Tag: (E) dress

(1983) English – Clothing


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

(1985) Lexicography and conceptual analysis [BOOK]


Wierzbicka, Anna (1985). Lexicography and conceptual analysis. Ann Arbor: Karoma.

Abstract:

This book is about the meaning of words – simple everyday words, such as bottle or jar; trousers or skirt; tree, flower or bird. Stating the meaning of such words is infinitely more difficult and challenging than might be expected. However, the book proves that everyday words are definable; it does so not just by reasoning (which can always turn out to be fallacious) but by way of demonstration ad oculos. The definitions provide evidence towards resolving the much debated issue of dictionaries vs. encyclopedias.

At the same time, the book is an attempt to narrow the gap between lexicography and semantics. The latter has an obligation to provide theoretical foundations for the former. But it will never be able to do so if it doesn’t come down from its speculative heights and engage in the humble task of actually trying to define something. Serious analysis of concrete lexical data requires a well thought-out theoretical framework; but a theoretical framework cannot be well thought-out if it is not grounded on a solid empirical basis. What is needed is a union of the two, lexicography and semantics, and this is the goal to which the present book aspires. Both the definitions and the discussion are free of any technical items, and can be followed by the intelligent layperson.


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Reviews:

Peeters, Bert (1989). Journal of English Linguistics, 22(2), 249-250.
DOI: 10.1177/007542428902200209