AXEL: A framework to deal with ambiguity in three-noun compounds

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University, 6/12/2010.Cognitive Linguistics has been widely used to deal with the ambiguity generated by words in combination. Although this domain offers many solutions to address this challenge, not all of them can be implemented in a computational environment. The Dynamic Construal of Meaning framework is argued to have this ability because it describes an intrinsic degree of association of meanings, which in turn, can be translated into computational programs. A limitation towards a computational approach, however, has been the lack of syntactic parameters. This research argues that this limitation could be overcome with the aid of the Generative Lexicon Theory (GLT). Specifically, this dissertation formulated possible means to marry the GLT and Cognitive Linguistics in a novel rapprochement between the two. This bond between opposing theories provided the means to design a computational template (the AXEL System) by realising syntax and semantics at software levels. An instance of the AXEL system was created using a Design Research approach. Planned iterations were involved in the development to improve artefact performance. Such iterations boosted performance-improving, which accounted for the degree of association of meanings in three-noun compounds. This dissertation delivered three major contributions on the brink of a so-called turning point in Computational Linguistics (CL). First, the AXEL system was used to disclose hidden lexical patterns on ambiguity. These patterns are difficult, if not impossible, to be identified without automatic techniques. This research claimed that these patterns can assist audiences of linguists to review lexical knowledge on a software-based viewpoint. Following linguistic awareness, the second result advocated for the adoption of improved resources by decreasing electronic space of Sense Enumerative Lexicons (SELs). The AXEL system deployed the generation of “at the moment of use” interpretations, optimising the way the space is needed for lexical storage. Finally, this research introduced a subsystem of metrics to characterise an ambiguous degree of association of three-noun compounds enabling ranking methods. Weighing methods delivered mechanisms of classification of meanings towards Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD). Overall these results attempted to tackle difficulties in understanding studies of Lexical Semantics via software tools

Polyseme selection, lemma selection and article selection

In linguistics, more specifically in the field of lexical semantics, a lot of attention has been given to polysemy and homonymy. The identification of and distinction between polysemy and homonymy should not be regarded as unproblematic. The lexicographic practice has tradi-tional ways of presenting and treating polysemy and homonymy. This paper focuses on approaches in both linguistics and lexicography to polysemy and homonymy. Examples from the lexicographic practice are given. It is then shown that that the traditional lexicographic presenta-tion and treatment of homonymy and polysemy in dictionaries with a text reception function, does not really assist the users adequately in their search to find the appropriate meaning of an unfa-miliar linguistic expression. It is shown that different dictionaries often have the same lemma selection but not the same selection of polysemes. It is important that a dictionary should correctly coordinate a meaning and a specific linguistic expression. Consequently, a new approach is sug-gested for the presentation and treatment of homonymy and polysemy. Negotiating criticism expressed in both linguistics and lexicography, it is proposed that the lexicographic practice, in the case of dictionaries for text reception, should abolish the traditional distinction between homonyms as well as the presentation of the different senses of a polysemous word in a single article. Each meaning, whether the only meaning of a lexical item or one of any number of different senses, should be the only item giving the meaning in an article.Keywords: Article Selection, Dictionary User, Homonymy, Lemma Selec-Tion, Lexicography, Linguistics, Meaning, Polyseme Selection, Polysemy, Text Production, Text Receptio

SIMuLLDA : a Multilingual Lexical Database Application using a Structured Interlingua

It is commonly accepted that there are about five to six thousand languages. For many pairs of languages , there is no dictionary X->Y or Y->X, there are only dictionaries for the pairs X->English/French/Spanish, and English/French/Spanish->Y. There is a clear need for dictionaries translating between languages without the intervention of a small number of Western European languages with a colonial past. Also from a theoretical point of view, such a need can be defended. The creation of a dictionary of good quality takes a lot of time, and given the fact that 5000-6000 languages yield 25-30 million pairs of languages, it is important to have a database that provides the possibility to translate directly between pairs of languages. This thesis highlights some problems that play a role in the creation of such a database, attempts to solve some of them, and tries to show that some other problems cannot be solved. A well-known problem is that words are often hard to match across languages: different words from different languages do not have the same range of meanings, not all words from one languages have an equivalent in the other, etc. In this thesis, a sketch is given of a database in which most of these problems are solved. Crucial in this set-up is the structure of the interlingua, which provides the possibility to relate non-corresponding meanings in a structural way. The structure of the interlingua is provided by a logical framework called Formal Concept Analysis. With the set-up proposed in this thesis it is possible to generate a descriptive translation for words in the source language that lack a direct translation in the target language. This should ease the work of a lexicographer making a dictionary for a new pair of languages

Issues on the acquisition of italian complex nominal from text corpora: a computational approach combining syntactic and semantic information

No abstract availabl

Antonyms as lexical constructions: or, why paradigmatic construction is not an oxymoron

This paper argues that antonymy is a syntagmatic as well as a paradigmatic relation, and that antonym pairs constitute a particular type of construction. This position relies on three observations about antonymy in discourse: (1) antonyms tend to co-occur in sentences, (2) they tend to co-occur in particular contrastive constructions, and (3) unlike other paradigmatic relations, antonymy is lexical as well as semantic in nature. CxG offers a means to treat both the contrastive constructions and conventionalised antonym pairings as linguistic constructions, thus providing an account of how semantically paradigmatic relations come to be syntagmatically realised as well. After reviewing the relevant characteristics of CxG, it looks at some of the phrasal contexts in which antonyms tend to co-occur and argues that at least some of these constitute constructions with contrastive import. It then sketches a new type of discontinuous lexical construction that treats antonym pairs as lexical items, and raises issues for further discussion