The Conceptualization of Fruit/Vegetable Distinction in Farsi and American English: A Contrastive Pragmatic Approach

The insight of this research study comes from the confusion of fruits and vegetables distinctions. Using the prototype theory, this study aimed at finding the prototypes for fruits in Iranian and American societies. It also investigated the class categorization of watermelon in both societies. To accomplish the objectives of the study, a questionnaire was designed in Farsi and English for Farsi and English native speakers. From the target population, a convenient sample of 28 was selected. The results reveled that prototyping is different for Iranian and American English speakers; it also showed watermelon class categorization in both speech communities.