Ôèëîëîãè÷åñêèå íàóêè/3.Òåîðåòè÷åñêèå ïðîáëåìû èññëåäîâàíèÿ
Blagodarna O.M.
THE CONCEPT “WORK” AS A CATEGORIZED STRUCTURE
Concept analysis is a crucial point in modern cognitive linguistics. The
present abstract dwells on the methods of concept representation, because “the
issue of method deals with the issue of content and reality of a concept
itself” [2: 25]. The authors give a general overlook of categorization
phenomenon and describe the procedure of the concept WORK categorization
analysis.
Categorization makes it possible for an organism to reduce limitless variations
in the world to manageable proportions. A category fulfils this function in
virtue of the fact that “by knowing the category to which a thing belongs, the
organism, thereby, knows as many attributes as possible” [6: 197]. Because
classical and prototypical organization of categories are considered to be the
most constructive and coherent ones, we will introduce these two approaches
into out research.
As for classical categories, it is well known that Aristotle
distinguished between the essence of a thing and its accidents. The essence is
that which makes a thing what is it, all immanent parts which define and
indicate their individuality. Accidents are incidental properties which play no
part in determining what a thing is [8: 22-23]. In this case, once established,
classical category divides the universe into two sets of entities – those that
are members of the category and those that are not.
The inadequacies of the classical theory were broadly represented for
the first time in “Philosophical Inversigations” by
L. Wittgenstein, who analyzed the definition cases of the word Spiel
“game” [9]. He notes that there are no
common properties shared by all members of the GAME category. Thus, the fact of
inability to differentiate clearly games from non-games proves the hypothesis
of fuzzy category boundaries.
E. Rosh proved that certain kinds of entities could be regarded as good
examples in a category and that category membership degree is a psychologically
valid notion [5; 6]. As studied by
It is clear that not all the category levels are of the same importance
for the speaker. The more cognitively and linguistically salient level of
categorization, as noticed by E. Rosch, is its “basic
level”. It is at the basic level of categorization that people conceptualize
thing as perceptual and functional gestalts [7]. In this connection it seems
not out of place to mention the assumption of R.W. Langacker,
exposed in his work “Foundation of Cognitive Grammar”. Particularly, he argues
that cognitive structures often need to be understood more as holistic, gestalt
configurations, than as attribute bundles [4: 19].
The above-given overlook enables us to claim that the concept WORK is a
categorical concept of basic level, which means that it possesses the necessary
properties of a category, such as holistic nature and perceptual and functional
simplicity. According to the prior analysis [1], the concept WORK is based on a
complex prototypical model, the nucleus of which is represented by the
following frame [the SUBJECT of the action – produces mental and/or physical ACTIVITY
– in order to get tangible/intangible RESULT]. The periphery is represented by
properties that are metonymically attached to the nucleus, i.e. OBJECT towards
the activity is directed, PLACE where it is happening, TIME during which it is
happening and INSTRUMENT required to carry out the activity.
In the framework of our research the basic category WORK might be considered
as a superordinate category that unites all cognitive
models of its subordinate categories – i.e. a cluster of models. Conventional variations of the central case,
i.e. subordinate categories, are determined by one of the cognitive models and
make a deviation from the central prototypical model. The subordinate
categories are as follows: ACTIVITY,
RESULT (which are considered as central subcategories) and OBJECT, TIME, PLACE,
INSTRUMENT (which are considered as peripheral subcategories).
The basic level category WORK is represented by two salient dimensions: dynamic (ACTIVITY) and static (RESULT). Each dimension
is represented by two cognitive models, each model highlighting a different
aspect of WORK concept. The cognitive model is represented by its central
member – a lexeme that possesses prototypical attributes of the category-member
and its proper attributes. Thus, the peripheral groups of lexemes are tugged to
the central lexeme by partial confluence of different numbers of attributes.
The ACTIVITY dimension is structured by two cognitive models. The first
model [WORK is an EFFORT] represents WORK as “the active use of mental power or
physical strength in producing a result”. The central lexeme labour is surrounded by peripheral groups of
lexemes: pain-struggle-travail, with additional semes
”onerous and painful”; drudgery-grind-toil with additional semes “exhausting, irksome and monotonous”. The second
model [WORK is MEANS OF EARNING INCOME] represents WORK as “the activity by
which one regularly makes a living”. The centre of the model is marked by the lexeme
occupation. The three peripheral groups are interconnected by gradual
highlighting of the semes combination “presence
employer/ remuneration/ motivation”: employment-job-office-position; craft-line-métier-pursuit-trade-vocation;
chore-duty-endeavour-mission-task-undertaking.
The static dimension RESULT is structured by two cognitive models, those
of [WORK is an INTANGIBLE RESULT] and [WORK is a TANGIBLE RESULT]. There is no
lexeme other than work to represent the former model. The latter model is formed by two central
lexemes which, in their turn, determine the periphery. The lexeme composition denotes “output
of inspiration”. One peripheral group shares the seme
“arrangement”: configuration-design-form-layout-pattern; and “output of
artistic excellence”: article-essay-etude-magnum opus-masterpiece-model-novel-paper-pièce
de résistance-showpiece-sketch-story. The lexeme product has nearest
periphery is formed by the lexemes article-goods-merchandise-wares, that
share the common attribute “commercial use” and the lexemes fruit-handwork-object-thing-yield
for “non-commercial use”.
As we can see, the basic-level concept WORK is subject to vertical and
horizontal categorization. Superior categories contain cognitive models that
are projected on the subordinate level categories. The categories of
subordinate level might serve as superordinate
categories for the lower levels of categorization. Because of the fuzziness of
category boundaries all the categories are inter-connected. As the further trend of out research we plan
to study the functioning of the concept WORK categories in discourse.
References:
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