A Dynamic Construal Of Lexical Meaning

This dissertation, on the basis of a wide observation of actual instances of English words chiefly from newspapers, references and dictionaries, is a study of dynamic construal of lexical meaning within the cognitive framework of idealized cognitive models integrated with cognitive frames at the level of cognition.With the aim of exploring the underlying cognitive mechanism, this research focuses on the key question of how dynamic lexical meaning is construed and then gives a rational and plausible explanation to their three trends, i.e., specification, enrichment and generalization. By adopting an analytical research method, this paper is designated to achieve five objectives: (1) to reveal the nature of lexical meaning, i.e., function; (2) to analyze the dynamic trends of the construed meaning; (3) to expound the hidden cognitive mechanism underlying the construed meaning; (4) to reveal the thought principles underlying the construed meaning and (5) to investigate the philosophical categories which lexical meaning belongs to.It is also demonstrated in the study that general thought principles exist in the construed meaning and that individual cognitive states can serve as a theoretical support to the conceptualization of lexical meaning. Besides, the phenomenon of lexical meaning is believed to be a cognition being, so it is necessary that the construal of lexical meaning adheres to individual cognitive patterns. Therefore, the thought principles and the philosophical categories are designed to be the objectives in the exploration of lexical meaning.As one of the main subjects of linguistic research, lexical meaning has begun to exceed the centuries on the conceptual level of analysis. Philosophers and linguists have adopted different attitudes to lexical meaning and thus provided them different understandings, as reviewed in Chapter Two. Besides their contributions to lexical meaning, there are limitations and difficulties in the previous studies as restricted by the methods and theories they have adopted. The cognitive perspective of dynamic construal, as a new approach, has demonstrated a strong power in the expounding of lexical meaning. Therefore, the thesis is designated to be conducted from the cognitive perspective within the theoretical framework of cognitive models so as to discuss the actual instances of lexical meaning, investigate the underlying cognitive motivations and reveal individual thought principles.In the study, the fundamental question designed to be solved is: how is lexical meaning construed? The essence of this question is to explore the mental reality of lexical meaning, i.e., their cognitive motivations, which can be specified into the following five sub-questions:(1) With the reference of cognitive models,what is the nature of lexical meaning?(2) What is the tendency of the construed meaning?(3) How does the subject of cognition define lexical meaning? And what cognitive tools are adopted in the construal of lexical meaning?(4) What individual thought principles are reflected in the construal of dynamic meanings?(5) What philosophical categories do the construed meanings belong to? In order to explore the above designated research questions, the study advances two hypotheses which are developed into the subject-object interaction model shown above and then establishes the theoretical framework for the construal of lexical meaning.As shown on the coordinate of lexical meaning construal, it is composed of the following two hypotheses. First, lexical meaning is function. The relation of function exists between lexical meaning and their linguistic context. That is to say, lexical meaning is the function of linguistic context. On the other hand it also exists between lexical meaning and cognitive motivations in other words, lexical meaning is the function of cognitive models. Second, construed meanings exhibit chiefly three trends, namely, specialization, enrichment and generalization. As constrained by linguistic contexts and cognitive models, lexical meaning tends to be specified and concrete, and meanwhile enriched and generalized. The coordinate shows two levels of lexical meaning: (i) objective meaning, namely, the purport; (ii) construed meaning, including the specified meaning of actual instances of words and various facets of meaning attached to the purport of lexis, which then emerge as enrichment and generalization.Lexical meaning depends on two variables, namely linguistic context and cognitive models, i.e., the idealized cognitive models and the cognitive frames, which define the dynamic construal of lexical meaning. And it is also the variables that realize the transfer of purport from the static state to the dynamic one.The coordinate of dynamic meaning construal demonstrates time and space category. The horizontal axe of the coordinate conveys the time dimension, showing that language belongs to single dimensional symbol system, while the vertical one represents the space dimension, showing various multi-space of lexical meaning. Consequently, the subject-object interaction model of construed meanings is a kind of crisscross configuration exhibiting the feature of cognitive gestalt. So, it can be viewed as a gestalt of the dynamic construal of lexical meaning.In addition, the coordinate of dynamic meaning construal lays stresses on the dynamic aspect of meaning. The dotted lines on the coordinate mean that the process of construal is repeated over and over (but it is also automatically and instantly achieved), and meaning construal is conducted by the way of subject-object interplay, so lexical meaning is the result of the calculation of the two variables.This dissertation is composed of nine chapters. Chapter One introduces the contents of the dissertation, namely the research objectives, scopes, theoretical guidance, the choice of the study, its theoretical foundation (linguistic philosophy, cognitive psychology, cognitive linguistics and so on), the construal operation, the research objectives, methodology, research questions, theoretical framework and the organization of the thesis. Chapter Two is a general survey of the previous studies of lexical meaning chiefly in English, with special attention paid to the dynamic construal of lexical meaning. On the basis of a rich literature, this chapter extends the survey from three angles, description, explanation and construal, and then concludes that the dynamic construal of lexical meaning is both rational and plausible. With the contributions of the related literature, the dissertation then brings forward two hypotheses: (i) lexical meaning is function; and (ii) the construed meaning has three trends specification, enrichment and generalization. In virtue of the two hypotheses, this chapter establishes a theoretical framework for the dissertation, i.e., the dynamic subject-object interaction model, represented by the coordinate figure of the dynamic meaning construal.Chapters Three and Four show the verification of the two hypotheses. In Chapter Three, the first hypothesis—lexical meaning is function is verified, and it reveals that the meaning constraints of linguistic context take the form of two dimensions, the horizontal proximity and the vertical similarity.The micro and macro observation on linguistic context proves the hypothesis to be true, and that lexical meaning varies in different linguistic contexts. Meanwhile, word meaning is also restricted by the cognitive models of their subjects because they also change with the cognitive models. This improves once more that language users are the active processors of linguistic forms and meaning instead of passive receivers and that linguistic research should depend on language users and fully reveal their innovative abilities and cognitive potentials in language understanding and processing. Hypothesis Two is proved to be true in Chapter Four, which expounds the specification of the category of lexical meaning, their multi-centre configuration and the open state of their categories, and demarcates the three types of lexical meaning, i.e., specification, enrichment and generalization.The chapter, then, goes on to their categorical features as well. Chapter Five is an illustration of the specificity of the category of lexical meaning. First, it classifies within the scope of this study the taxonomy of specifications into five kinds. They are cooccurrent meaning, typical meaning, attributive meaning, contingent meaning and particular meaning. All of them are derived from the same cognitive model named the simple cognitive model, which is represented by the mono-structured proposition model of two contents, attributive features and the proposition model. The proposition model helps to define the specified side of word meaning. The construal of specification depends on an objective choice and an objective. The objective choice provides the analysis of the semantic structure of words by way of the proposition models, such as the analysis of concrete beings, abstract beings and concrete activities. So the proposition model can be regarded as a bridge to and media of the specification construal. The analysis of the semantic structure serves as a base to this construal. The choice of specified meaning such as cooccurrent meaning, typical meaning, attributive meaning and so on depends on ways of construals such as salience, specificity, domains and perspective, and the perceptional choice of the subject, the choice of mental schema, expectations and so on.Chapter Six lays stresses on the enrichment of lexical meaning. On the basis of its classification, it elucidates the cognitive analysis of enrichment to reveal the mental reality of lexical meaning. According to the efforts of the subject and object involved in the process of construal, enrichment can be classified into three kinds, which are pseudo-enrichment, partial-enrichment and full-enrichment followed by three sub-types: proximity meanings, similarity meanings and the meaning networks, which are the result of proximity inclusion, similarity expansion and schema activation separately. As to the cognitive mechanism of enrichment, it is closely linked to the thought of association, and the three kinds of enrichment are subjected separately to three different steps of association, single-step association, multi-step association and connectional association. Moreover, the construal of enrichment reveals individual thought principles, such as those of habitualization and optimization.Chapter Seven analyses the generalization of lexical meaning by using a case study of the English verb"do"in order to probe into its process of generalization and cognitive mechanism. In this chapter, the"do"generalization covers three grammatical structures, i.e., non-grammatical structure, partial grammatical structure and grammatical structure. And the establishment of ad hoc category of the verb"do"is the result of the fusion of its frame components, concerning that of verb frames with their time, space, and manner; with their patient frames; and with their agent frames. In a word, the generalization of the verb"do"depends on various backstage cognitive mechanism such as ad hoc category, metonymy and metaphor. And the"do"generalization can be regarded as the product of many cognitive factors. Therefore, the generalization of lexical meaning is an instance of the subject-object interaction model in the thesis.Chapter Eight demonstrates the category transmutation of lexical meaning, which is a summary explanation. This chapter holds that specification, the location of its category members, occurs in the sphere of its category, that enrichment is a cross-category phenomenon and that generalization is the result of category openness. So, the category transmutation of lexical meaning not only serves as a summary and conclusion of Chapter Five, Six and Seven but also heightens the cognitive mechanism of the three dynamic trends from a higher level, i.e., the perspective of linguistic categories. The transmutation involves the existing category, ad hoc category and the coexistence of the two kinds, namely the continuum of lexical categories. Moreover, the dynamic observation of lexical categories is conducted within the framework of the subject-object interaction. And the cognitive motivation of semantic category involves in subjectivization, including the subject and object of the conceptualization. The motivation is decategorization, a way revealing individual thought and an important approach of language change and innovation, and also an indispensable mode of thinking innovation.The dissertation concludes with Chapter Nine, which provides a summary and findings, recapitulating the essential points developed in this research, the findings and its theoretical values, which lie both in the cognitive motivations of the dynamic construal of lexical meaning and in the establishment of a cognitive model for the construal.What is designated in this dissertation is the discussion of the dialectical relationship between lexical meaning and their construal from the perspective of cognitive linguistics. The discussion focuses on the nature of lexical meaning, their variables, their dynamic features and uncertainty. The discussion of the actual instances of words leads to the inquiry of individual cognitive mechanism and the regular patterns of understanding the world.On the basis of previous studies, this research has made new breakthroughs and innovations. First, the research has set up an idealized model for the construal of lexical meanings, i.e. the subject-object interaction model――the coordinate of dynamic meaning construal.Second, new terms has been introduced into the research, which are believed to be of values to the construal study of dynamic meaning. For example, in the description of the taxonomy of lexical meaning, the thesis adopts such terms as"contingent meaning","cooccurent meaning","pseudo-enrichment","partial enrichment", and"full enrichment";in the elaboration of the inner mechanism for lexical meaning, it puts forth"single-step association","multi-step association"and"connectional association"; and"habitualization"in the inquiry of the thought principles through the process of dynamic construal of lexical meaning. Moreover, the thesis advances new understandings to the construal of dynamic meaning, which can be demonstrated from two sides: three thought patterns and three configurations in the dynamic construal of lexical meaning.First, the three thought patterns are:(1) The construal of lexical meaning profiles the cause-effect mechanism.(2) The dynamic construal of lexical meaning profiles the thought principle of habitualization.(3) The dynamic construal of lexical meaning profiles the thought principle of optimization.Second, the three configurations in the dynamic construal of lexical meaning are:(1) Lexical meaning is the configuration of vertical thinking and lateral thinking.(2) Lexical meaning reflects certain philosophical categories, which are time and space, subject and object, cause and effect, necessity and contingency, factive and fictive, concreteness and abstraction, dynamic state and static state, reality and possibility and etc. So lexical meaning can be regarded as the configuration of philosophical categories.(3) Lexical meaning is also the configuration of conventional thinking and innovative thinking. Conventional thinking falls in the tracks of exisited trends of thoughts and follows the existed methods, showing the feature of the common thinking of individuals. So it is to solve the repeated situations and problems in social life, whose conclusion belongs to the already-existing knowledge sphere. On the other hand, innovative thinking can reveal, from the angle of thought exploration, method and conclusion, more and further attributes of the nature of beings and their inconventional activities and features. Its aim is to throw doubts to the well-known beings, make new discoveries and breakthroughs. The pre-condition of innovative thinking, in this dissersation, existes in individual's subjective initiative and its bridge is associated thinking, lateral thinking, and the divergent thinking of multi-angle and multi-level. In a word, the dynamic construal of lexical meaning shows the configuration of conventional thinking and innovative thinking.The above-mentioned innovations may be of theoretical values. Firstly, they tackle the problem of the cognitive motivation of lexical meaning, and advance a plausible theoretical framework—the subject-object interaction model. Secondly, they mine the cognitive mechanism underlying lexical meaning, and trace their inner motivation thought principles. Thirdly, they generalize the philosophical category which the construed meaning belong to. Fourthly, the model established in this dissertation is provided with highly popularized value, and the dynamic construal can be applied to other studies of linguistic structure, such as number and case in lexicon, the tense of lexicon and syntax; sentence types and phoneme category. All of them concern the interaction between the subject and the object, showing various extents of interaction, and certain interactivity. The model can also be popularized to the study of syntax and discourse in language study.Meanwhile, this research may also have some limitations and open questions for further studies.(1) The taxonomy of lexical meaning is inadequate systemic. For example, there are five types of specification in Chapter Five and the same types of enrichment in Chapter Six. However, there may be some other types of specification and enrichment. Therefore, their taxonomy needs to be further generated so as to exhaust all actual instances of words.(2) The dynamic construal of lexical meaning is closely connected with individual thought mechanism, so thought principles are naturally touched upon. The dissertation advances three regular patterns of thought: the cause-effect mechanism, the thought principles of habitalization and optimization. The thesis holds that there may be other regular patterns in the construal of lexical meaning. The proximity structure in Chapter Three and that of similarity in Chapter Four, for instance, are the embodiment of similarity and proximity principles. The contingency of lexical meaning in Chapter Four represents incidental thought of individuals, so it can be viewed as the thought principle of contingency. In addition, there can be other principles to be mined, such as the distinctive principle of thought, the principle of the economical thought. Still more possible principles are left open. Just by setting the example of the three regular patterns, the study expounds the relation between lexical meaning and the cognitive mechanism to reveal the backstage motivation of the dynamic construal. However, a detailed operation of thought is to be further refined.(3) The study is a somewhat limited observation on lexical meaning. Though the explanatory power of linguistic theories cannot exhaust all phenomena of linguistic instances, the wider their coverage is, the more effective their cognitive mechanism are. So the scope of observation needs to be broadened.In conclusion, the research field should be further widened. With the dynamic study as a background and the subject-object interaction as a center, the study can also be extended from English data to Chinese data or to the contrastive study between English and Chinese. In a nutshell, all of the gaps by the limitations offer valuable space to be filled by future exploring and mining.