The Semantic Extension of Dimensional Adjectives from Space” to “Time” -Focusing on “nagai” and “tooi”-

Abstract

This study examined the process of dimensional adjectives extending their meaning from “space” to “time.” Among dimensional adjectives, “nagai” and “tooi” are the only ones in which mapping between the domains of “space” and “time” has been identified. If we look up the meanings of these two adjectives related to “time” in the dictionary, it says “a big time distance.” Thus, we cannot distinguish the difference in meaning. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the polysemous structure of “nagai” and reveal to which the semantic difference of these two adjectives in “time” is attributed.BR This study has found that “nagai” has been extending its meaning from the prototype meaning of “very distant physically and continuously from beginning to end” metaphorically to the meaning of “time” through a schema of “very distant continuously.” This author compared “nagai” and “tooi” in terms of “time” semantically based on the results and learned there was difference in the semantic features of “Vektor