Verb dynamics

Terminology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Buendía Castro
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Semantic Relations ◽  
Similar Argument ◽  
Conceptual Information ◽  
Basic Meaning ◽  
Specialized Texts ◽  
Verb Meaning

This paper describes conceptual dynamicity as reflected in the verbs in specialized texts. All the examples used to illustrate this phenomenon are taken from a corpus of meteorological texts, and are typical of processes and actions within the TROPICAL CYCLONE frame. In this study, we analyze verb meaning as well as argument structure. Our results show that the basic meaning of each verb profiles the meaning of the term tropical cyclone in different ways, and provides a way to access the multidimensionality of terms and the concepts they designate. We also classify the verbs most frequently activated by TROPICAL CYCLONE in lexical domains since verbs with similar meaning also have similar argument structure. This method of studying terms in conjunction with the verbs that most frequently activate them is crucial for the representation of conceptual information, and is connected with the network of semantic relations that is activated by a specialized concept.

Semantic relations in the field of retailing

Terminology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne Eugenie Dancette
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Relations ◽  
Critical Importance ◽  
Linguistic Markers ◽  
Property Relations ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Generic Agent ◽  
Learning From Texts ◽  
Thematic Information ◽  
Specialized Texts ◽  
Specific Agent

Understanding the semantic relations between terms in specialized texts is of critical importance in translation and terminology, and generally speaking in learning from texts. Our research highlights the advantages of formalizing them in order to build hierarchies and sets of horizontal conceptual relations (i.e. process-oriented relations) for knowledge acquisition. This paper discusses a method for extracting domain-specific semantic relations in specialized texts. Obviously, some texts are more appropriate than others in this regard. ‘Knowledge-rich’ texts such as encyclopaedia and textbooks are considered good materials because of the density and richness of thematic information. Considering them as such, we used the encyclopaedic articles of the Dictionnaire analytique de la distribution/Analytical Dictionary of Retailing. We retrieved over 3000 terms semantically related to all 350 headwords of the Dictionary, and grouped them into 28 classes of relations (paradigmatic, i.e. generic, specific, agent, goal, instrument, recipient, location, etc., and also syntagmatic, such as related verbs and adjectives). This paper discusses in particular the generic, agent and property relations and examines the linguistic markers that permit their retrieval.

Grammaticalisation through constructions

2004 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 159-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra Ziegeler
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Gradual Development ◽  
Repeated Use ◽  
Verb Meaning ◽  
Diachronic Development ◽  
Over Time

Recent arguments by Langacker (2003) on the nature of verb meanings in constructions claim that such meanings are created by entrenchment and frequency of use, and only with repeated use can they become conventionalised and acceptable. Such a position raises the need for a diachronic perspective on Construction Grammar. The present paper investigates the evolution of constructions through the example of thehave-causative in English, which appears to have had its origins as a transfer verb in telic argument structure constructions. When the construction contains a transfer verb, construction meaning reinforces verb meaning and periphrastic causatives may grammaticalise as output; this is a gradual development over time. In one way, then, the verbhavegrammaticalises across a succession of constructions, but in another, the telic argument structure construction itself is seen to have a progressive diachronic development.

scholarly journals The causative–instrumental syncretism

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (04) ◽  
pp. 751-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
KYLE JERRO
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Causal Chain ◽  
Traditional View ◽  
Bantu Language ◽  
General Constraints ◽  
Argument Realization ◽  
Semantic Notion ◽  
Verb Meaning ◽  
Insight Into

Causative and applicative morphemes have been central in work on the morphosyntax of argument structure. However, several genetically unrelated languages use a single, syncretic form for both functions, which complicates the traditional view that a causative adds a new subject and an applicative adds a new object. In this paper, I propose an analysis of a morphological syncretism found in the Bantu language Kinyarwanda where the morphological causative and instrumental applicative are both realized by the morpheme –ish. I argue for Kinyarwanda that both causation and the introduction of an instrument are analyzable as two outgrowths of the same semantic notion of introducing a new link into the causal chain described by the verb. The different causative and instrumental readings derive from underspecification of the position of the new link in the causal chain, although its placement is restricted via general constraints on possible event types as well as constraints on verb meaning and argument realization. This analysis provides an explanation for the presence of the causative–instrumental syncretism as well as provides insight into the interface between verb meaning and valency-changing morphology.

scholarly journals Intertextuality and the role of semantic markers in the translation of specialized sociological texts

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Full Understanding ◽  
Conceptual Information ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Specialized Texts ◽  
Flow Of Information ◽  
Interactive Resources

The article deals with intertextuality in the translation aspect. The role of semantic markers in translating specialized, including sociological texts has been defined. There are inherent features inherent in semantic markers, which can increase or, conversely, reduce the reader’s ability to gain full access to their content, such as vocabulary-specific or terminology, and to traditional text formats. Explicit intertext communication or citation, the inclusion of other texts in the construction of a specialized text as a traditional intertextual format, which is a distinctive characteristic of the writing of specialized texts, especially scientific ones, is explored. Attention is focused on citations, which are mainly used for interpretation, and it is shown how semantic markers can be useful for a translator of specialized sociological texts in the phase of analysis of the text preceding the translation. People who are not specialists in a particular field, such as specialized text translators, may have problems with a full understanding of the content of specialized texts, especially if the latter is written by a specialist in this field for the professionals in the same field. It is emphasized that semantic markers behave like ‘interactive resources’ that allow the text writer to control the flow of information, satisfying possible needs for additional information from ‘imaginary’ readers. As semantic markers, citations acquire a double dialogic property: they are oriented toward authors of previous texts, on which they refer, and with which they work on the meaning of terms, but they also "interact" with the reader, reacting to possible questions or possible needs for more accurate semantic or conceptual information.

The locative alternation in verb-framed vs. satellite-framed languages

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 864-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wojciech Lewandowski
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Corpus Study ◽  
Token Frequency ◽  
Locative Alternation ◽  
Change Of State ◽  
Type Frequency ◽  
Verb Meaning

I propose a comparative analysis of the locative alternation in Polish and Spanish. I adopt a constructional theory of argument structure (Goldberg (1995)), according to which the locative alternation is an epiphenomenon of the compatibility of a single verb meaning with two different constructions: the caused-motion construction and the causative + with adjunct construction. As claimed by Pinker (1989), a verb must specify a manner of motion from which a particular change of state can be obtained in order to be able to appear in both constructional schemas. However, I show through a corpus study that the compatibility between verbal and constructional meaning is further restricted by Talmy’s (1985, 1991, 2000) distinction between verb-framed and satellite-framed languages. In particular, Talmy’s lexicalization patterns theory systematically explains why both the token frequency and the type frequency of the alternating verbs are considerably higher in Polish than in Spanish.

INTRODUCTION

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvina Montrul
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Thematic Issue ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Lexical Knowledge ◽  
Lexical Information ◽  
Verb Meaning ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
Linguistic Approaches

Due to the recognition of the centrality of the lexicon for SLA theory (see the 1987 thematic issue of SSLA, edited by Susan Gass), the last few years have witnessed an increased interest in understanding lexical knowledge. As Gass (1999) reminded us, learning vocabulary in a second language is a complex task that involves much more than learning sound-meaning pairings; it also involves learning how lexical information is morphologically expressed and syntactically constrained. The present issue provides a natural sequel to the 1999 SSLA thematic issue, “Incidental L2 Vocabulary Acquisition,” by addressing some of the questions raised in that volume, in particular the questions related to the intimate relationship between syntax and semantics at the lexical interface. This issue is devoted to the L2 acquisition of verb meaning and argument structure crosslinguistically, and it explores in detail the nature of linguistic systems that L2 learners acquire in this particular domain. The six central articles offer a coherent approach to the topic, using linguistic theory to help us understand the characteristics of learner grammars. Until recently, linguistic approaches to SLA have placed a strong emphasis on understanding the acquisition of functional categories, for example, and the acquisition of the lexicon has received less attention. Understanding how the lexico-syntactic interface is mentally represented, and how it evolves during the second language acquisition process, is crucial for developing an adequate theory of L2 knowledge in general, as well as for informing theories of the lexicon.

PROOF-THEORETIC SEMANTIC VALUES FOR LOGICAL OPERATORS

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 466-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
NISSIM FRANCEZ ◽  
GILAD BEN-AVI
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Natural Deduction ◽  
Logical Operators ◽  
Logical Grammar ◽  
Basic Meaning ◽  
Semantic Value ◽  
Semantic Types ◽  
Theoretic Semantic ◽  
Semantic Values ◽  
Henkin Models

The paper proposes a semantic value for the logical constants (connectives and quantifiers) within the framework of proof-theoretic semantics, basic meaning on the introduction rules of a meaning conferring natural deduction proof system. The semantic value is defined based on Frege’s Context Principle, by taking “contributions” to sentential meanings as determined by the function-argument structure as induced by a type-logical grammar. In doing so, the paper proposes a novel proof-theoretic interpretation of the semantic types, traditionally interpreted in Henkin models. The compositionality of the resulting attribution of semantic values is discussed. Elsewhere, the same method was used for defining proof-theoretic meaning of subsentential phrases in a fragment of natural language. Doing the same for (the simpler and clearer case of) logic sheds more light on the proposal.

scholarly journals Concealed passives and the syntax and semantics of need/philyo in English and Korean

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Rok Sim ◽  
Stanley Dubinsky
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Similar Argument ◽  
Verbal Noun

Despite similar argument structure, the syntax of English need and Korean philyo contrasts, illuminating differences in lexical derivation and insertion of argument-taking elements. Verbs need, require, deserve, want, and bear take gerundive complements that are "understood passively" (Jesperson 1927/1954:112[9.23]) and called concealed passive constructions (CPCs) (Huddleston and Pullum 2002:1429). In this paper, we argue that in English, the gerund CPC object of need is a lexically passivized V that takes a nominalizing derivational -ing affix, whereas in Korean, the CPC object of philyo is a verbal noun, directly inserted as a complement of the verb without derivation.

scholarly journals Korean and Spanish psych-verbs: Interaction of case, theta-roles, linearization, and event structure in HPSG

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Machicao y Priemer ◽  
Paola Fritz-Huechante
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Semantic Relations ◽  
Role Assignment ◽  
Case Marking ◽  
Psych Verbs ◽  
Theta Role ◽  
Inheritance Hierarchy ◽  
Lexical Rules ◽  
Type Hierarchy

In this paper, we argue that by making a more detailed distinction of theta-roles, while at the same time investigating the correlation of case marking, theta-role assignment, and eventuality types, we can describe different psych-verb subclasses and explain their alignment patterns in Spanish and Korean. We propose a neo-Davidsonian treatment of psych-verbs in HPSG that allows us to account for the underspecification of theta-roles which are modeled in an inheritance hierarchy for semantic relations. By assuming linking properties modeled lexically, we can constrain the properties for psych-verbs which shows the mapping of semantic arguments (i.e. experiencer, stimulus-causer, subject matter and target) to the elements in the argument structure. The type hierarchy and lexical rules proposed here capture the alternation in case marking not only of the experiencer (as traditionally assumed in the literature), but also of the stimulus. This analysis leads us to a new fourfold classification of psych-verbs for both languages.

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