Morphology Within the Parallel Architecture Framework : the Centrality of the Lexicon Below the Word Level

The Parallel Architecture (PA) framework (Jackendoff 2002, 2007, Culicover & Jackendoff 2005) is one of the most complete constraint-based linguistic theories that encompasses phonology, syntax and semantics. However, it lacks a fully developed model of word formation. More recently, a theory called Relational Morphology (RM) (Jackendoff & Audring 2020) has been developed, that integrates into the PA. The current study shows how the Slot Structure model (Benavides 2003, 2009, 2010), which is compatible with the PA and is based on the dual-route model and percolation of features (Pinker 1999, 2006; Huang & Pinker 2010), can provide a better account of morphology than RM, and can also be incorporated into the PA, thus contributing to make this a more explanatory framework. Spanish data are used as the basis to demonstrate the implementation of the SSM. The current paper demonstrates two key problems for RM: inconsistent and confusing coindexation, and a proliferation of schemas, and shows that these issues do not arise in the Slot Structure model. Overall, the paper points out significant drawbacks in the RM framework, while at the same time showing how the PA's morphological component can be enriched with the Slot Structure model

Plurals: individuals and sets in a richly typed semantics

We developed a type-theoretical framework for natural lan- guage semantics that, in addition to the usual Montagovian treatment of compositional semantics, includes a treatment of some phenomena of lex- ical semantic: coercions, meaning, transfers, (in)felicitous co-predication. In this setting we see how the various readings of plurals (collective, dis- tributive, coverings,...) can be modelled

Lexical relatedness and the lexical entry - a formal unification

Based on the notion of a lexicon with default inheritance, I address the problem of how to provide a template for lexical representations that allows us to capture the relatedness between inflected word forms and canonically derived lexemes within a broadly realizational-inferential model of morphology. To achieve this we need to be able to represent a whole host of intermediate types of lexical relatedness that are much less frequently discussed in the literature. These include transpositions such as deverbal participles, in which a word's morphosyntactic class changes (e.g. verb ⇒ adjective) but no semantic predicate is added to the semantic representation and the derived word remains, in an important sense, a "form" of the base lexeme (e.g. the 'present participle form of the verb'). I propose a model in which morphological properties are inherited by default from syntactic properties and syntactic properties are inherited from semantic properties, such as ontological category (the Default Cascade). Relatedness is defined in terms of a Generalized Paradigm Function (perhaps in reality a relation), a generalization of the Paradigm Function of Paradigm Function Morphology (Stump 2001). The GPF has four components which deliver respectively specifications of a morphological form, syntactic properties, semantic representation and a lexemic index (LI) unique to each individuated lexeme in the lexicon. In principle, therefore, the same function delivers derived lexemes as inflected forms. In order to ensure that a newly derived lexeme of a distinct word class can be inflected I assume two additional principles. First, I assume an Inflectional Specifiability Principle, which states that the form component of the GPF (which defines inflected word forms of a lexeme) is dependent on the specification of the lexeme's morpholexical signature, a declaration of the properties that the lexeme is obliged to inflect for (defined by default on the basis of morpholexical class). I then propose a Category Erasure Principle, which states that 'lower' attributes are erased when the GPF introduces a non-trivial change to a 'higher' attribute (e.g. a change to the semantic representation entails erasure of syntactic and morphological information). The required information is then provided by the Default Cascade, unless overridden by specific declarations in the GPF. I show how this model can account for a variety of intermediate types of relatedness which cannot easily be treated as either inflection or derivation, and conclude with a detailed illustration of how the system applies to a particularly interesting type of transposition in the Samoyedic language Sel'kup, in which a noun is transposed to a similitudinal adjective whose form is in paradigmatic opposition to case-marked noun forms, and which is therefore a kind of inflection

An outline of English lexicology

xi, 212 hlm ,26,2 c

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

Engleske nominalizacije izvedene sufiksima -hood i -ness u okviru kognitivne lingvistike

The aim of this paper is to give the overview and analysis of English nominalizations ending in suffixes -hood and -ness within the framework of cognitive linguistics. Cognitive approaches to word formation treat the meaning of affixes as a category with a prototype and its extensions. We have assumed that cognitive processes of metaphors and metonymies are responsible for the extensions. Our corpus consists of examples that display the central meaning (the state or quality of being A/ N) and of those showing other senses. For the suffix -hood these are: a group of people sharing the thing referred to by N; a period of time during which one is N; an instance of the quality referred to by the adjectival base; an area of the thing referred to by N; a part of the body and an action of making something A. These meanings are metonymically and metaphorically derived. DEFINING STATE OR PROPERTY OF ONE MEMBER FOR THE WHOLE CATEGORY (GROUP) metonymy creates the 'group' meaning; from this metonymy the activation of PEOPLE LIVING IN A PARTICULAR PLACE FOR PLACE metonymy produces 'area' meaning; the sense 'period of time' can be explained via THE STATE OF BEING N FOR THE PERIOD OF TIME DURING WHICH ONE IS N; the meaning of 'part of the body' is enabled by STATE OF THE WHOLE PERSON FOR PART OF THE BODY; STATE FOR ACTION metonymy is found in the example where we percieve state as an action in which one makes use of that state. This metonymy produces ACTION FOR RESULT metonymy which creates the meaning of 'an instance or example of being A'. A great number of nominalizations ending in -ness have the meaning of an instance or example of the quality or state denoted by the adjectival root. Within this meaning the following metonymies and metaphors create the following meanings: STATE OR QUALITY FOR EVENT DEMONSTRATING THAT STATE OR QUALITY metonymy produces the meaning of an act of being A; EFFECT FOR CAUSE metonymy enables us to see certain state as a cause of that state (an event, a person or a situation that brings about A + ness); GENERIC FOR SPECIFIC metonymy allows nominalizations to be used with the indefinite article and become pluralized when they denote 'a manifestation or an instance of a state in a certain time period' or 'a specific type of A + ness'; STATE FOR OBJECT EXEMPLIFYING THE STATE metonymy can even produce the meanings that can be characterized as physical objects. The suffix -ness can have 'action' reading via STATE FOR ACTION and 'a period of time' meaning via STATE OF BEING A FOR THE PERIOD OF TIME DURING WHICH ONE IS A. Metaphor STATES ARE LOCATIONS creates locative meaning of some -ness nominalizations. Finally, similar to the suffix -hood, -ness can also denote 'a collectivity', to be more precise, 'a group of animals', via DEFINING QUALITY OF ONE MEMBER FOR THE WHOLE CATEGORY OF MEMBERS WITH THE SAME QUALITY metonymy. The mentioned metonymies and metaphors operate posterior to suffixation and can serve to show that the richness of suffixal meanings is not random, but highly motivated. This paper can be used as a study of other affixes within cognitive linguistics paradigm. The better understanding of connection between word formation processes and cognitive operations such as metaphors and metonymies is also possible.Cilj je ovog rada dati prikaz i analizu nominalizacije u engleskom jeziku koje završavaju sufiksima -hood i -ness u okviru kognitivne lingvistike. Kognitivni pristupi tvorbi riječi značenja sufikasa promatraju kao kategoriju koja ima prototipno značenje i proširenja. Pretpostavili smo da su proširenja uvjetovana metaforama i metonimijama. 245 Naš se korpus sastoji od primjera koji pokazuju središnje značenje (stanje ili svojstvo) i ostala značenja. Za suffix -hood to su: skupina ljudi koja dijeli svojstvo na koje upućuje osnova; vremenski period u kojem netko posjeduje svojstvo; primjer svojstva na koje upućuje pridjevska osnova; mjesto koje se odnosi na osnovu; dio tijela i radnja. Ova su značenja izvedena metaforama i metonimijama. Metonimija STANJE ILI SVOJSTVO JEDNOG ČLANA ZA CIJELU KATEGORIJU (GRUPU) donosi značnje 'skupina'; iz ove metonimije aktivira se metonimija LJUDI KOJI ŽIVE NA ODREĐENOM MJESTU ZA MJESTO koja proizvodi značenje 'mjesto'; značenje 'vrijeme' objašnjava se metonimijom STANJE ZA VRIJEME TIJEKOM KOJEG JE NETKO U ODREĐENOM STANJU; 'dio tijela' omogućuje metonimija STANJE (SVOJSTVO) CIJELE OSOBE ZA DIO TIJELA; metonimiju STANJE ZA RADNJU nalazimo u primjeru u kojem stanje promatramo kao radnju u kojoj se koristi to stanje. Ova metonimija proizvodi metonimiju RADNJA ZA REZULTAT odgovornu za značenje 'primjer svojstva'. Veliki broj nominalizacija koje završavaju sufiksom -ness imaju značenje 'primjer svojstva ili stanja kojega označuje pridjevska osnova'. Unutar tog značenja pronalazimo sljedeće metonimije i metafore koje proizvode ova značenja: metonimija STANJE ILI SVOJSTVO ZA ČIN KOJI PRIKAZUJE TO STANJE ILI SVOJSTVO proizvodi značenje 'čin'; metonimija POSLJEDICA ZA UZROK omogućuje promatranje nekog stanja kao uzroka za to isto stanje (događaj, osoba ili situacija koja uzrokuje određeno stanje); metonimija OPĆENITO ZA SPECIFIČNO omogućuje upotrebu neodređenog člana i množine kod nominalizacija u slučajevima kada one imaju značenje 'pojava ili primjer stanja u određenom vremenskom razdoblju' ili 'specifična vrsta stanja'; metonimija STANJE ZA PREDMET KOJI SLUŽI KAO PRIMJER STANJA može proizvesti značenja koja mogu biti opisana kao fizički predmeti. Sufiks -ness može imati i 'aktivno' značenje kroz metonimiju STANJE ZA RADNJU, a može značiti i 'vremenski period' kroz STANJE ZA VREMENSKI PERIOD U KOJEM JE NETKO U ODREĐENOM STANJU. Metafora STANJE JE LOKACIJA stvara značenje mjesta kod nekih nominalizacija. Konačno, kao i sufiks -hood, sufiks -ness može imati značenje 'skupina', odnosno preciznije 'skupina životinja' uz pomoć metonimije SVOJSTVO JEDNOG ČLANA ZA CIJELU KATEGORIJU ČLANOVA S ISTIM SVOJSTVOM. Spomenute metonimije i metafore djeluju nakon sufiksacije i pokazuju da bogatsvo sufiksalnih značenja nije proizvoljno, već velikim dijelom motivirano. Ovaj rad može poslužiti u proučavanju ostalih afikasa u okviru kognitivne lingvistike. Također je moguće ostvariti bolje razumijevanje povezanosti procesa tvorbe riječi i kognitivnih operacija poput metafore i metonimije

Engleske nominalizacije izvedene sufiksima -hood i -ness u okviru kognitivne lingvistike

The aim of this paper is to give the overview and analysis of English nominalizations ending in suffixes -hood and -ness within the framework of cognitive linguistics. Cognitive approaches to word formation treat the meaning of affixes as a category with a prototype and its extensions. We have assumed that cognitive processes of metaphors and metonymies are responsible for the extensions. Our corpus consists of examples that display the central meaning (the state or quality of being A/ N) and of those showing other senses. For the suffix -hood these are: a group of people sharing the thing referred to by N; a period of time during which one is N; an instance of the quality referred to by the adjectival base; an area of the thing referred to by N; a part of the body and an action of making something A. These meanings are metonymically and metaphorically derived. DEFINING STATE OR PROPERTY OF ONE MEMBER FOR THE WHOLE CATEGORY (GROUP) metonymy creates the 'group' meaning; from this metonymy the activation of PEOPLE LIVING IN A PARTICULAR PLACE FOR PLACE metonymy produces 'area' meaning; the sense 'period of time' can be explained via THE STATE OF BEING N FOR THE PERIOD OF TIME DURING WHICH ONE IS N; the meaning of 'part of the body' is enabled by STATE OF THE WHOLE PERSON FOR PART OF THE BODY; STATE FOR ACTION metonymy is found in the example where we percieve state as an action in which one makes use of that state. This metonymy produces ACTION FOR RESULT metonymy which creates the meaning of 'an instance or example of being A'. A great number of nominalizations ending in -ness have the meaning of an instance or example of the quality or state denoted by the adjectival root. Within this meaning the following metonymies and metaphors create the following meanings: STATE OR QUALITY FOR EVENT DEMONSTRATING THAT STATE OR QUALITY metonymy produces the meaning of an act of being A; EFFECT FOR CAUSE metonymy enables us to see certain state as a cause of that state (an event, a person or a situation that brings about A + ness); GENERIC FOR SPECIFIC metonymy allows nominalizations to be used with the indefinite article and become pluralized when they denote 'a manifestation or an instance of a state in a certain time period' or 'a specific type of A + ness'; STATE FOR OBJECT EXEMPLIFYING THE STATE metonymy can even produce the meanings that can be characterized as physical objects. The suffix -ness can have 'action' reading via STATE FOR ACTION and 'a period of time' meaning via STATE OF BEING A FOR THE PERIOD OF TIME DURING WHICH ONE IS A. Metaphor STATES ARE LOCATIONS creates locative meaning of some -ness nominalizations. Finally, similar to the suffix -hood, -ness can also denote 'a collectivity', to be more precise, 'a group of animals', via DEFINING QUALITY OF ONE MEMBER FOR THE WHOLE CATEGORY OF MEMBERS WITH THE SAME QUALITY metonymy. The mentioned metonymies and metaphors operate posterior to suffixation and can serve to show that the richness of suffixal meanings is not random, but highly motivated. This paper can be used as a study of other affixes within cognitive linguistics paradigm. The better understanding of connection between word formation processes and cognitive operations such as metaphors and metonymies is also possible.Cilj je ovog rada dati prikaz i analizu nominalizacije u engleskom jeziku koje završavaju sufiksima -hood i -ness u okviru kognitivne lingvistike. Kognitivni pristupi tvorbi riječi značenja sufikasa promatraju kao kategoriju koja ima prototipno značenje i proširenja. Pretpostavili smo da su proširenja uvjetovana metaforama i metonimijama. 245 Naš se korpus sastoji od primjera koji pokazuju središnje značenje (stanje ili svojstvo) i ostala značenja. Za suffix -hood to su: skupina ljudi koja dijeli svojstvo na koje upućuje osnova; vremenski period u kojem netko posjeduje svojstvo; primjer svojstva na koje upućuje pridjevska osnova; mjesto koje se odnosi na osnovu; dio tijela i radnja. Ova su značenja izvedena metaforama i metonimijama. Metonimija STANJE ILI SVOJSTVO JEDNOG ČLANA ZA CIJELU KATEGORIJU (GRUPU) donosi značnje 'skupina'; iz ove metonimije aktivira se metonimija LJUDI KOJI ŽIVE NA ODREĐENOM MJESTU ZA MJESTO koja proizvodi značenje 'mjesto'; značenje 'vrijeme' objašnjava se metonimijom STANJE ZA VRIJEME TIJEKOM KOJEG JE NETKO U ODREĐENOM STANJU; 'dio tijela' omogućuje metonimija STANJE (SVOJSTVO) CIJELE OSOBE ZA DIO TIJELA; metonimiju STANJE ZA RADNJU nalazimo u primjeru u kojem stanje promatramo kao radnju u kojoj se koristi to stanje. Ova metonimija proizvodi metonimiju RADNJA ZA REZULTAT odgovornu za značenje 'primjer svojstva'. Veliki broj nominalizacija koje završavaju sufiksom -ness imaju značenje 'primjer svojstva ili stanja kojega označuje pridjevska osnova'. Unutar tog značenja pronalazimo sljedeće metonimije i metafore koje proizvode ova značenja: metonimija STANJE ILI SVOJSTVO ZA ČIN KOJI PRIKAZUJE TO STANJE ILI SVOJSTVO proizvodi značenje 'čin'; metonimija POSLJEDICA ZA UZROK omogućuje promatranje nekog stanja kao uzroka za to isto stanje (događaj, osoba ili situacija koja uzrokuje određeno stanje); metonimija OPĆENITO ZA SPECIFIČNO omogućuje upotrebu neodređenog člana i množine kod nominalizacija u slučajevima kada one imaju značenje 'pojava ili primjer stanja u određenom vremenskom razdoblju' ili 'specifična vrsta stanja'; metonimija STANJE ZA PREDMET KOJI SLUŽI KAO PRIMJER STANJA može proizvesti značenja koja mogu biti opisana kao fizički predmeti. Sufiks -ness može imati i 'aktivno' značenje kroz metonimiju STANJE ZA RADNJU, a može značiti i 'vremenski period' kroz STANJE ZA VREMENSKI PERIOD U KOJEM JE NETKO U ODREĐENOM STANJU. Metafora STANJE JE LOKACIJA stvara značenje mjesta kod nekih nominalizacija. Konačno, kao i sufiks -hood, sufiks -ness može imati značenje 'skupina', odnosno preciznije 'skupina životinja' uz pomoć metonimije SVOJSTVO JEDNOG ČLANA ZA CIJELU KATEGORIJU ČLANOVA S ISTIM SVOJSTVOM. Spomenute metonimije i metafore djeluju nakon sufiksacije i pokazuju da bogatsvo sufiksalnih značenja nije proizvoljno, već velikim dijelom motivirano. Ovaj rad može poslužiti u proučavanju ostalih afikasa u okviru kognitivne lingvistike. Također je moguće ostvariti bolje razumijevanje povezanosti procesa tvorbe riječi i kognitivnih operacija poput metafore i metonimije

Possessives and beyond : semantics and syntax

Recent work on the semantics of possessives has evinced a resurgence of interest in the substantive nature and provenance of the possessive relation (e.g. Barker 1995; Partee and Borschev 1998, 2000a, 2000b; Borschev and Partee 2001; Vikner and Jensen 2002) *. A more systematic account of these relations is made possible by developments in lexical semantic theories, which have given rise to a weakly polymorphic view of the syntax-lexical semantics interface, whereby lexical items are underspecified to some degree, and dependent on the selectional properties of other elements in their immediate syntactic environment (e.g. Pustejovsky 1995, 1998). While various approaches subscribe to some version of these hypotheses, there are important theoretical differences between them with respect to the domain in which knowledge is considered to lie, whether it is encoded in a sort system underlying the lexicon, or whether it is construed as ‘world knowledge’ (cf. Dölling 1995, 1997). This paper endorses the view that the lexicon should be imputed with a limited amount of knowledge, organised as a sort inheritance hierarchy (Pustejovsky 1995). It attempts to extend the approach to possessive relations proposed by Jensen and Vikner (1994, 2004; Vikner and Jensen, 2002), based on the Generative Lexicon, to a particular class of possessive constructions. Such constructions, exemplified by expressions like a women’s magazine, are often ambiguous between a regular, relational interpretation and an alternative ‘modificational’ interpretation. Anticipating the outcome of the analysis, the latter will be referred to as Generic Possessives (GPs). Focusing on data from Maltese, I will show that the possessor NP in these constructions is kind-denoting. I will argue that the GP expresses a relation holding between the entity denoted by the head noun and putative realizations of the kind denoted by the possessor NP.peer-reviewe

Regular plural inside English compounds within the theory of base-driven stratification

This literature-based thesis studies the phenomenon of the regular plural inside compounds according to Giegerich’s (1999) stratal model of English morphology. The strata of his model are defined by their bases: stratum 1 is root-based and stratum 2 is word-based. The model overcomes the failings associated with earlier stratal models defined by their affixes (e.g., Kiparsky, 1982). However, assigning compounding and the regular plural to the same word stratum following Giegerich’s (1999) model leaves an open question in terms of what restricts the interaction between both rules to prevent the generation of ill-formed compounds such as *toys box and *trucks driver. Another question emerges: Should the regular plural inflection be assigned to stratum 2? This question is important because the answer affects how we discuss the interaction between the regular plural and compounding. For example, how do we account for the interaction between a stratum-2 rule and a syntactic rule if we are not dealing with an interaction of two lexical rules at the same stratum? This thesis challenges the theory that inflectional morphology is separate from the lexicon (Anderson, 1988, 1982; Perlmutter, 1988) with supporting evidence from the properties of the possessive inflection. This research contributes significantly to the literature in its analysis of a number of compounds within texts extracted from books, which demonstrates that the internal regular plural morpheme has an evident semantic function that restricts it from appearing inside compounds (that is, on stratum 2 of the base-driven stratification model). The study thereby challenges Lieber and Štekauer’s (2009) view that the internal regular plural morpheme is purposeless and therefore should be regarded as a linking element. I also argue that the possessive inflection is assigned to stratum 2 and can interact with compounding to form possessive compounds, but is restricted by the semantic feature of the non-head element