Polysemy in Cognitive Linguistics. Lecture 10

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Lecture 10
Polysemy in Cognitive Linguistics

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Problem questions:
1) Polysemy in cognitive linguistics
2) Different tests for ambiguity
3) Problems with tests
4) Continuum view and its advantages
5) Radial category

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Homophones sounds/pronunciation is the
same: wring, ring
Homographs orthography /spelling is the
same: bank

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Lexical Ambiguity Test:
This test focuses on the meaning of individual words.
The phrase "She's a real peach," where "peach" can refer
to someone's sweet nature or an actual fruit.
Example: "The bank is crowded." (Is "bank" referring to a
financial institution or the side of a river?)
Syntactic Ambiguity Test:
This test focuses on the structure of sentences.
Example: "Visiting relatives can be boring." Or : "I saw
the man with the telescope." (Did I use the telescope to
see the man, or did the man have the telescope?)

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Semantic Ambiguity Test:
This test focuses on the meaning of the entire sentence or phrase.
Example: "The chicken is ready to eat." (Is the chicken ready to be
eaten, or is it ready to eat something else?)
"He saw her duck," a single word takes on different meanings
depending on the context. "Duck" could refer to the bird or an action.
Pragmatic Ambiguity Test:
This test focuses on how context affects meaning.
Example: "Can you pass me the salt?" (Is the speaker asking if you
are physically able to pass the salt, or if you are willing to pass it?)
Morphological Ambiguity Test:
This test focuses on the morphological structure of words.
Example: "He's a big fish in a small pond." (Is "fish" a literal fish or
a metaphor for a person?)

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The Continuum View
The continuum view is a concept used in linguistics and cognitive
science to describe the idea that certain linguistic phenomena, such as
meaning or category membership, can be better understood as existing
along a continuum rather than as discrete categories. This view
suggests that there are no clear boundaries between different
categories or meanings, but rather gradations or degrees of difference
along a scale.
In the context of ambiguity, the continuum view suggests that
ambiguity is not an all-or-nothing phenomenon but rather exists to
varying degrees. Some words or phrases may be more ambiguous than
others, and the degree of ambiguity can depend on factors such as
context, individual interpretation, and cultural background.

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What is the basic meaning of over?

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In conclusion, polysemy, different tests for
ambiguity, the continuum view, and radial categories
provide a profound insight into the complex nature of
word meanings and linguistic categorization in
cognitive linguistics.
They remind us that language is not a static entity
but a dynamic, multifaceted reflection of human
cognition and perception. Understanding these
concepts deep

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Resources
1.
Evans V.,Green M. (2006). Cognitive Linguistics. An Introduction. EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS.
Polysemy in Cognitive Linguistics:
1.
Langacker, R. W. (2008). Cognitive Grammar: A Basic Introduction. Oxford University Press.
2.
Geeraerts, D. (2006). Cognitive Linguistics: Basic Readings. Walter de Gruyter.
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Tyler, A., & Evans,V. (2001). Reconsidering prepositional polysemy networks: The case of over.
Language, 77(4), 724-765.
DifferentTests for Ambiguity:
1.
Cruse, D. A. (2004). Meaning in Language: An Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics. Oxford
University Press.
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Jurafsky, D., & Martin, J. H. (2008). Speech and Language Processing: An Introduction to Natural
Language Processing, Computational Linguistics, and Speech Recognition. Prentice Hall.
3.
Levinson, S. C. (2000). Presumptive Meanings:The Theory of Generalized Conversational Implicature.
MIT Press.

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• Problems with Tests:
• Murphy, G. L. (2002).The Big Book of Concepts. MIT Press.
• Croft,W., & Cruse, D. A. (2004). Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge University Press.
• Jackendoff, R. (2002). Foundations of Language: Brain, Meaning, Grammar, Evolution. Oxford
University Press.
• ContinuumView and Its Advantages:
• Taylor, J. R. (2002). Cognitive Grammar. Oxford University Press.
• Langacker, R. W. (1987). Foundations of Cognitive Grammar:Theoretical Prerequisites. Stanford
University Press.
• Radial Category:
• Lakoff, G. (1987). Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind.
University of Chicago Press.
• Rosch, E. (1978). Principles of categorization. In Cognition and Categorization (pp. 27-48).
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.