r e l i e v e th e

human

b r a i n o f l a b o r i o u s c o g n i t i v e

p r o c e s s e s

by

p r o

v i d i n g

an

e f f i c i e n t

p r o c e s s i n g

mechanism

o f

m a t c h i n g

t o a p r o t o t y p e " .

7

. 4. Th e g r e a t m a j o r i t y o f o u r

examples

were

t a k e n

f r o m E n g l i s h a nd

a r e t h e r e f o r e

d i r e c t l y

r e l e v a n t t o E n g l i s h l e x i c o l o g y . However,

e v i

dence

f r o m o t h e r

l a n g u a g e s

i s a l s o

i n d i r e c t l y n e c e s s a r y

and u s e f u l f o r

a d e s c r i p t i o n o f E n g l i s h .

F i n a l l y ,

th e g e n e r a l c o n c l u s i o n s f r o m o u r

t h e o r e t i c a l

d i s c u s s i o n

w i l l

have

c o n s i d e r a b l e b e a r i n g on t he a n a l y s i s

o f t h e

v o c a b u l a r y

of any l a n g u a g e .

I f

we now

weigh

up th e

a d v a n t a g e s

and

d i s a d v a n ta g e s

o f PS and FS, we

a r e f o r c e d to

acknowledge

t h a t h e r e - a s

w i t h

p r o t o t y p e s

a nd f e a t u r e s

t h e m s e l v e s - t h e r e c a n be no c l a i m t o a b s o l u t e n e s s . I n my o p i n i o n , we

have

a

d i v i s i o n

o f la b o u r

between

two

complementary

a p p r o a c h e s .

N e i t h e r

PS nor FS can claim that

t h e y a l o n e

c an s o l v e a l l

p r o b l e ms

a nd d e s c r i b e

a l l

phenomena a d e q u a t e ly .

I t h e r e f o r e

c o n c l u d e

t h a t t h e t i t l e of my pa

p e r i s no t a t r u e a l t e r n a t i v e . Th e

1

q u e s t i o n i s

w r o n g l y

put: It i s not

PS o r F S, b u t r a t h e r PS a n d F S. Th e i n t e g r a t i o n o f

b o t h a p p r o a c h e s

i s

th e

most u r g e n t

t a s k o f s e m a n t i c t h e o r y and p r a c t i c e .

* I s h o u l d

l i k e

t o t h a n k

Monika K r e n n

and

Graham

P a s c o e f o r h e l p f u l com

ments

on an

e a r l i e r

v e r s i o n o f

Documents

Perspectives on Language in Performance