Abstract
The aim of this paper is to point to fundamental implications of the prototype theory for lexicographic practice using them as a solid foundation for developing and proposing a model for systematic, consistent, precise and, above all, reliable treatment of polysemy in dictionaries. The main requirement of such a model is to make transparent the main features of a polysemous structure including its hierarchical organization, mutual relatedness of senses based on family resemblance and motivated derivation of senses. The proposed model includes three most challenging but key aspects of lexicographic treatment of polysemy: sense discrimination, sense defining and structure and organization of a dictionary entry. The prototype-based view of a polysemous structure is illustrated with a diagram representing a proposed upgrade of the radial set model introduced by Brugman and Lakoff (1988) and providing a pattern for tailoring a dictionary entry for a polysemous word. After practical aspects of the proposed model are explained in detail, an illustration follows setting forth a sample entry for a highly polysemous verb formed according to the proposed model. A solid theoretical foundation of the model is expected to ensure its practical efficiency primarily concerning quick and easy detection and understanding of senses.
Highlights
The advent of cognitive linguistics in the 1980s marked a turning point in the development of semantic theories and their view of meaning bringing the notion of polysemy into focus again
All the senses within a single polysemous structure are organized around and derived directly or indirectly from the same prototype so that they are all mutually related sharing some common features and overlapping, which indicates that mutual relatedness of senses within a polysemous structure is based on family resemblance
The prototype-based model offers a deeper insight into the internal organization of a polysemous structure focusing upon its center as the core from which the whole structure has developed and, emphasizing mutual relatedness of all the senses in a structure based on family resemblance, which is successfully visually represented by the radial set model introduced by Brugman and Lakoff (1988)
Summary
The advent of cognitive linguistics in the 1980s marked a turning point in the development of semantic theories and their view of meaning bringing the notion of polysemy into focus again. The prototype theory represented a strong and direct opposition to the classical view of words and their meaning relying on psychology and its empirical findings, viewing meaning as a form of categorization and relating it to mental representations. Such an account of meaning and polysemy is considered here as the one that can be successfully applied to lexicographic treatment of polysemy. The analysis of polysemy treatment in British and American lexicography (represented by six monolingual general-purpose dictionaries and five learner's dictionaries of English) that I have conducted as a part of my doctoral dissertation (Halas 2014a) has shown that most of these dictionaries still adhere to the principles of traditional lexicography and do not base their practice on contemporary lexicological theory. There will be formulated a proposal of a model for lexicographic treatment of polysemy completely based on the principles of the prototype theory
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