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Towards a theory of lexical meaning as ontologies and construals

Paradis, Carita LU orcid (2004) In The department of English in Lund: working papers in linguistics
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework of lexical meaning, broadly along the lines of Cognitive Semantics (Langacker 1987a). The paper focuses on interpretations of adjective-noun (ADJ N ) combinations in English. Within the proposed model, all aspects of meaning are to be explained in terms of properties of ontologies in conceptual space, i.e. properties of content ontologies and schematic ontologies and construals which are cognitive operations imposed on the conceptual structures on the occasion of use. It is through the operations of construals on ontological structures that different readings of lexical expressions arise. Lexical meanings are dynamic and sensitive to contextual demands, rather than fixed and stable. In a... (More)
The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework of lexical meaning, broadly along the lines of Cognitive Semantics (Langacker 1987a). The paper focuses on interpretations of adjective-noun (ADJ N ) combinations in English. Within the proposed model, all aspects of meaning are to be explained in terms of properties of ontologies in conceptual space, i.e. properties of content ontologies and schematic ontologies and construals which are cognitive operations imposed on the conceptual structures on the occasion of use. It is through the operations of construals on ontological structures that different readings of lexical expressions arise. Lexical meanings are dynamic and sensitive to contextual demands, rather than fixed and stable. In a dynamic usage-based model like this, polysemy and multiple readings emerge as a natural consequence of the human ability to think flexibly. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Working paper/Preprint
publication status
published
subject
in
The department of English in Lund: working papers in linguistics
ISSN
1652-0017
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
24347f36-765e-4121-ab31-15ee26358bd3 (old id 529565)
alternative location
http://www.englund.lu.se/research/workingpapers/pdf-volume4/paradis-wp-04.pdf
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 09:42:00
date last changed
2019-03-08 02:28:42
@misc{24347f36-765e-4121-ab31-15ee26358bd3,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework of lexical meaning, broadly along the lines of Cognitive Semantics (Langacker 1987a). The paper focuses on interpretations of adjective-noun (ADJ N ) combinations in English. Within the proposed model, all aspects of meaning are to be explained in terms of properties of ontologies in conceptual space, i.e. properties of content ontologies and schematic ontologies and construals which are cognitive operations imposed on the conceptual structures on the occasion of use. It is through the operations of construals on ontological structures that different readings of lexical expressions arise. Lexical meanings are dynamic and sensitive to contextual demands, rather than fixed and stable. In a dynamic usage-based model like this, polysemy and multiple readings emerge as a natural consequence of the human ability to think flexibly.}},
  author       = {{Paradis, Carita}},
  issn         = {{1652-0017}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  series       = {{The department of English in Lund: working papers in linguistics}},
  title        = {{Towards a theory of lexical meaning as ontologies and construals}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/5393912/624537.pdf}},
  year         = {{2004}},
}