Wierzbicka, Anna (1983). Skirts and trousers: Lexikography and conceptional analysis. Wiener Slawistischer Almanach, 11, 229-255.

Abstract:

Trying to replace dictionary definitions with something more adequate turns out to be a task much more laborious and much more sophisticated than anyone would assume who has never attempted to do it. This paper pursues the goal of capturing the ‘true’ meaning of a set of words for kinds of clothing. To avoid circularity, it defines the meaning of these words in terms of a small set of indefinables: not necessarily ultimate, truly irreducible indefinables, but at least relative indefinables, i.e. items that are indubitably simpler in meaning than the definienda themselves.

The title of the paper is as printed above: lexikography instead of lexicography, and conceptional instead of conceptual.


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners