On Problems in Defining Abstract and Metaphysical Concepts - Emergence of a New Model

Abstract

Up until last twenty years The General Theory of Terminology (GTT), or the Wüsterian theory, as it is referred to by some authors, has undisputedly ruled this field of applied linguistics. Recently, and especially in the last decade, many voices have been raised intensively criticizing GTT. The main critical point is that principles of GTT can only be efficiently applied on technical concepts, whereas they lack in usability when one tries to apply them to concepts that that do not designated physical objects or events in real world. We are currently developing a new terminographical model based on Idealized Cognitive Models, which will hopefully ensure a better cross-filed implementation of various types of concepts and their relations. The goal of this paper is to introduce the theoretical bases of our model. Additionally, we will present a pilot study of the series of experiments in which we are trying to investigate the nature of conceptual categorization in special languages and its proposed difference form categorization in general language.