The Interplay of Polysemy and Prototypes: A Prototype Theory Approach to the Turkish Polysemic –lIk Morpheme

Abstract

In contrast to the classical Aristotelian view of categorization, which defines category membership based on compliance with necessary and sufficient conditions, the newly emerging Prototype Theory contends that categories are formed around prototypes, also known as “best examples”. A particularly relevant set of data stems from the observation that speakers do not assign an equal degree of membership to all members within a given category, a phenomenon known in the field as “prototype effects”. On the linguistic side of the discussion, proponents of Prototype Theory argue that the polysemy of linguistic elements, whether morphemes, words, or syntactic structures, should be analyzed in a manner analogous to categories. Just as categories have “prototypical” or “exemplar” members, polysemous linguistic objects have “prototypical” or “exemplar” interpretations, from which non-prototypical, slightly deviant interpretations are derived. This study aims to characterize the polysemous Turkish suffix –lIk through a prototypical analysis, operating on the assumption that language is a dynamic and evolving entity that interacts bidirectionally with cognitive structures. It is proposed that the myriad of interpretations associated with –lIk can be captured around a prototypical core meaning of “property-based relation”, and that other readings can be derived from this core by slight meaning alterations. I also incorporate Langacker’s theory, positing that non-prototypical interpretations may also act as a node from which both prototypical and non-prototypical interpretations branch. Our findings indicate that Prototype Theory offers a more fitting analytical framework for understanding ¬–lIk compared to the classical Aristotelian view, which proves less adequate for this analysis.