Prototipų teorija ir semantika
Prototype Theory and Semantics

Summary/Abstract: The meaning of words has been a focus of scientific investigations since Ancient times; however, at the moment the issues of meaning have become the focus of semantics, lexicology, lexicography, cognitive linguistics and other sciences. The study of meaning within Lithuanian context has been based on the structural conception of meaning with much attention to semantic component analysis. Such a conception of meaning has been currently criticized and changed by a cognitive perception of meaning that came to Lithuania from the West. The cognitive conception criticizes the structural one, as structural research on meaning does not provide a full scope of it. Both approaches to meaning within the Lithuanian context do not negate each other; however, no attempts to combine both approaches together have ever been noticed as the structural approach is regarded to be more advantageous. Having examined both structural and cognitive approaches to meaning, it was noticed that both approaches can complement one another and thus provide a more comprehensive view of meaning. Therefore, the article attempts to discuss the relationship of semantics and cognitive linguistics through prototype theory. In order to do this, various approaches to meaning applied are described. Further on, the origin of prototype theory and its development from Aristotle to Rosch are displayed, as well as the main features of the prototype theory are discussed. The last chapter on the prototype theory and semantics aims at finding the connections of both approaches, indicating the way they could extend the perception of meaning.

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