Levels
of meaning
One theory of what words mean suggests that we use three levels of meaning in our minds:
-
basic level terms for the most common everyday instances of
things, for example potato and car
- superordinate level terms, i.e. abstract categories that group together many examples of the basic level, vegetable and motor vehicle
- subordinate level terms, i.e. more particular cases of a basic level term, Jersey potato and Fiat Punto
Here are some examples of other areas this applies to:
Some examples of levels of categories in English
|
Superordinate |
Basic |
Subordinate |
|
fruit |
apple |
Cox's Orange Pippin |
|
|
peach |
cling peach |
|
tools |
hammer |
claw hammer |
|
|
saw |
fretsaw |
|
|
screwdriver |
Phillips screwdriver |
|
fish |
salmon |
wild salmon |
|
|
trout |
rainbow trout |
|
|
herring |
smoked herring |
|
reading matter |
books |
novels |
|
|
newspapers |
The Sun |
|
|
letters |
business letters |
It is claimed that the basic level:
i) is the first one that comes automatically to our minds – look around the room and you will notice chairs, tables etc rather than furniture or an office chair.
ii) is the one that children acquire first, perhaps because their parents draw their attention to dogs and cats rather than animals or Doberman Pinschers.
Reference: E. Rosch