Suvremena lingvistika, Vol. 43 No. 83, 2017.
Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.22210/suvlin.2017.083.04
Semantic typology: meaning in a cross–linguistic perspective
Daniela Katunar
orcid.org/0000-0002-6615-3558
; Filozofski fakultet, Zagreb
Sažetak
The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of semantic typology as a separate discipline
with an interdisciplinary background. Semantic typology is presented as a novel emerging field in
linguistic typology that combines semantic theory with typological methodology for a systematic
cross–linguistic investigation of meaning. We present and discuss theoretical and methodological
precursors to the development of semantic typology as an independent field at the crossroads
of several traditions – typological, semantic and anthropological. We discuss the influence that
kinship studies, color research, morphosyntactic typology and structuralist semantic traditions
had on the development of semantic typology, as well as the limitations current methodological
approaches based on these studies may encounter. We point out two main ways in which the
term semantic typology is used in extant literature: a) synonymous with lexical typology and
b) synonymous with semantically based typological classification of grammatical categories.
Furthermore, we point out two main approaches to defining lexical typology. One is concerned
with the demarcation of categories in various languages, while the other focuses only on those
lexical features which are grammatically relevant. Finally, we argue for a broad conception of
semantic typology that unifies the two uses of the term. Semantic typology under this view
has the following goals: a) to make generalizations and classifications about “semantic types”,
especially with regard to grammatical categories, b) to seek out potential universal semantic
features and the way that they are coded in the languages of the world, c) to investigate potential
universal semantic relations (e.g. polysemy, synonymy) and the way they operate upon language
structures synchronically and diachronically, d) to investigate regularities in the formation of
lexical and grammatical structures and e) to investigate the lexicon–grammar continuum and
the way meanings are distributed across this continuum, with special attention to regularities
across languages.
Ključne riječi
semantic typology; lexical typology; semantics
Hrčak ID:
184925
URI
Datum izdavanja:
21.7.2017.
Posjeta: 2.045 *