The papers in this volume are linked by a common concern, which is at the centre of current linguistic enquiry: how do we classify and categorize linguistic data, and how does this process add to our understanding of linguistic change? The scene is set by Aitchison's paper on the development of linguistic categorization over the past few decades, followed by Biggam's critical overview of theoretical developments in colour semantics. Lexical classification in action is discussed in papers by Fischer, Kay and Sylvester on the structures of thesauruses, while detailed treatments of particular semantic areas are offered by Kleparski, Miko³ajczuk, O'Hare and Peters. Papers by Lass, Laing and Williamson, and Smith are concerned with the nature of linguistic evidence in the context of the historical record, offering new insights into text typology, scribal language and vowel classification. Much of the data discussed is new and original.

Table of contents

Preface vii The rhinoceros’s problem: the need to categorize Jean Aitchison 1

Prototypes and foci in the encoding of colour Carole P. Biggam 19

The notional structure of thesauruses Andreas Fischer 41

When ignorance is wisdom: some day-to-day problems of classification Christian J. Kay 59

CDs, petticoats, skirts, ankas, tamaras and sheilas: The metonymical rise of lexical categories related to the conceptual category FEMALE HUMAN BEING Grzegorz A. Kleparski 71

The archaeology of medieval texts Margaret Laing and Keith Williamson 85

Texts as linguistic objects Roger Lass 147

ANGER in Polish and English: a semantic comparison with some historical context Agnieszka Mikołajczuk 159

Folk Classification in the HTE 'Plants' category Cerwyss O'Hare 179

The vocabulary of PAIN Hans Peters 193

Classifying the vowels of Middle English Jeremy J. Smith 221

Categories and taxonomies: A cognitive approach to lexicographical resources Louise Sylvester 237