Cognitive Semantic Analysis of the Polysemous Word Spirit

Abstract

This study examined the meaning and amount of information related to the word spirit in English, using a cognitive semantic theoretical framework, and investigated the meaning system of the word.

Using a survey method, the meaning of spirit was extracted in English from three medium-sized English dictionaries. The meanings were extracted, categorized, and defined as terms. We also created a model of the radial category of spirit, adopting the radial category model created by Minashima. Furthermore, the result of the meaning system of spirit was compared with that of reisei. We likewise examined the meaning and referents of the word spiritual given in katakana in relation to Japanese ideas of religion.

It was found that the vocabulary item spirit refers to the mind insofar as it is distinguished from referents relating to the body and to objects. Furthermore, spirit is classified as part of the metaphorical extension of the conceptual structure of language. Metonymic extension is grouped into the following classifications: heat/alcohol, attitude/unity spirit, true intention, characteristics, and supernatural existence/secret. A comparison of its meaning with spirituality indicated that original nature is a mental reality that cannot be grasped with the naked eye. However, investigation of reisei did not establish the following meanings that belong to the metonymic extension of the English spirit: heat, posture, united spirit, or true intention. Thus, meaning of spirit is derived from various things, so it had a different meaning from reisei. Therefore, the idea of spiritual or spirituality as given in katakana used in the field of nursing in Japan can be understood through an examination the meaning of spirit in English, as understood by people in Western countries.