| This page is part of the ongoing |
| Project Categorization |
| Aristotelian category |
| Categorization |
| Category |
| Category boundaries |
| Fuzziness |
| Vagueness |
| Levels of categorization |
| Basic level |
| Category-wide attribute |
| Collective function |
| Subordinate level |
| Superordinate level |
| Parasitic categorization |
| Prototype category |
| Bad member |
| Degree of membership |
| Extension |
| Flexible adaptability |
| Goodness of exemplar |
| Good member |
| Informational density |
| Inheritance |
| Radial structure |
| Structural stability |
| Taxonomy |
| Class inclusion |
| Degree of generality |
| Expert taxonomy |
| Folk taxonomy |
| Multiple parenting |
| Scientific taxonomy |
Folk taxonomies, or experiential hierarchies, are taxonomies that are part of the common ground of a standard speech community. Prototype categores are essentially folk taxonomies.
Experiential basis[]
Folk taxonomies are based on the speech community members' interaction with the surrounding world. Typically, the units that incude the most subordinate units are place in the middle level of the taxonomy, while the units at the superordinate level and subordinate level of a folk taxonomy subsume less units. Folk taxonomies typically focus on the middle level, because it is culturally salient and sometimes rooted in basic biological needs.
Folk taxonomies and language[]
Typically the forms that are used as labels for middle level units are morphologically simple in relation to those that serve as labels for superodrinate and subordinate units. Moreover, middle level units are readily available in communication, as they normally come first ti mind in categorizing or naming situations and experiences.
Reference[]
- Ungerer, Friedrich & Hans-Jörg Schmid (1996). An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics. London: Longman.