Animal, dog, and the German shepherd: comparative analysis of cognitive categories

LTStraipsnyje nagrinėjamos kognityvinės kategorijos: GYVŪNAS, ŠUO, VOKIEČIŲ AVIGANIS, remiantis Eleanoros Rosch prototipų teorija. Kalbama apie prototipus, kategorijų panašumus [family resamblance), jų ribas [fuzzy boundaries), „gestalt" sampratą ir hierachinę kategorijų struktūrą. Autorė apklausė amerikiečius, lietuvius ir lenkus prašydama pateikti minėtų kategorijų apibrėžimus, jų suvokimą. Straipsnyje nurodomi skirtumai ir panašumai, stengiamasi pažvelgti į kultūrinius ir socialinius elementus, darančius jtaką kategorijos sampratai.

ENPeople are surrounded by an infinite variety of different phenomena, which are identified, classified, and, as a consequence, named. This process is conceived as a mental one, and it has recently become the heart of cognitive linguistics. Using language, people categorize the world around them by structuring their knowledge into categories. Therefore, it is interesting to explore categorization in different languages and to see whether the language influences the process. The theoretical background of the paper draws on the theory of prototypes and basic level categories developed by Eleanor Rosch (1986). The practical part analyzes native speakers' preferences in the understanding of cognitive categories ANIMAL, DOG, and the GERMAN SHEPHERD. The data for the research comes from the questionnaires, which were filled in by 50 native born Americans, 50 native born Lithuanians, and 50 native born Poles (women and men). The interviewed were 1 8 - 6 3 years old, representatives of the middle and working classes. The questionnaires were created trying to illustrate the main principles of the theory of prototypes and basic level categories as well as the validity of this theory for the cognitive exploration of categories.