It is precisely because of the fuzziness category edge and the not fixed members’ number, resulted the category tolerance issues emerged during the extending of the prototype member.
2. 2. 3 Objective and subjective reasons
In the infinite and all-embracing objective world, there is usually the continuity within the objects; the unclear boundary once reflected into the brain will lead to the fuzziness of the category edge. So, it can be said that the objective world is the root of
the category fuzziness.
On the other hand, human's cognitive ability is limited, the main body displayed a faintness cognitive characteristic in the understanding process, and this main body’s uncertain stipulation also is one of the reasons which fuzziness was produced.
2. 3 Category tolerance
After the prototype member has been established, the rest members revolved around the prototype member, but how far from the prototype can not be a member of the category? In other words, how to solve the category tolerance problem caused by the fuzziness of the category edge?
Strictly speaking, as I believed, the tolerance problem should be considered as the second extension of the prototype uncertainty and category fuzziness. Although the above two problem has been solved, however, these problems themselves are under a high flexible categorization, so that, it must be lead to the category tolerance problems. And from the perspective of cognitive linguistics, the tolerance problems performed as semantic issues.
The fuzzy nature of human language has the most obvious performance on its significance. In the study of the fuzzy of concept ‘game’, Wittgenstein found that there are two different fuzzies: the uncertain category edge and members different family similarities. Aitchison once said that words have fuzzy edge because it can not clearly identify their hard core meaning for most words. Here, the hard core meaning is what we call prototype member. View from the strict linguistic perspective, it must be pointed out that Aitchison’s standpoint is not desirable. Shi Anshi once criticized Zadeh and Schall’s fuzzy words view. He believed that words and expressions usually have multiple meaning item and some of them are fuzzy while others may be accurate’. I agree with Mr. Shi’s conclusion. However, in my view, there is, at least, one thing can be certain that the words expressed a kind of thing or person always have some fuzzy meaning items in terms of the semantic ambiguity study. This is mainly because of human’s uncertain and fuzzy categorization to the objective world. For all of these, I believed that it is impossible to give any clearly artificial semantic division, in other words, the category tolerance problem can not be given a clear standard-setting. But this does not mean that when face to this issue, we are helpless and the concrete solutions will be discussed in detail in the following chapter 3.
3. Solutions to the problems
In the previous chapter, we have a detailed exposition and analysis on the questions when the prototype member extending, what we to do next is exploring solutions to this problem by analyzing the root of the problem.
3. 1 Important role of the Basic Level Category
The concept of basic level category is also proposed by Rosch. This concept manifestly shows two important principles of category: the principle of cognitive economy and the principle of cognitive world. It proposed, proving us important methodology guidance for settling the fuzzy edge of category and category tolerance.
3. 1. 1 Definition and unique attributes
As said before, the outside world is continuous, developing, and random, but certainly not chaotic. When knowing the outside world in the category process, we still have a basis. The basic objects which had remarkable characteristic constitute the basic level category. These basic level categories can let us pay the minimum cognitive efforts to harvest the maximum amount of information. Rosch thought that the basic level category fully prompted the relationships of the world’s characteristic; it divided the world into the category of maximum information spaces. It also means 1.Causes characteristics which the category member shares maximization.
2.Causes the other categories member shares the minimum number of characteristics.
About this point, we look at a concrete case. About Wittgenstein’s discussion about game category, Lakoff pointed out that the game category boundary was open, electronic games in 90’s should be a new member to game category. At the beginning, since people is unfamiliar to this new object, electronic game could exist as the game category edge member only, along with the computer and the electronic technology development, electronic game became more and more popular and people are more and more familiar to it. It can be said that, electronic game is approaching in the center area of game category; it is gradually improved as a “game” of the typical nature. Clearly, though category edge fuzziness causes the new member to be allowed quite easily to enter into the category and become its edge member, but the basic level category is very difficult to change, in other words, it is very difficult to fundamentally change the entire category structure, thus cognitive and linguistic structure is relatively stable.转贴于 酷文网-论文下载中心 http://www.coolwen.net
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