Cognitive semantics as framework for describing "nationhood"

Abstract

The existence of polysemous items and of links between their senses is the focus of much of cognitive linguistics analysis. The theory has provided constructs such as extension (through metaphor, perceived similarity, or shared background frame) and elaboration (through metonymy, abstraction, and so on) to describe semantic or structural relatedness. Underlying these constructs is the privileged stance granted to the theory of complex categorization, according to which category members may be given different statuses with respect to the category they instantiate. These principles of cognitive semantics can be applied productively to complex items purporting to denote precise (or not so precise) constructs and concepts such as "nationhood" to reveal a network-style lexical organisation and/or their inherent components. In this paper, these principles are applied in order to provide a systematised account of the semantics of "nationhood" in the Malaysian context.