The Discrete Nature Of Syntactic Categories: Against A Prototype-Based Account

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the syntactic categories. In one alternative view, categories have a prototype structure, which entails the following two claims for linguistic theory: Categorial Prototypicality: a. Grammatical categories have best case members and members that systematically depart from the best case. b. The optimal grammatical description of morphosyntactic processes involves reference to degree of categorial deviation from the best case. The chapter presents approaches that descriptively adequate grammars are said to make reference to graded categorial structure. Its goal is to defend the classical theory of categories. The chapter first provides a historical background to a prototype-based approach to syntactic categories. Then, it discusses how prototype theory has been applied in this regard and discusses the major consequences that have been claimed to follow from categories having a prototype structure. The chapter provides evidence that prototypical members of a category manifest more morphosyntactic complexity than non-prototypical members. Keywords: Categorial Prototypicality; classical theory of categories; morphosyntactic complexity; prototype theory; prototype-based account; syntactic categories

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