Open AccessA Semantic Analysis of the Top Ten Network Buzzwords of China in 2020 from the Perspective of the Prototype Theory
Author(s) -
Shuo Yao
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
studies in linguistics and literature
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2573-6434
pISSN - 2573-6426
DOI - 10.22158/sll.v5n4p61
Subject(s) - perspective (graphical) , variation (astronomy) , extant taxon , china , semantic network , extension (predicate logic) , psychology , the internet , cognitive psychology , linguistics , computer science , history , artificial intelligence , world wide web , philosophy , physics , archaeology , evolutionary biology , astrophysics , biology , programming language
With the further development of the Internet and the rapid growth of the number of netizens, there are always new network buzzwords appearing during online communication. Most of these buzzwords don’t come out of nowhere but are variants of the extant words or expressions. They inherit, extend or sometimes overturn the original meanings. To some extent, these semantic variations not only influence the language system, expanding the semantic category of words, but also reflect people’s cognition and emotions. Therefore, based on the prototype theory, this paper aims to analyze the semantic variations of the top ten network buzzwords of China in 2020 from three aspects: horizontally, the extension of meanings of the basic-level words; vertically, the emergence of new subordinate-level words; and the combination of the two ways of variation. The analysis of these words shows complex emotions of people, including positive life attitudes, nostalgia to the past and helplessness under huge pressures in real life.