Lexical semantics
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Lexical semantics, a subfield of linguistic semantics, is the study of how the semantic organization of the lexicon interacts with syntax.[1]
The study of lexical semantics looks at:
- the classification and decomposition of lexical items
- the differences and similarities in lexical semantic structure between different languages
- the relationship of lexical meaning to sentence meaning and syntax.
The units of analysis in lexical semantics are lexical units, which can be free or bound morphemes. These lexical units, also called syntactic atoms,[2] fall in a narrow range of meanings (semantic fields) and can combine with each other to generate new meanings.
Semantic classification of lexical items
Insert introductory text.
Lexical relations: how meanings can be related to each other
Lexical items participate in regular patterns of association with each other. This includes hyponymy, hypernymy, synonymy and antonymy, as well as homonymy.[3]
Hyponymy and hypernymy
Hyponymy and hypernymy refers to a relationship between a general term and the more specific terms that fall under the category of the general term.
For example, the colours red, green, blue and yellow are hyponyms. They fall under the general term of colour, which is the hypernym.
Color (hypernym) → red, green, yellow, blue (hyponyms) |
Hyponyms and hypernyms can be described by using a taxonomy (general).
Synonymy
Synonymy refers to words that are pronounced and spelled differently but contain the same meaning.
Happy, joyful, glad [3] |
Antonymy
Antonymy refers to words that are related by having the opposite meanings to each other. There are three types of antonyms: graded antonyms, complementary antonyms and relational antonyms.
Homonymy
Homonymy refers to the relationship between words that are spelled and pronounced the same way but hold different meanings.
Neighborhoods: how lexical items cluster into semantic networks
Lexical semantics explores whether the meaning of a lexical unit is established by looking at its neighbourhood in the semantic net, (words it occurs with in natural sentences), or whether the meaning is already locally contained in the lexical unit.
Semantic fields: how lexical items map onto concepts
Another topic that is explored is the mapping of words to concepts. [describe and give examples]
Event structures: how lexical items map onto different types of events
[describe]
The syntactic basis of event structure: a brief history
Generative semantics in the 1970s
The analysis of morphologically complex words, such as verbs with different arguments, had a decisive role in the field of "generative linguistics" during the 1960s.[4]
Lexicalist theories in the 1980s
A prominent theory that dominated this era was that verbs and adjectives had particular syntactic properties, compared with the other lexical classes. The unique syntax of verbs and adjectives was understood as being a result of their ability to select different arguments bearing certain semantic roles, (see theta roles, and intransitive, transitive and ditransitive below), and their ability to select these different arguments as being derived from a complex verb's lexical entry.[5]
(Figure 1). Example of a lexical entry for the verb prefer. prefer V DPexp PPtheme/CP[for]theme/CP[that]theme
Prominent theorists of the generative linguistics era, such as Noam Chomsky and Ernst von Glasersfeld, believed semantic relations between transitive verbs, intransitive verbs, and associated adjectives were idiosyncratic and tied to their independent syntactic organization.[4]
The hypothesis that the syntactic properties of verbs and adjectives were determined by their meaning was eventually abandoned for "lexicalist" theories in the 1980s. Lexicalist theories state that a word's meaning is derived from its morphology or a speaker's lexicon, and not its syntax. The degree of morphology's influence on overall grammar remains controversial.[4] Currently, the linguists that perceive one engine driving both morphological atoms and syntactic atoms are in the majority. The theory of VP shells and their relation to lexical semantics draws on this model of morphosyntax.
The micro-syntax of lexical items in the 1990s
By the early 1990's, Chomsky's minimalist framework on language structure led to sophisticated probing techniques for investigating languages.[6] These techniques allowed syntacticians to hypothesize that lexical items with complex syntactic features (such as ditransitive, inchoative, and causative verbs), could select their own specifier element within a syntax tree construction, and brought the focus back on the syntax-lexical semantics interface.
In the mid 90's, prominent linguists including Heidi Harley, Samuel Jay Keyser, and Kenneth Hale proposed that the predicates CAUSE and BECOME, referred to as subunits within a Verb Phrase, acted as a lexical semantic template.[7] The subunits of Verb Phrases led to the Verb Phrase Hypothesis, outlined below.'.[8] The recursion found within the VP Shells accommodated binary-branching theory; another critical topic during the 1990s.[9] Specifically, current theory recognizes the element in Specifier DP position of a tree in inchoative/anticausative verbs (intransitive), or causative verbs (transitive) is what selects the theta role conjoined with a particular verb.[4]
Hale & Keyser's 19xx ZZZ
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Halle & Marantz' 19xx distributed morphology
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Ramchand's 200x "first phase syntax"
Syntactic analysis of event types
Two types of intransitive verbs: unaccusative versus unergative
This hypothesis was put forward by Perlmutter, and describes how two classes of intransitive verbs have two different syntactic structures.[10]
- unaccusative verb: __ [VP V NP][10]
- unergative verb: NP [VP V]
Change-of-state predicates: (x cause) y become z
The change-of-state property of Verb Phrases (VP) is a significant observation for the syntax of lexical semantics because it provides evidence that subunits are embedded in the VP structure, and that the meaning of the entire VP is influenced by this internal grammatical structure. There are two types of change of state predicates: inchoative and causative.
The inchoative/causative alternation
Inchoative verbs are intransitive, meaning that that they occur without a direct object, and these verbs express that their subject has undergone a certain change of state. Inchoative verbs are also known as anticausative verbs.[11] Causative verbs are transitive, meaning that they occur with a direct object, and they express that the subject causes a change of state in the object.
Linguist Martin Haspelmath classifies inchoative/causative verb pairs under three main categories: causative, anticausative, and non-directed alternations.[12] Non-directed alternations are further subdivided into labile, equipollent, and suppletive alternations.
English tends to favour labile alternations,[13] meaning that the same verb is used in the inchoative and causative forms.[12] This can be seen in the following example: broke is an intransitive inchoative verb in (1a) and a transitive causative verb in (1b).
(1) English[11] a. The vase broke. b. John broke the vase. |
English change of state verbs are often de-adjectival, meaning that they are derived from adjectives. We can see this in the following example:
(2) a. The knot is loose. [14] b. The knot loosened. c. Sandy loosened the knot. |
In example (2a) we start with a stative intransitive adjective, and derive (2b) where we see an intransitive inchoative verb. In (2c) we see a transitive causative verb.
Marked inchoatives in inchoative/causative alternation
Some languages (e.g., German, Italian, and French), have multiple morphological classes of inchoative verbs.[15] Generally speaking, these languages separate their inchoative verbs into three classes: i) verbs that are obligatorily unmarked (they are not marked with a reflexive pronoun, clitic, or affix), ii) verbs that are optionally marked, and iii) verbs that are obligatorily marked. The causative verbs in these languages remain unmarked. Haspelmath refers to this as the anticausative alternation.
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In German, for example, their inchoative verbs are classified into three morphological classes. Class A verbs necessarily form inchoatives with the reflexive pronoun sich, Class B verbs form inchoatives necessarily without the reflexive pronoun, and Class C verbs form inchoatives optionally with or without the reflexive pronoun. In example (3), the verb zerbrach is an unmarked inchoative verb from Class B, which also remains unmarked in its causative form.[15]
(3) German[15] a. Die Vase zerbrach. the vase broke 'The vase broke.' b. Hans zerbrach die Vase. John broke the vase 'John broke the vase.' |
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In contrast, the verb öffnete is a Class A verb which necessarily takes the reflexive pronoun sich in its inchoative form, but remains unmarked in its causative form.
(4) German[15] a. Die Tür öffnete sich. the door opened REFL 'The door opened.' b. Hans öffnete die Tür. John opened the door 'John opened the door.' |
There has been some debate as to whether the different classes of inchoative verbs are purely based in morphology, or whether the differentiation is derived from the lexical-semantic properties of each individual verb. While this debate is still unresolved in languages such as Italian, French, and Greek, it has been suggested by linguist Florian Schäfer that there are semantic differences between marked and unmarked inchoatives in German. Specifically, that only unmarked inchoative verbs allow an unintentional causer reading (meaning that they can take on an "x unintentionally caused y" reading).[15]
Marked causatives in inchoative/causative alternation
Causative morphemes are present in the verbs of many languages (e.g., Tagalog, Malagasy, Turkish, etc.), usually appearing in the form of an affix on the verb.[11] This can be seen in the following examples from Tagalog, where the causative prefix pag- (realized here as nag) attaches to the verb tumba to derive a causative transitive verb in (5b), but the prefix does not appear in the inchoative intransitive verb in (5a). Haspelmath refers to this as the causative alternation.
(5) Tagalog[11] a. Tumumba ang bata. fell the child 'The child fell.' b. Nagtumba ng bata si Rosa. CAUS-fall of child DET Rosa 'Rosa knocked the child down.' |
Change-of-possession predicates: x cause y have z
Ditransitive verbs require three arguments. Specifically, in addition to the argument of agent that causes the event, they require two other arguments, a direct object and an indirect object, both of which are selected by the verb as complements to the verb. The direct object is the argument that is the theme. Both the direct and indirect objects are determiner phrases. In (6) a story is the direct object of the verb told. This leaves the children as the indirect object.
(6) Ray told the children a story [16] |
Ditransitive verb phrases have two constructions: the double object construction (DOC) as seen in (7a) and the to-dative construction (7b):
(7) a. John sent Mary a package.
b. John sent a package to Mary. [17]
|
In both examples, the verb send select for two arguments, with Mary as a goal and a package as the theme.
The tree structure shown in (6), (7a) and (7b) illustrates a structure where both the direct and indirect objects are sister to the verb. However, there have been other proposals related to ditransitive verbs and their accompanying structures.
Kayne's 1981 unambiguous path analysis
Richard Kayne proposed the idea of unambiguous paths as an alternative to c-commanding relationships. The idea of unambiguous paths stated that an antecedent and an anaphor should be connected via an unambiguous path. This means that the line connecting an antecedent and an anaphor cannot be broken by another argument.[18] When applied to ditransitive verbs, this hypothesis introduces the structure in (8).
Larson's 19xx "VP-shell" analysis
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See also
References
- ^ Pustejovsky, James (1995). The Generative Lexicon. MIT Press.
- ^ Di Sciullo, Anne-Marie; Williams, Edwin (1987). On the definition of word. Cambridge, MA: MIT press.
- ^ a b Glossary of Linguistic Terms
- ^ a b c d Sportiche, Dominique; Koopman, Hilda; Stabler, Edward (2014). An Introduction to Syntactic Analysis and Theory. WILEY Blackwell.
- ^ Levin, Beth; Rappaport Hovav, Malka (1995). Unaccusativity at the Syntax-Lexical Smeantics Interface. The MIT Press.
- ^ Fodor, Jerry; Lepore, Ernie (Aug 1999). The Journal of Philosophy. 96 (8): 381–403. JSTOR 2564628.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Pinker, S. 1989. "Learnability and Cognition: The Acquisition of Argument Structure." Cambridge. MIT Press
- ^ Harley, Heidi. "Events, agents and the interpretation of VP-shells." (1996).
- ^ Kayne, Richard S. The antisymmetry of syntax. No. 25. MIT Press, 1994.
- ^ a b Lappin, S. (Ed.). (1996). Handbook of contemporary semantic theory. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers.
- ^ a b c d Johnson, Kent (2008). "An Overview of Lexical Semantics" (PDF). Philosophy Compass: 119–134.
- ^ a b Haspelmath, Martin (1993). "More on the typology of inchoative/causative verb alternations". Causatives and transitivity. 23: 87–121.
- ^ Piñón, Christopher (2001). "A finer look at the causative-inchoative alternation": 346–364.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Tham, S. (2013). Change of state verbs and result state adjectives in Mandarin Chinese. JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS, 49(3), 647-701.
- ^ a b c d e Schafer, Florian. The Syntax of (Anti-)Causatives. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 1. ISBN 9789027255099.
- ^ Thomas, Linda. (1993). Beginning syntax. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers.
- ^ Miyagawa, Shigeru; Tsujioka, Takae (2004). "Argument Structure and Ditransitive Verbs in Japanese". Journal of East Asian Linguistics. 13 (1): 1–38.
- ^ Kayne, R. (1981). Unambiguous paths. In R. May & F. Koster (Eds.), Levels of syntactic representation (143-184). Cinnaminson, NJ: Foris Publications.
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