Ontologies and Construals in Lexical Semantics

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework of lexical meaning, broadly along the lines of Cognitive Semantics (Langacker 1987a). Within the proposed model, all aspects of meaning are to be explained in terms of properties of ontologies in conceptual space, i.e. properties of content ontologies and schematic ontologies and construals which are imposed on the conceptual structures on the occasion of use. It is through the operations of construals on ontological structures that different readings of lexical expressions arise. Lexical meanings are dynamic and sensitive to contextual demands, rather than fixed and stable. In a dynamic, usagebased model like this, polysemy and multiple readings emerge as a natural consequence of the human ability to think flexibly. Another more specific purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the usefulness of ontologies in linguistic research in general and semantic modelling in particular.

Semantic profiles of antonymic adjectives in discourse

“…A dimension is defined as a simple conceptual structure comprising two opposing poles, which may be expressed by antonymic words in language. Dimensions and their properties are independently defined (Gärdenfors 2000;Paradis 2005Paradis , 2016 and not mere parts of more complex concepts or interconnected entities of a region, as in Langacker (1987: 197-198). 2 More complex concepts are typically based on several separable domains in conceptual space.…”

“…We refer to this as a word's use potential (Paradis 2005(Paradis , 2016. In the individual usage events, only a portion of the total use potential of a lexical item is evoked.…”

“…This section offers a short description of the categorization principles used for the analysis of the corpus data in this study (described in Section 4), and the modelling framework of Lexical meaning as ontologies and construals (Paradis 2005, 2016. The basic assumption of the framework is consistent with the basic assumptions of Cognitive Linguistics more generally.…”

“…Construal operations are the source of all readings, conventional as well as ad hoc contextual readings. A leading idea of this approach is that lexical items evoke meanings rather than have meanings; lexical meanings emerge in actual language use in human communication (Cruse 2002;Paradis 2003Paradis , 2005Paradis , 2008Paradis , 2016Paradis and Willners 2011). The notion usage-based is fundamental to all cognitively oriented approaches to meaning.…”

“…Construals are cognitive processes that operate on the ontological structures when we use language to create meaning in communication with other people. They are imposed on the concepts by speakers and addressees at the time of use and thereby establish the fully fledged discursive reading (Langacker 1987(Langacker , 1999Paradis 2004Paradis , 2005Paradis , 2008Panther and Thornburg 2012). Table 1 provides a break-down of the two types of ontological pre-meaning structures and the various types of construals that might operate on the conceptual structures in the formation of meaning in language use.…”