原型分类理论

浅议原型分类理论

摘要：国内语言学界利用原型理论阐释语义范畴的研究主要包括:语义范畴的描写、语义模糊的探究、一词多义模式的描写、语

义演变的分析等,近几年也出现了对原型理论的反证。

关键词：原型分类理论；语义分类

the discussion on the prototype categorical theory

hu xuehong

（anhui university of science and technology, 232001) abstract: it seems that our cognitive system for categorization is not like an “in or out” filing cabinet, but an arrangement of elements in a radical structure or network with central good examples, secondary poorer examples, and peripheral examples.

key words: prototype categorical theory; categorization the process of people’s cognition to the external objects includes the categorization of the input information. the so-called categorization is the judgments on the objects, the classification and the naming of them. due to these categories, we can have a clear recognition and knowledge about an object. the category theory obtains a full development after the classical category theory and the prototype theory.

the reference and the application of the classical category

by aristotle have been 2500 years in history. it indeed does a great contribution to the development of the human psychological cognition. because of that theory, people don’t treat the objects as the random and disorder compound, instead as the objects to be discomposed and analyzed. that is to say, the objects can be classified into different categories. although, this theory has been prevalent for so long time, there are some problems indeed. the classical categorical theory’s main principles are: firstly, a category is to be set upon a series of the so-called necessary and sufficient conditions. secondly, it defines the concrete boundary for a category. thirdly, the characteristics of the category are dichotomous. at last, all the members in the category have to be provided with the same categorical features.

the characteristics which appear in high frequency help to establish a category at last. however, these characteristics don’t become the necessary and sufficient conditions but only the characteristics of the prototype. the members in this category may be provided with the all these characteristics but it’s not always that case. so some members own more characteristics than other members. then the former ones are

the central members or prototype. the category is set up around them. the former category will be enlarged by the new members coming later.

a category has an indefinite and indistinct boundary. in prototype theory, the ambiguity is the internal attribute. this specificity makes the possibility of cognition of many objects come reality, because as long as they are provided with a certain feature, then they can be treated as the members of a category. in consequence, the new members can join the category consistently.

the categorical members are gradable with no rigid stratification. the prototype theory doesn’t ask all its members to possess all the series of characteristics. the characteristics and the attributes are in gradable distribution. the only difference is that the central members are provided with more features while the marginal ones less.

the boundaries of the category are fuzzy rather than fixed. we can refer to this by considering which is more “fruity”: potatoes or cabbages? both are obviously not good examples of fruit, but it is likely that you will be able to pick one of these and even give reasons: cabbages, because it grows