On using (and misusing) prototypes for explanations of lexical changes

Abstract

The article briefly reviews a number of works dealing with prototype theory in historical lexicology, especially generalization and specialization of meaning. By analyzing multiple examples from a semasiological and an onomasiological perspective it is shown that the roles of prototypes and prototypical meanings are sometimes overestimated. Apart from illustrating that it is possible to distinguish at least two sorts of prototypes (“real-world” prototypes vs. “ideal-world” prototypes), the lexical analyses show that not infrequently other factors seem more relevant for the vertical taxonomic changes brought into discussion: evolution of “generic neutrals”; conceptual fields as centers of attraction; conceptual recategorization; the lexical conservativeness of specific frames, certain collocations or word-formations.