Blurb:

Chapter 8 inspects the role of configuration in the semantic description of


linguistic items as groups. The aim is to discover the distinctive meaning of


each linguistic item in a field. The chapter is organized as follows. Section


8.1 considers the phenomenon of configuration and underlines its significance.


Configuration refers to the mental act of grouping together a number


of linguistic items, be they lexical or grammatical, into a cognitive domain. A


domain then is a knowledge background with respect to which the meanings


of lexical items can be properly described. Section 8.2 presents the two theories


of configuration: Lexical Field and Cognitive Domain. In the Lexical


Field theory, which is advocated in Structural Semantics, configuration represents


a model which focuses only on linguistic meaning. In the Cognitive


Domain theory, which is advocated in Cognitive Semantics, configuration


represents a model which focuses on both linguistic and non-linguistic meanings.


In both sections, I pursue three steps. First, I underscore the essence of


each theory. Second, I reveal its premises and repercussions. Third, I give


examples to verify its application. Section 8.3 makes a summary of the main


points of the chapter.