A Study on Vocabulary Teaching under Category Theories

【摘要】詞汇是语言学习的重要组成部分，贯穿于语言学习的始终。然而，大多数教师仍然采用传统的教学方法，过分强调英语语法，缺乏系统而科学的词汇教学方法，致使学生在词汇学习过程中背诵效率低，学习质量差。因此，教师在教学过程中应拓宽视角，掌握系统科学的教学理论。近年来，原型和基本等级范畴理论也在认知语言学中得到了广泛的关注， 也被广泛运用到词汇教学中。它进一步丰富了英语词汇教学理论，为提高学生的元认知能力提供了系统的方法，又为词汇学习提供了一条有效途径。

【关键词】范畴化理论；基本等级范畴；词汇教学

【Abstract】Vocabulary is the vital part of language and the primary cell in the language learning. However， most teachers still use the traditional method， emphasizing much on English grammar， which lacks systematic and scientific methods for teaching vocabulary. Therefore， the teacher need a systematic method to provide a new angle for vocabulary teaching and learning. The category theories is the core topic in cognitive linguistics. It further enriches the English vocabulary teaching theory， providing a systematic method to enhance students metacognitive capability and an efficient path for vocabulary learning by prototype category theory and basic-level category theory getting theoretically support.

【Key words】category theory； basic level category； vocabulary teaching

【作者简介】杨宇晴（1994.5.10- ），女，硕士研究生，东北师范大学英语语言文学，研究方向：语用学方向。

I. Chapter One Introduction

Vocabulary is the vital part of language and the primary cell in the language learning. No matter what kinds of language learner， they could not make effective communication if they do not grasp sufficient vocabulary. Therefore， not only teachers but students should pay much attention to vocabulary learning. However， it is undeniable that some problems exist in Chinas vocabulary teaching. The students always complain that the memorizing principles are boring and the majority of words restore in short time memory， while teachers are also annoyed by students learning efficiency. This phenomenon reflects some potential problems and generate negative influence on students. Some researches indicate that many elements which affect the efficiency of vocabulary acquisition are lack of comprehensive competence， lack of culture background and lack of systematic and scientific methods for teaching and learning， therefore， only under the correct guidance can students master and understand better.

Linguistic categorization is the core topic in cognitive linguistics， in which the theories of prototype and basic-level category draw much attention in recent years. Category theory is composed of categorization and prototype theory. This theory is firstly represented by Aristotle and develops by Ludwig Wittgenstein， and then， after a large amount of experiments， Rosch （1976） puts forward the prototype theory. The prototype theory and basic-level category theory is a important branch in cognitive linguistics， which provides a psychological-oriented perspective in vocabulary teaching.

II. Chapter Two Vocabulary Teaching Strategies Based on Levels of Categorization

1.Value of Prototypical Meaning of a Word in Vocabulary Learning

When refers to a category， not every member holds equal status in our mind. Even though the psychological categories do not have clearly definable boundaries， the prototypical members of cognitive categories share more common attributes compared with other members of the category. That is to say， in terms of attributes， prototypical members are maximally distinct from the other members within a category. Prototypical members could be regarded as the most representative or the best examples which are at the heart of the category， while the others are listed in a marginal or less typical position. In the collection of words， some words hold more characteristics and are seemed more salient， which could be perceived as the “best example” in the whole field. Therefore， prototypical members deserves more attention in the process of vocabulary learning. For example： When refers to the category of fruit， the item emerged in our mind will be apple， orange or pear which are typical words listed in the central position. According to prototype theory， these typical lexical items can represent the fruit category while the other peripheral members like fig， olive can be extended upon the prototype items in accordance with family resemblance approach. Thus， all the members will form a continuous meaning chain.

According to prototype categorization， peripheral members are structured around a common center instantiated by the prototypical member， and so does polysemous words. In the learning process， the students are more familiar with the semantic core meaning with the properties of salience. The following example concerning the word “change” illustrates how the semantic core of polysemous word is determined：

Her life changed completely when she won the lottery.

The prototype meaning or semantic core meaning of change is that “to become different”. This meaning can be regarded as the fundamental and first learned meaning.

Where can I change my travellers cheques？

In this sentence， “change” refers to an action -to exchange money into the money of another country. The semantic core meaning is almost lost in here.

I went into the bedroom to change.

The meaning of the word “change” in this sentence is quite far away from the semantic core meaning. It becomes more abstract and which means to put on different or clean clothes. Obviously， in this extending process， the meaning of words become more and more metaphorical compared with the prototypical meaning. Thus， the theory of prototypes helps to explain the inner relationship of polysemous words.

From above， teachers should pay much attention to the explanation of the prototypical meaning or semantic core meaning of a word， and explain the relations between the core meaning and the extended meanings in different contexts. When students learn a polysemous word， teachers should emphasize the prominence of the typical meaning and also illustrate the marginal meanings， then give the context to grasp the semantic core meaning and the relationship between prototypical meaning and extended meanings so that they could discriminate the exact meaning of the word in different contexts.

2.Importance of Basic-level Terms in Vocabulary Teaching

In cognitive psychology， a basic-level category is a family of events， objects， patterns， emotions， spatial relationships， or social relationships that are cognitively basic. Basic-level categories share a variety of properties with one another. Researches show that the basic level words are first acquired in language learning， because in the cognitive system， the basic level terms share a large number of attributes and are the most inclusive level at which object shapes are similar. For example， “chair” is regarded as a basic-level term when compared with a superordinate level term like “furniture”. “Chair” is the term that students acquire first and used to describe the whole concept. In addition， they could also identify several unique features of chairs and distinguish from other vertical terms. In contrast， the superordinate term like “furniture” just be used to describe a category. Therefore， teachers should teach vocabulary gradually according to usefulness and frequency of the word showed in textbook.

In addition， basic level terms are the foundation of some subordinate level terms and it could be used to form words. Therefore， teachers could introduce a memorizing method by means of basic-level terms so that help students grasp the derivation and compound words. Basic level terms are usually preceded or followed by affixes. For example， “write” and “visit” are basic level terms. When adds the prefix “re”， the new words “rewrite” and “ revisit” come into being. If teachers conclude the meaning of affixes in advance， students will quickly master the new words on the basis of understanding the meaning of basic level terms. Apart from affixation， basic level terms could also help memorize the compound words. By means of affixation and compounding， learners can not only deepen the comprehension of basic level terms， but also grasp methods to form the lexical chain in order to enlarge their vocabulary size.

III. Chapter Three Conclusion

This paper attempts to show that category theories can offer English teachers and students a systematic way to recite vocabulary. From what has been discussed in this paper， we can see that the prototype theory and basic level category theory have great potentiality and utility to promote vocabulary teaching and learning.

Memorizing vocabulary is not simply repeated process to skilled process， but a cognitive process. Teachers should pay much attention to the explanation of the prototypical meaning or semantic core meaning of a word， and explain the relations between the core meaning and the extended meanings in different contexts.

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