Abstract This paper reviews and prospects the study of word meaning and dynamic categorization. Based on a large number of literature, we find that cognitive semantics makes the study of word meaning systematic, and the categorization theory in cognitive linguistics is the basis of the study of word meaning, but, most of the research in prototype theory, family resemblance theory and category hierarchy theory only studies semantics from the static and synchronic perspective, and ignore the dynamic nature of the semantic categories, especially the diachronic evolution and immediate changes of the word meaning. Scholars have noticed the dynamic nature of categories, while few of them described the uniform definition of the dynamic categorization theory, let alone an intensive and systematic study on its causes, working mechanisms and process. Therefore, we will first construct the theory of dynamic categorization of word meaning under the guidance of the empirical view of cognitive semantics in future research, focus on the motivation, working mechanism and process of dynamic categorization of word meaning. Then, based on the qualitative analysis of corpus, we will have a systematic research on the process of dynamic semantic categorization of individual category and composite category.
Rong Zeng (Fri,) studied this question.