Polysemy: Flexible Patterns of Meaning in Mind and Language

by Brigitte Nerlich, Zazie Todd (Editor), Vimala Herman (Editor)

About fifty years ago, Stephen Ullmann wrote that polysemy is 'the pivot of semantic analysis'. Fifty years on, polysemy has become one of the hottest topics in linguistics and in the cognitive sciences at large. The book deals with the topic froma wide variety of viewpoints. The cognitive approach is supplemented and supported by diachronic, psycholinguistic, developmental, comparative, and computational perspectives. The chapters, written by some of the most eminent specialists in the field, are all underpinned by detailed discussions of methodology and theory.

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003