Abstract

Abstract
This paper, entitled "Polysemy: Identification and Analysis Across Linguistic Frameworks," offers a comprehensive examination of polysemy as a linguistic phenomenon through the lens of major theoretical traditions. The study systematically analyzes how polysemy is conceptualized, defined, and identified within traditional linguistics, structuralism, generative linguistics, functionalism, and cognitive linguistics. For each theoretical framework, the paper elucidates the distinctive methodological approaches and analytical criteria employed to distinguish polysemous words from. While these linguistic paradigms approach polysemy from divergent theoretical perspectives—ranging from structuralist emphasis on semantic relationships to cognitive linguistics' focus on metaphorical extension and radial categories—they converge on a fundamental understanding of polysemy as the phenomenon where a single lexical form encompasses multiple semantically related meanings. Nevertheless, significant differences emerge in how these approaches establish semantic relatedness, determine meaning boundaries, and explain the cognitive and historical processes underlying polysemous extension. The research aims to provide a critical comparative analysis of these theoretical frameworks, highlighting their respective contributions to polysemy research while identifying their methodological strengths and limitations. By synthesizing these diverse approaches, this study seeks to advance our understanding of the complex mechanisms governing lexical polysemy and its centrality to linguistic theory.