Dil – Kültür İlişkisi Bağlamında ‘Kedi’ Kelimesinin Bilişsel Tanımı

Each word belonging to a specific language is defined in monolingual dictionaries according to established rules. In this study assumptions for preparing the cognitive definition will be presented. The context of use, common/ colloquial knowledge, the place which the object described occupies in the culture, its relation to other objects and to human beings - all these diversify the way it is understood. The primary goal of the cognitive definition is to make one aware of the way native speakers understand the object, i.e. of their knowledge of the world, of categorization, characteristics and evaluation of its phenomena as preserved by the society and visible in the language and its use. The cognitive definition will be presented on the example of the word cat. This particular word has been selected, because these animals have accompanied man for thousands of years and in addition to the importance of the species (usually included in the definitions), they also have cultural significance.