[Lexicog] Criteria for example sentences

[Translation MALI]

Wayne,

Tests on what is a prototype in a given domain do not always furnish
the same results. We can be culturally conditioned. The famous tests
on "birdiness" (What is a prototypical bird?) MOSTLY come up with
"the sparrow", sometimes with "the eagle" though. Ostriches are borderline
cases but bats "don't belong."
My prototypical dog is, of course, a German shepherd. I can't stand
chihuahuas. If they stem from the wolf, then I wonder ...

Fritz

Good question, Fritz. I suspect that the prototypical dog will vary somewhat
depending on an individual's personal lexicon, but I do think there is quite
a bit of agreement among humans as to what a prototypical dog is.

I suggest that what it is not are:

dachshunds
poodles
chihuahuas
Great Danes
St. Bernards
Newfoundland breed
Dalmatians

I think a prototypical dog is somewhere between a cocker spaniel and a
collie and a golden retriver. It is a medium sized dog, not too small (a
cocker spaniel is a bit too small for the prototype, I think), and not too
large. It needs to have a "standard" dog shape and features.

Wayne Leman

> Talking about prototypes, what is a prototypical dog?
>
> Fritz Goerling





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