Exploring the Motivations and Cultural-Societal Influences Behind Dynamic Categorization of Word Meanings

The dynamic categorization theory of word meaning is a novel trend of the development of categorization theory. Loss or weakening of the meaning, generalization or being empty, lexicalization or grammaticalization are all relevant to the dynamic nature of semantic categories. This paper explores the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of society, culture & language Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 257 - 272
Main Authors: Zeng, Rong, Wen, Xu
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Raleigh International Journal of Society, Culture and Language 01.03.2025
Subjects:
Chinese languages
Cognition
Construal
Cultural factors
Diachronic linguistics
Dynamic semantics
Grammaticalization
Lexicalization
Motivation
Semantic categories
Semantics
Word meaning
ISSN:2329-2210
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The dynamic categorization theory of word meaning is a novel trend of the development of categorization theory. Loss or weakening of the meaning, generalization or being empty, lexicalization or grammaticalization are all relevant to the dynamic nature of semantic categories. This paper explores the motivations behind the dynamic categorization of word meanings. We summarize objective motivations based on previous research and linguistic examples in Chinese and English, and investigate subjective motivations through empirical research involving questionnaires and Python visualization tools. Findings reveal that: (1) The dynamic nature of categorical attributes and the gradience of categories are the objective motivations of dynamic categorization of word meanings, while dynamic construal is the subjective motivation. (2) The variability of category members and the vagueness and openness of category boundaries enable diachronic evolution, and the gradience of category determines the gradual change of categories. (3) Dynamic construal in cognitive process allows for the instant construction of semantic categories.
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ISSN:2329-2210
DOI:10.22034/ijscl.2024.2041530.3707