同学们，本栏目是对你们学过的知识和生活中常见问题的归纳。其中，有一些共性问题，也许你会需要哦！

让我来帮你解决常见问题！

Question1: What are the differences between metaphors and metonymy? Explain it in your own language.

Answer:

(1) Metaphor is based on resemblance, whereas metonymy is based on contiguity. Metaphor is the conceptual relation “X is understood by Y”; metonymy is conceptual relation “X stands for Y”.

(2) A further distinction between metonymy and metaphor is that while metaphor involves cross-domain mappings, metonymy involves a mapping within a single domain or domain matrix.

(3) The mental strategies in their respective prototypical instantiations are different.

Question2: what are the main differences between the classic theory and the prototype theory?

Answer:

(1) The set of prototype features does not constitute a definition, as the features are not individually necessary.

(2) Members of a category do not all have the same status: experimental subjects judge some members of a category to be “better examples”.

(3) The fact that not all members have to be satisfied means two members of a category may resemble the prototype in different ways and as a consequence may have little resemblance to one another.

Question3: What are the advantages and disadvantages of componential analysis?

Answer:

(1) Firstly, it is a breakthrough in the formal representation of meaning. Once formally represented, meaning components can be seen

(2) Secondly, it reveals the impreciseness of the terminology in the traditional approach to meaning analysis. Componential analysis examines the components of sense. The more features a words has, the narrower its reference is.

(3) It cannot be applied to the analysis of all lexicons, merely to words within the same semantics field.