The polysemy of the lexical item ‘card’ from the perspective of cognitive linguistics and its meaning networks

Abstract

From the perspective of Cognitive Linguistics, this study addresses the polysemy of the word ‘card’ in lexicographical terms, based on language in use. For this purpose, by means of a linguistic corpus, primarily from dictionaries, we discuss the meanings that shape ‘card’ and its prototype. Through the first 1000 occurrences in the CETEMPúblico platform, it aims at throwing light on the multiple meanings that the word may take within an experientialist paradigm. The analyses undertaken have been used for the elaboration of two meaning networks, based on which we categorically conclude that (i) the lexicographical analysis is more restrictive, while that of the language in use is more productive and dynamic; (ii) there are two main conceptual mechanisms involved in the identification of these multiple meanings – metaphor and metonymy, the first being similarity and the second contiguity.