On the Sensory Concepts A. D. Koshelev (Moscow), E-mail address: koshelev47@gmail.com Abstract. The article presents a sensory language of thought (a set of cognitive units and relations) used to provide non-verbal definitions for various concepts. The definitions proposed below have a uniform structure both for artifacts (ARMCHAIR, CUP), and natural concepts (LAKE), including living ones (TREE, APPLE). Keywords: cognitive semantics, embodied cognition, language of thought, sensory concepts, functional concepts 1. Definition and dual structure of a sensory concept. I will follow the line of research taken in Berlin, Breedlove, & Raven (1974), Brown (1965), Gallese & Lakoff (2005), Lakoff (1987), Mervis (1984, 1987), Rosch (1975, 1978), see also Koshelev (2020, pp. 20–22). Let us consider a sensory concept to be a dual structure of the Prototype ¬ Function type, with Prototype being a perceptual (most often, visual) image of a typical representative of a class of visually similar objects; Function representing the human interpretation of an object of this class, and an arrow denoting an interpretation relationship attributing a Function to a Prototype (i.e. the Function is spatially aligned with the Prototype), see (Koshelev 2019: 35–41). Sensory concept defines a class of visually similar objects, being the key constituent of the basic meaning of concrete nouns (chair, cup, lake, tree, etc), whose referents – the objects of the class – can be visually identified. Cf.: (1) ARMCHAIR = Prototype (a typical image of an armchair) ¬ Function ‘An artifact for sitting in a relaxed posture leaning on one’s back and elbows’; LAKE = Prototype of the lake ¬ Function ‘A large mass of still fresh water (a source of food and drink) constantly held from spreading’; TREE = Prototype of the tree ¬ Function ‘Grows by itself, produces seed and fruit’. By comparison, the meaning of such words as fool, weed, predator, etc. lacks perceptual prototype. It has functional constituent only; hence such meanings are functional concepts. To illustrate the idea, consider the following example. (2) Sensory concept ARMCHAIR = Prototype Function Stands, its legs being in contact with a horizontal surface ¬ ‘An artifact designed for a single person to sit in a steady (relaxed) posture, comfortable for rest (prevents the person from falling off even when dozing)’ (2’) Basic meaning of armchair @ Sensory concept ARMCHAIR (2). 1 1 Human concepts are usually seen as basic (i.e. non-derived) lexical meanings (Fodor, 1981, Pinker, 2007: chap. 3, Wierzbicka, 1996: 9–16).