On The Polysemic Network Of "Set" From The Dynamic Usage-Based Model

The overwhelming majority of words in a natural language are polysemous to a greater or lesser degree, that is, a word may typically denote different kinds of entities, or different kinds of situation, in different contexts of its use. A monosemous lexical item has a single sense, while polysemy is the association of two or more related senses with a single linguistic form. Taylor (1989:100) holds that if different uses of a lexical item require, for their explication, reference to two different domains, or two different sets of domains, this is a strong indication that the lexical item in question is polysemous. An item can still be polysemous even if its different meanings need to be characterized against the same domain.Later on in 1999, Langacker elaborated in detail his usage-based model as a development of the previous schematic network. It is worth noting that Langacker, on the opening page of his Foundations of Cognitive Grammar, is able to maintain that polysemy constitutes the normal, expected state of affairs in lexical semantics. In a usage-based model (Langacker 1999:91), substantial importance is given to the actual use of the linguistic system and a speaker's knowledge of the full range of linguistic conventions, regardless of whether these conventions can be subsumed under more general statements.Polysemy is endemic in natural languages. It has been a central concern in linguistics. There has been significant disagreement regarding the frequency, representation, behaviors and definition of polysemy. Yet there is agreement that polysemy occurs when words have more than one meaning. In addition, linguistic definitions of polysemy require these multiple meanings to be related. This is largely due to the distinctions drawn between polysemy, monosemy and homonymy. In the distinction between polysemy and homonymy, we tend to take polysemy as the more basic form of semantic change, while homonymy is regarded as being largely caused by the incomplete process of semantic change after some necessary meanings having lost their prestige.The dissertation consists of four chapters in addition to an introduction and a conclusion.The introduction briefly reviews the studies on polysemy both at home and abroad, and points out that it is necessary to carry out further exploration of the polysemous phenomena.In Chapter 1, first, the definition of polysemy is reviewed. Then a brief survey of studies on polysemy in several classical approaches is made, followed by the distinctions among polysemy, homonymy and monosemy.Chapter 2 sets up the theoretical framework for the present research. The popularity of cognitive linguistics in the 1980s was triggered by its treatment of polysemy. Since the cognitive approach to polysemy is an important component of cognitive linguistics, the first section of this chapter gives a general introduction to cognitive linguistics and the contributions some linguists have made to the study of polysemy in cognitive semantics. Section Two focuses on some theories of cognitive linguistics which are closely related to the study of polysemy. In the third section, focus is narrowed to two semantic extension devices, metonymy and metaphor before the author builds up the framework for the present study.In Chapter 3, the examination of the polysemous network of SET is adopted to illustrate the theory of dynamic usage-based model by Langacker. The author introduce the dynamic usage-based model, its premise, its cognitive devices and its processes. The word SET has several meanings that are related to each other, and this thesis claims that the 5 cognitive devices—entrenchment, abstraction, categorization, composition and association—are the main links, which connect the various meanings of a polysemous word. The author figures out that the study of polysemy is simply to find the possible relations among these meanings. Two factors, level of entrenchment and contextual priming, or accommodation in context, affect the selection of meaning. There is a detailed analysis of the seven basic meanings of SET to form a number of polysemous networks. Illustrations of the phrasal verbs containing SET, as well as extensions from verb to noun and adjective are also made for the detailed study. The author holds that the dynamic usage-based model can elucidate the nature of polysemy and the semantic extension of polysemy according to the above analysis.Chapter 4 provides some implications for vocabulary teaching from the above study for teachers as well as suggestions for vocabulary learners and textbook designers.The conclusion stresses that in the study of polysemy, substantial attention should be paid to the connections of the different meanings and the construction of a polysemous network. Polysemy has now come to be an important issue in the current linguistic study as it is being analyzed from a cognitive view different from traditional ways. If semantic change is being based on associations between concepts or concepts and linguistic signs, polysemy could be described as the continuation of these associative relations in synchrony.