Charles J. Fillmore

Charles J. Fillmore was a renowned linguist known for developing the framework of frame semantics, which studies how words relate to mental "frames" of knowledge about real-world situations. This approach helps explain how meaning is constructed through context and experience, influencing fields like language understanding, artificial intelligence, and lexicography. Fillmore’s work highlights that words are interconnected with our shared background knowledge, allowing us to interpret meaning beyond just definitions. His contributions have significantly shaped modern linguistics by emphasizing the importance of context and cognitive structures in understanding language.