Cognitive Linguistic Study Of Polysemy And Its Implications On Vocabulary Teaching

This thesis aims at working out the cognitive motivation for the phenomenon of polysemy and exploring the relations between the various meanings of polysemous words based on Prototype Category Theory. Also, we try to provide a relatively new framework for college English vocabulary teaching based on Prototype Category Theory. On the theoretical basis of the prototype category theory, this thesis suggests that the meanings of a polysemous word constitute a sense category presenting prototypicality. For every lexical category, there's a prototypical meaning possessing a central position and other peripheral meanings which are derived from this core meaning through cognitive mechanisms such as metaphor and metonymy. Based on the theoretical study on polysemy, this thesis proposes a three-staged model for vocabulary teaching which includes contents as follows:1) new word encountering stage; 2) category constructing stage; 3) category consolidating stage. In this process, the sense category of a polysemous word is constructed and the relations between the various meanings of the polysemous word are explained to students in the belief that students, understanding the semantic connections and mechanisms for meaning extension, would better master the polysemous words. At last, this paper works out some implications for English vocabulary teaching.This paper has six parts. The first part gives an introduction of this thesis, including the motivation, significance and purpose of the thesis.The second part of this thesis gives a literature review of the influential approaches to and current trends of vocabulary teaching both at home and abroad. Some concepts related to vocabulary are covered, including the definition of vocabulary and vocabulary knowledge. Then there is a historical review of the most influential approaches to vocabulary teaching in the west, followed by an introduction of current trends of vocabulary teaching and of current situations of vocabulary teaching in China.The third part first introduces the classical approach to categorization. By pointing out its weakness, the thesis then introduces the prototype category theory. The main ideas of this approach are discussed, including family resemblance, prototype, levels of categorization, which lays a theoretical foundation for the present study.The fourth part explores the study of polysemy from the cognitive perspective. In this section, definition of polysemy, process of polysemization and mechanisms for meaning extension are explored. Then the major findings of cognitive study on polysemy are presented with the illustration of examples.The fifth part is about application of the cognitive findings on polysemy to English vocabulary teaching in Chinese college classes. First, the significance and feasibility of the application is analyzed, then we propose a three-staged theoretical framework for vocabulary teaching with the emphasis on constructing the sense category of a polysemous word and the establishment of the semantic link of the different meanings. Finally, some implications for vocabulary teaching are worked out.In the last part of this thesis, a summary is made, together with the summary of limitations of this thesis. Last, suggestions are provided for further studies.This thesis mainly applies the major findings of cognitive linguistics on polysemy to English vocabulary teaching. The author proposes a three-staged teaching model for English vocabulary teaching based on those major findings, in the hope of providing an alternative approach to vocabulary teaching.