ABSTRACT
There are several nouns which can be used to form thematic groupings without using expressions like ‘things associated with…’ ‘The world of…’ is an example. ‘The world of sport’ refers to a diverse and ill-defined domain of items: sports, players, competitions, clubs, fans, sponsors, journalists and more. It refers (vaguely) to these items without identifying/naming any of them. Similar expressions include: ‘the role of…’ and ‘the culture of…’ This chapter suggests that ‘the concept of…’ is another. If that’s right, to talk about ‘the concept of X’ is to refer (vaguely) to a diverse, ill-defined domain of things without identifying them. This domain includes: how X is understood, discussed, thought about; how the word ‘X’ is used, and with what purpose; how Xs can be distinguished from non-Xs; and so on. Similarly, to suggest that someone ‘possesses the concept of X’ is to say that she can recognise examples of X, labels them appropriately, can distinguish between Xs and non-Xs, knows basic facts about Xs, knows how to use Xs and so on. The chapter discusses other uses of ‘concept’; but they all involve the idea that, like ‘thing’, ‘concept’ is an example of (in linguistics terms) ‘vague language’.
