ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the prototypical model of lexical polysemy is an indispensable aspect of any theory trying to classify the diverse forms of semantic information that may be incorporated in lexicographical reference works. Wierzbicka presented a method of semantic analysis which replaces traditional dictionary definitions by exhaustive, in-depth analyses of the prototypes underlying natural-language concepts. These two transpositions of prototype theory to the field of applied linguistics differ basically with regard to the type of lexicographical problem they address. Questions concerning the definitional techniques to be used with regard to individual meanings likewise belong to the microstructural presentation problem, and that is why Wierzbicka's approach is to be primarily situated there as well. The chapter formulates the theoretical background of the microstructural selection problem. Most important is the recognition that there is a distinction between theoretical semantics and practical lexicography; a definitional technique that is optimally justified from a theoretical point of view.
