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‘Symptom’ and ‘diagnosis’ as prototypes: applying the theory of prototypes and the notion of fuzziness to the study of a doctor‐patient interaction
Author(s) -
Wynn Rolf
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
international journal of applied linguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.712
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1473-4192
pISSN - 0802-6106
DOI - 10.1111/j.1473-4192.1996.tb00098.x
Subject(s) - perspective (graphical) , conversation analysis , conversation , cognitive linguistics , psychology , cognition , focus (optics) , epistemology , applied linguistics , linguistics , cognitive psychology , cognitive science , computer science , artificial intelligence , philosophy , communication , physics , optics , neuroscience
The paper examines the concepts of ‘symptom’ and ‘diagnosis’ from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing on elements from cognitive linguistics, clinical decision‐making research and conversation analysis. The main focus is on how prototype theory and the notion of fuzziness can enhance the understanding of these concepts. It is argued that the various manifestations of disease, conceptualised as ‘symptom’ and ‘diagnosis’, can be understood as prototypical concepts. Excerpts from an authentic consultation are examined in detail in order to illustrate how cognitive linguistics can be applied in the analysis of doctor‐patient interaction.