BULLETIN OF COLLEGE OF FOREIGN STUDIES, YOKOHAMA : A combined

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For Japanese students who learn English as their second language, one of the most difficult problems is to understand the difference of meaning among SEE, LOOK and WATCH, mainly because they have only one verb, miru, to express optical perception in Japanese. As the best possible way for the teachers to explain them the essential difference between Japanese and English optical perception verbs, I propose here to use the semantic analysis based on the Core Theory. The core of a word is its context-free meaning, form which its whole meaning expands through metaphorical processing. After describing the cores of SEE, LOOK, and WATCH, prototype usage of Japanese verb, miru, is compared with English equivalent examples. While describing the differences verified in the comparative study, we will see how effectively the proposed core meanings can function as a key to grasp essential difference among SEE, LOOK, WATCH, and miru.

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