Abstract
ABSTRACTResearch on how categories of object concepts are implemented in the human brain has focused primarily on the sorts of semantic structures that are found in English and a few other European languages. This paper provides a broader typological perspective by considering the multifarious categories of object concepts that are encoded by languages with nominal classification systems. In these languages, speakers must explicitly categorize objects at both basic and superordinate levels – indicating, for instance, that a particular entity is not just a pencil but an elongated thing. The following semantic parameters of nominal classification systems are discussed: animacy and related properties, shape and related properties, size, constitution, and interaction/function. For each parameter, cross-linguistically frequent and infrequent semantic distinctions are surveyed first, and then their relevance to cognitive neuroscience is considered. These analyses strongly suggest that the neural underpinnings of object concepts are influenced by both universal tendencies and cultural idiosyncrasies.
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