Jost Trier and the Semantic Field. What Remains?

The semantic field concept developed by Jost Trier is defended as a real structuring of content in the lexicon, indispensable for the appropriate use of language in communication, & not, as charged by critics, a construct of linguists. Semantic fields & the associated concept of neighboring fields provide the only means for the clarification of a wide variety of nuances of meaning, as shown by examples taken from German terms for furniture, chess, temperature, & comprehension. The development of semantic field theory is traced, & its application to verticality in expert-novice interaction is explored. J. Hitchcock