# KEHOME/knowledge/theory/NaturalSemanticMetalanguage/prototype.html
# Oct/10/2003
Prototypes and Invariants

Prototypes and Invariants

Basic Ideas

Examples

bird prototype
X is a typical bird =
X can fly
X has feathers
...
bird definition
X is a kind of bird =
when people think of X, they think of a typical bird
some X can't fly
some X don't have feathers
...

References

  1. Anna Wierzbicka, "Semantics: Primes and Universals", Oxford University Press, 1996.
    Chapter 4.
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