prototype theory
The idea is that the category that humans actually have is not a classical category defined by necessary and sufficient conditions, but is characterized by similarity between typical cases and them.... For example, the word "bird" evokes small flying animals such as crows and sparrows, while ostriches and penguins are out of the typical case. Certain inflection of words (e.g. declension of nouns and conjugation of verbs) can be explained as a word sense that was once peripheral but is now used as the central sense. In this case, the prototype of the meaning of the word has moved from A to B. Changes in other areas, such as syntax and phonology, can also be approached from the perspective of prototypes. It should also be noted that prototypes are complementary to "#1961. basic level category". Prototypes are concerned with the ability or action of being able to recall the corresponding typical meaning or object of instruction when given a word. On the other hand, basic-level categories are related to the ability to recall the corresponding typical word or action when given a certain meaning or object of instruction. The former is a semasiological perspective, while the latter is an onomasiological perspective. ---
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