Cognitive Linguistics Croft&Cruse

1
Cognitive Linguistics CroftCruse

• 4 Categories,concepts, and meanings, pt. 1

2
4.1 Introduction

• Functions of conceptual categories
• Facilitate learning over non-identical events
• Planning requires generalization across
  individuals
• Communication cannot contain all detail
• Economy of knowledge storage and retrieval

3
4.1 Introduction

• Ways to look at categories
• As collections of entities, with central
  prototypes and peripheral members
• How the members of one category differ from those
  of another category
• Level of categorization

4
4.2 The classical model of category structure

• Classical categories
• are defined by necessary and sufficient features
• have clear, rigid boundaries
• have no internal structure

5
4.2 The classical model of category structure

• Q What are the problems with classical
  categories?

6
4.2 The classical model of category structure

• Q What are the problems with classical
  categories?
• A
• many everyday concepts cannot be defined in terms
  of necessary and sufficient features
• category membership is often scalar, not absolute
• the boundaries of categories are often fuzzy

7
4.3 The prototype model of category structure

• There is an alternative to the classical model
  that avoids its drawbacks.

8
4.3.1 Graded centrality

• It is easy for people to rate the GOE
  (goodness-of-example) of certain items in
  relation to a category, and this correlates with
  frequency, order of mention/learning, family
  resemblance, verification speed, and priming

top-scorer for VEGETABLE
low-scorer for VEGETABLE
9
4.3.2 The representation of conceptual categories

• There are two ways to look at categories
• As a list of properties/features, which are not
  necessary or sufficient, but which characterize
  the prototype, which is an idealization of the
  category
• As an organization in terms of similarity to an
  idealized member
• These are very similar approaches and do not
  have to be distinguished.

10
4.3.3 Levels of categorization

• The basic level category has properties more
  salient than either the superordinate or
  subordinate levels

11
4.3.3.1 Basic level categories

• Q What is special about basic level categories
  (car, apple, dog, knife, table)?

12
4.3.3.1 Basic level categories

• Q What is special about basic level categories
  (car, apple, dog, knife, table)?
• A
• Most inclusive level with characteristic patterns
  of behavioral interaction, for which a clear
  visual image can be formed, at which part-whole
  information is represented
• Level used for everyday neutral reference
• Level most rapidly accessed in categorization

13
(No Transcript)
14
4.3.3.2 Superordinate level categories

• Q What do we know about superordinate level
  categories (vehicle, fruit, furniture)?

15
4.3.3.2 Superordinate level categories

• Q What do we know about superordinate level
  categories (vehicle, fruit, furniture)?
• A
• within-category resemblance is relatively low
• fewer defining attributes
• one attribute tends to connect basic-level to
  superordinate-level categories
• superordinate categories are often named with
  mass nouns and tend to be morphologically
  complex, whereas basic-level categories are named
  with count nouns that are morphologically simpler

16
4.3.3.3 Subordinate level categories

• Q What do we know about subordinate level
  categories (hatchback, Granny Smith, card table)?

17
4.3.3.3 Subordinate level categories

• Q What do we know about subordinate level
  categories (hatchback, Granny Smith, card table)?
• A
• less distinct from neighboring categories
• not more informative than basic-level
• frequently morphologically complex

18
(No Transcript)
19
4.3.4 Shortcomings of prototype theory

• Simplistic nature of feature list cannot
  account for interaction of factors
• Odd number paradox people will score GOE even
  if there is a neccsuff criterion (1, 3, 5 are
  better examples of odd number than 135 or
  10,975)
• Where do features come from?
• Why are some categories mutually exclusive?
• Boundaries where are they and how do they
  behave?

20
4.3.5 The frame-based account of prototype effects

• Frames, ICMs can guide us toward a better
  understanding of the structure of cognitive
  categories.