Word meaning

Unit 5
Unit 5 – Word meaning

I. Meaning postulates
II. Properties of predicates
III. Participant roles
- one-place predicate
- two-place predicate
A. Linguistic semanticist’s dictionary

Such a dictionary may include

- a list of predicates and their senses
- each entry containing the sense properties of
predicates & sense relations b/w predicates
e.g.
HUMAN BEING: one-place

MAN2: one-place
MAN1: one-place
hyponym of ADULT
hyponym of MALE
hyponym of HUMAN BEING
MARRY1: two-place
symmetric
MARRY2: three-place
 B. Meaning postulates (p.206)

A meaning postulate = a formula expressing some

aspect of the sense of a predicate
(1) One-place predicate
e.g. x MAN1 →
x MAN1 →
x MAN1 →
x MAN2 
x CAT →
NOTES 1: → expressing entailment
 expressing paraphrase
~ expressing negative
 Practice 1 (p.206)

Write out meaning postulates for the hyponymy

relations of WOMAN [+ human; + adult; + female]
CHILD [+ human; + young]
GIRL [+ human; + young; - male]
DOG [- human; + animal; + canine]
Practice 2 (pp.207-208)
NOTES 2: ~ expressing negative

binary antonymy selectional restriction

x DEAD → x RED →

> the restriction of the predicate

RED to things satisfied by the
predicate CONCRETE
>

e.g.
Practice 3 (p. 209)
(2) Two-place predicate
hyponymy: x FATHER y → x PARENT y
binary antonymy: x PASS y →
converses: x HUSBAND y 
selectional restriction:
x STRIKE y →
Practice 4 (p. 211) Hyponymy
Practice 5 (p. 211) Binary antonymy
Practice (p. 211) Converses
Practice 6 (p. 212) Selectional restriction
 Practice 7 (p. 215)
5. Write a meaning postulate for each predicate.
 Practice 8 (p. 216)
6. What hyponymy relation may be deduced from these
partial dictionary entries? Write it down in meaning
postulate notation.
 Conclusion
The importance of meaning postulates:
✓ playing an important role in constructing a
semantic dictionary.
✓ used to deduce information about sense relations
(hyponymy & some forms of antonymy),
selectional restrictions, and anomaly.
6 properties fall into 3 groups:
- Symmetry vs Asymmetry
- Reflexivity vs Irreflexivity
- Transitivity vs Intransitivity
 A. Symmetry vs. Asymmetry p.219

x SIMILAR y  y SIMILAR x

??? x ON y  y ON x

x ON y → ~ y ON x
Practice 9 (p. 219)
Practice 10 (p. 219)
Practice 11 (p. 220)
 B. Reflexivity vs Irreflexivity p.220

John is AS TALL AS himself.

Mary is TALLER THAN herself.

x, y > same referent

xPy >
P> x, y > same referent
xPy >
P>
Practice 12 (p. 220)
Practice 13 (p.221)
 C. Transitivity vs Intransitivity p.221

<Joe is IN his room and his room is IN his house.>

entails <Joe is IN his house.>

xPy and yPz → xPz

>
>
 C. Transitivity vs Intransitivity p.221

<Joe is the father of Bill and Bill is the father of Ann.>

??? entails <Joe is the father of Ann.>

xPy and yPz → ~ xPz

>
>
Practice 14 (p.223)
 NOTE: Equivalence relation (p.223)
Tom is the same age as Bill  Bill is the same age as Tom.

Tom is the same age as himself.

Tom is the same age as Bill and Bill is the same age as Alice.
→ Tom is the same age as Alice.

Conclusion: Any relation expressed by SAME AS is

equivalence relation.
- agent - affected
- instrument - location
- beneficiary - experienecer
- theme
A. Purposes
• to add a new dimension to the study of sense
relations
• to investigate relationships between a verb (and
possibly other predicators) and the referring
expressions in a sentence
 B. Participant roles p.245

1. AGENT > person

deliberately carrying Bill opened the door with the key.
out an action

2. AFFECTED >
the thing (or person) Bill opened the door with the key.
changed/ affected by
the action
3. INSTRUMENT >
the thing by means of
Bill opened the door with the key.
which the action is
carried out
NOTES

> The roles are unchanged in different structures.

Bill opened the door with the key.

The door was opened by Bill.

The key opened the door.

The door opened.

Practice 15 (p.246)
Practice 16 (p.247)
Practice 17 (pp.247-248)
 p.249

4. LOCATION >
where the action Bill is swimming in the river.
takes place

5. BENEFICIARY > Joe gave Kim a diamond ring.

person who receives
the benefits / harms They sent the president a letter
from the action bomb.
Practice 18 (p.249)
Practice 19 (p.250)
 p.251

6. EXPERIENCER > Ann saw a small bird.

person who John fell sick last night.
perceives/experiences
the action or state The loud noise was heard by all of
us.

7. THEME > thing Ann saw a small bird.

/person whose location The lamp stood in the corner.
is described or is
perceived by the The loud noise was heard by all of
experiencer us.
Practice 20 (p.251)
 NOTES: (1) Role frame of a verb p.253

> Role frames suggest how participant roles can be

presented in a semantic dictionary.
e.g. John opened the door.
AG AF
The key opened the door.
IN AF
The door opened.
AF
Practice 21 (p.253)
 NOTES: (2) More on THEME p.257

> In some cases, it is difficult to decide on the

participant roles of certain REs.
e.g. This book is for Bill.
? BENEFICIARY
These roses are beautiful.
?
> Suggested solution: extending the notion of THEME
=>
Practice 22 (p.258)