Reflections on the Word and Lexeme
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Words and Alternative Basic Units for Linguistic Analysis
Words and alternative basic units for linguistic analysis 1 Words and alternative basic units for linguistic analysis Jens Allwood SCCIIL Interdisciplinary Center, University of Gothenburg A. P. Hendrikse, Department of Linguistics, University of South Africa, Pretoria Elisabeth Ahlsén SCCIIL Interdisciplinary Center, University of Gothenburg Abstract The paper deals with words and possible alternative to words as basic units in linguistic theory, especially in interlinguistic comparison and corpus linguistics. A number of ways of defining the word are discussed and related to the analysis of linguistic corpora and to interlinguistic comparisons between corpora of spoken interaction. Problems associated with words as the basic units and alternatives to the traditional notion of word as a basis for corpus analysis and linguistic comparisons are presented and discussed. 1. What is a word? To some extent, there is an unclear view of what counts as a linguistic word, generally, and in different language types. This paper is an attempt to examine various construals of the concept “word”, in order to see how “words” might best be made use of as units of linguistic comparison. Using intuition, we might say that a word is a basic linguistic unit that is constituted by a combination of content (meaning) and expression, where the expression can be phonetic, orthographic or gestural (deaf sign language). On closer examination, however, it turns out that the notion “word” can be analyzed and specified in several different ways. Below we will consider the following three main ways of trying to analyze and define what a word is: (i) Analysis and definitions building on observation and supposed easy discovery (ii) Analysis and definitions building on manipulability (iii) Analysis and definitions building on abstraction 2. -
ON SOME CATEGORIES for DESCRIBING the SEMOLEXEMIC STRUCTURE by Yoshihiko Ikegami
ON SOME CATEGORIES FOR DESCRIBING THE SEMOLEXEMIC STRUCTURE by Yoshihiko Ikegami 1. A lexeme is the minimum unit that carries meaning. Thus a lexeme can be a "word" as well as an affix (i.e., something smaller than a word) or an idiom (i.e,, something larger than a word). 2. A sememe is a unit of meaning that can be realized as a single lexeme. It is defined as a structure constituted by those features having distinctive functions (i.e., serving to distinguish the sememe in question from other semernes that contrast with it).' A question that arises at this point is whether or not one lexeme always corresponds to just one serneme and no more. Three theoretical positions are foreseeable: (I) one which holds that one lexeme always corresponds to just one sememe and no more, (2) one which holds that one lexeme corresponds to an indefinitely large number of sememes, and (3) one which holds that one lexeme corresponds to a certain limited number of sememes. These three positions wiIl be referred to as (1) the "Grundbedeutung" theory, (2) the "use" theory, and (3) the "polysemy" theory, respectively. The Grundbedeutung theory, however attractive in itself, is to be rejected as unrealistic. Suppose a preliminary analysis has revealed that a lexeme seems to be used sometimes in an "abstract" sense and sometimes in a "concrete" sense. In order to posit a Grundbedeutung under such circumstances, it is to be assumed that there is a still higher level at which "abstract" and "concrete" are neutralized-this is certainly a theoretical possibility, but it seems highly unlikely and unrealistic from a psychological point of view. -
Metalanguage and Encoding Scheme Design for Digital Lexicography
MONDILEX: I УШ ИИ а Conceptual Modelling of Networking of '•ШАШЛ ЩЛ Centres for High-Quality Research in Slavic Lexicography and Their Digital Resources L. Stur Institute of Linguistics Slovak Academy of Sciences Metalanguage and Encoding Scheme Design for Digital Lexicography MONDILEX Third Open Workshop Bratislava, Slovakia, 15-16 April, 2009 Proceedings Bratislava 2009 MONDILEX: Conceptual Modelling of Networking of Centres for High- Quality Research in Slavic Lexicography and Their Digital Resources Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Sciences Metalanguage and Encoding Scheme Design for Digital Lexicography Innovative Solutions for Lexical Entry Design in Slavic Lexicography MONDILEX Third Open Workshop Bratislava, Slovakia, 15–16 April, 2009 Proceedings Radovan Garabík (Ed.) The workshop is organized by the project GA 211938 MONDILEX Conceptual Modelling of Networking of Centres for High-Quality Research in Slavic Lexicography and Their Digital Resources supported by EU FP7 programme Capacities – Research Infrastructures Design studies for research infrastructures in all S&T fields Metalanguage and Encoding Scheme Design for Digital Lexicography Bratislava, Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, 2009. The volume contains contributions presented at the Third open workshop “Metalanguage and encoding scheme design for digital lexicography”, held in Bratislava, Slovakia, on 15–16 April 2009. The workshop is organized by the international project GA 211938 MONDILEX Conceptual Modelling of Networking of Centres for High- Quality -
Monosemy and the Dictionary Henri Béjoint
Monosemy and the Dictionary Henri Béjoint I. The Notion of "Monosemy" in Linguistics The notion of "monosemy" is often mentioned by linguists, though not always under that name—Cruse (1986), for example, uses "univocality", Catford (1983:24) discusses the use of terms such as "oligosemy" "eurysemy" and "stenosemy" — but it is hardly ever defined or exemplified. Also, few linguists have tried to evaluate the quantitative importance of monosemy: how many words can be considered monosemous in English and in other languages? When evaluations are attempted, the results are surprisingly divergent, the discrepancies probably being due to the indeterminacy ofthe definition of "monosemy". The situation is all the more surprising as "polysemy" is discussed in every single book about semantics. Lexical polysemy has been considered as an unfortunate imperfection by many linguists in the past (dialectologists, after Gilliéron, and structuralists), but nowadays it is often presented as an indispensable feature of language: without polysemy, language could not cope with the diversity and the variability of the notions to be expressed. If every single "referent" had a different name, the lexical code would impose an extraordinary burden on the memory of the language user (see Hagège 1985:126).1 Whichever attitude is adopted, polysemy is important for the semanticist: indeed, for some, it is "the very object of semantics" (Rey-Debove 1971:256). If monosemy is inseparable from polysemy, it must be an equally fundamental concept. Its study is particularly important in terminology, since it is one of the most often quoted characteristics of the term as opposed to the word, but it is also important in lexicology and lexicography. -
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Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research (ASSEHR), volume 312 International Conference "Topical Problems of Philology and Didactics: Interdisciplinary Approach in Humanities and Social Sciences" (TPHD 2018) Methods of Identifying Members of Synonymic Row Juliya A. Litvinova Elena A. Maklakova Chair of Foreign Languages Chair of Foreign Languages Federal State Budget Educational Institution of Higher Federal State Budget Educational Institution of Higher Education Voronezh State University of Forestry and Education Voronezh State University of Forestry and Technologies named after G.F. Morozov Technologies named after G.F. Morozov Voronezh, Russia Voronezh, Russia [email protected] Affiliation): dept. name of organization Abstract— This article is devoted to identifying the criteria of analysis, method of field modeling, method of semantic synonymity of lexical items. The existence of different definitions interpretation, method of generalization of dictionary of synonymy, the selection criteria of items in the synonymic row definitions, methods of quantitative, lexicographical, indicate the insufficient study and incoherence of this contextual, psycholinguistic analysis. Data for the study were phenomenon in linguistics. The study of the semantics of lexical 2 lexical items in the Russian language (gorodok, gorodishko) items allows explaining the most accurately and authentically the integration and differentiation of lexical items close in meaning. obtained from the Russian Explanatory Dictionaries (V. I. The description of the meaning structure (sememe) is possible Dahl, D. N. Ushakov, S. I. Ozhegov, A. P. Evgenieva, S. A. through the description of its seme composition. The methods of Kuznetsov, T. F. Efremova), Russian National Corpus seme semasiology (lexicographic, psycholinguistic, contextual) (ruscorpora.ru). allow revealing various components in the sememe structure. -
Online Dictionaries As Emergent Archives of Contemporary Usage and Collaborative Codification
Online Dictionaries as Emergent Archives of Contemporary Usage and Collaborative Codification Colleen Cotter Queen Mary, University of London John Damaso Arizona State University February 2007 Abstract Within the history of modern English lexicography, individual dictionary editors have had ultimate control over the selection, meaning, and illustration of words; extensive collaboration with contributors has been limited. However, Internet technologies that easily permit exchanges between a user and a database have allowed a new type of dictionary online, one that is built by the collaboration of contributing end-users, allowing ordinary users of dictionaries who are not trained lexicographers to engage in dictionary-making. We discuss a popular online slang dictionary called UrbanDictionary.com (UD) to illustrate how lexicographic principles are joined with Web-only communication technologies to provide a context for collaborative engagement and meaning-making; and to note the many characteristics and functions shared with the traditional print dictionary. Significantly, UD captures what most traditional English dictionaries fall short of: recording ephemeral quotidian spoken language and representing popular views of meaning. By relying on the users of language to select and define words for a dictionary, UD, which defines more than 1 million words, has in effect influenced access to and formulation of the lexis. Keywords computer-mediated communication, lexicography, slang, youth language; English Queen Mary’s OPAL #9 Occasional Papers Advancing Linguistics 1 Introduction English lexicography stems from a tradition of relatively limited functional collaboration, beginning with Samuel Johnson’s dictionary in 1755, in which editors overseeing numerous contributors held the ultimate authority over the selection, meaning, and illustration of words. -
Unit 2 Structures Handout.Pdf
2. The definition of a language as a structure of structures 2.1. Phonetics and phonology Relevance for studying language in its natural or primary medium: oral sounds rather than written symbols. Phonic medium: the range of sounds produced by the speech organs insofar as the play a role in language Speech sounds: Individual sounds within that range Phonetics is the study of the phonic medium: The study of the production, transmission, and reception of human sound-making used in speech. e.g. classification of sounds as voiced vs voiceless: /b/ vs /p/ Phonology is the study of the phonic medium not in itself but in relation with language. e.g. application of voice to the explanation of differences within the system of language: housen vs housev usen vs usev 2.1.1. Phonetics It is usually divided into three branches which study the phonic medium from three points of view: Articulatory phonetics: speech sounds according to the way in which they are produced by the speech organs. Acoustic phonetics: speech sounds according to the physical properties of their sound-waves. Auditory phonetics: speech sounds according to their perception and identification. Articulatory phonetics has the longest tradition, and its progress in the 19th century contributed a standardize and internationally accepted system of phonetic transcription: the origins of the International Phonetic Alphabet used today and relying on sound symbols and diacritics. It studies production in relation with the vocal tract, i.e., organs such as: lungs trachea or windpipe, containing: larynx vocal folds glottis pharyngeal cavity nose mouth, containing fixed organs: teeth and teeth ridge hard palate pharyngeal wall mobile organs: lips tongue soft palate jaw According to their function and participation, sounds may take several features: Voice: voiced vs voiceless sounds, according to the participation of the vocal folds e.g. -
Different but Not All Opposite: Contributions to Lexical Relationships Teaching in Primary School
INTE - ITICAM - IDEC 2018, Paris-FRANCE VOLUME 1 All Different But Not All Opposite: Contributions To Lexical Relationships Teaching In Primary School Adriana BAPTISTA Polytechnic Institute of Porto – School of Media Arts and Design inED – Centre for Research and Innovation in Education Portugal [email protected] Celda CHOUPINA Polytechnic Institute of Porto – School of Education inED – Centre for Research and Innovation in Education Centre of Linguistics of the University of Porto Portugal [email protected] José António COSTA Polytechnic Institute of Porto – School of Education inED – Centre for Research and Innovation in Education Centre of Linguistics of the University of Porto Portugal [email protected] Joana QUERIDO Polytechnic Institute of Porto – School of Education Portugal [email protected] Inês OLIVEIRA Polytechnic Institute of Porto – School of Education Centre of Linguistics of the University of Porto Portugal [email protected] Abstract The lexicon allows the expression of particular cosmovisions, which is why there are a wide range of lexical relationships, involving different linguistic particularities (Coseriu, 1991; Teixeira , 2005). We find, however, in teaching context, that these variations are often replaced by dichotomous and decontextualized proposals of lexical organization, presented, for instance, in textbooks and other supporting materials (Baptista et al., 2017). Thus, our paper is structured in two parts. First, we will try to account for the diversity of lexical relations (Choupina, Costa & Baptista, 2013), considering phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, pragmatic- discursive, cognitive and historical criteria (Lehmann & Martin-Berthet, 2008). Secondly, we present an experimental study that aims at verifying if primary school pupils intuitively organize their mental lexicon in a dichotomous way. -
Social & Behavioural Sciences SCTCMG 2019 International
The European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences EpSBS ISSN: 2357-1330 https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2019.12.04.33 SCTCMG 2019 International Scientific Conference «Social and Cultural Transformations in the Context of Modern Globalism» INTERLEXICOGRAPHY IN TEACHING RUSSIAN AS A SECOND LANGUAGE Elena Baryshnikova (a)*, Dmitrii Kazhuro (b) *Corresponding author (a) Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, 6, Miklukho-Maklaya str., Moscow, Russia, [email protected], +7 (968) 812-64-61 (b) Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, 6, Miklukho-Maklaya str., Moscow, Russia, [email protected], +7 (977) 946-74-63 Abstract The paper is concerned with the use of dictionaries of international words by foreign students studying the Russian language. It considers the phenomenon of defining international vocabulary in a dictionary in the context of a scientific field. The authors outline the growth of cross-cultural and cross-language contacts in the history of human civilization. They provide the definition of interlexicography as the method to carry out interlexicological study of international words in various linguistic systems. The paper analyses the issues related to the choice of an illustrative part in the interlexicographic source with regard to qualifying a lexeme as international. There is a background of interlexicographic development based on bi- and multilingual dictionaries of some national languages. The authors analyze the target and goal focus of existing dictionaries of international words, the principles of making up a glossary, its organization and representation in dictionary entries. Through descriptive and comparative methods, along with methodological parameters of linguodidactic representation of the material in line with the educational lexicography, the paper identifies some linguistic and methodological advantages and disadvantages of the existing internationalism dictionaries and their linguodidactic value for teaching Russian as a second language to international students. -
12 Morphology and Lexical Semantics
248 Beth Levin and Malka Rappaport Hovav 12 Morphology and Lexical Semantics BETH LEVIN AND MALKA RAPPAPORT HOVAV The relation between lexical semantics and morphology has not been the subject of much study. This may seem surprising, since a morpheme is often viewed as a minimal Saussurean sign relating form and meaning: it is a concept with a phonologically composed name. On this view, morphology has both a semantic side and a structural side, the latter sometimes called “morphological realization” (Aronoff 1994, Zwicky 1986b). Since morphology is the study of the structure and derivation of complex signs, attention could be focused on the semantic side (the composition of complex concepts) and the structural side (the composition of the complex names for the concepts) and the relation between them. In fact, recent work in morphology has been concerned almost exclusively with the composition of complex names for concepts – that is, with the struc- tural side of morphology. This dissociation of “form” from “meaning” was foreshadowed by Aronoff’s (1976) demonstration that morphemes are not necessarily associated with a constant meaning – or any meaning at all – and that their nature is basically structural. Although in early generative treat- ments of word formation, semantic operations accompanied formal morpho- logical operations (as in Aronoff’s Word Formation Rules), many subsequent generative theories of morphology, following Lieber (1980), explicitly dissoci- ate the lexical semantic operations of composition from the formal structural -
CS474 Natural Language Processing Semantic Analysis Caveats Introduction to Lexical Semantics
CS474 Natural Language Processing Semantic analysis Last class Assigning meanings to linguistic utterances – History Compositional semantics: we can derive the – Tiny intro to semantic analysis meaning of the whole sentence from the meanings of the parts. Next lectures – Max ate a green apple. – Word sense disambiguation Relies on knowing: » Background from linguistics – the meaning of individual words Lexical semantics – how the meanings of individual words combine to form » On-line resources the meaning of groups of words » Computational approaches [next class] – how it all fits in with syntactic analysis Caveats Introduction to lexical semantics Problems with a compositional approach Lexical semantics is the study of – the systematic meaning-related connections among – a former congressman words and – a toy elephant – the internal meaning-related structure of each word – kicked the bucket Lexeme – an individual entry in the lexicon – a pairing of a particular orthographic and phonological form with some form of symbolic meaning representation Sense: the lexeme’s meaning component Lexicon: a finite list of lexemes Lexical semantic relations: Dictionary entries homonymy right adj. located nearer the right hand esp. Homonyms: words that have the same form and unrelated being on the right when facing the same direction meanings – Instead, a bank1 can hold the investments in a custodial account as the observer. in the client’s name. – But as agriculture burgeons on the east bank2, the river will shrink left adj. located nearer to this side of the body even more. than the right. Homophones: distinct lexemes with a shared red n. the color of blood or a ruby. pronunciation – E.g. -
Studies in the Linguistic Sciences
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS Llb'RARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN MODERN LANGUAGE NOTICE: Return or renew all Library Materialsl The Minimum Fee (or each Lost Book is $50.00. The person charging this material is responsible for its return to the library from which it was withdrawn on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for discipli- nary action and may result in dismissal from the University. To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN ModeriJLanp & Lb Library ^rn 425 333-0076 L161—O-I096 Che Linguistic Sciences PAPERS IN GENERAL LINGUISTICS ANTHONY BRITTI Quantifier Repositioning SUSAN MEREDITH BURT Remarks on German Nominalization CHIN-CHUAN CHENG AND CHARLES KISSEBERTH Ikorovere Makua Tonology (Part 1) PETER COLE AND GABRIELLA HERMON Subject to Object Raising in an Est Framework: Evidence from Quechua RICHARD CURETON The Inclusion Constraint: Description and Explanation ALICE DAVISON Some Mysteries of Subordination CHARLES A. FERGUSON AND APIA DIL The Sociolinguistic Valiable (s) in Bengali: A Sound Change in Progress GABRIELLA HERMON Rule Ordering Versus Globality: Evidencefrom the Inversion Construction CHIN-W. KIM Neutralization in Korean Revisited DAVID ODDEN Principles of Stress Assignment: A Crosslinguistic View PAULA CHEN ROHRBACH The Acquisition of Chinese by Adult English Speakers: An Error Analysis MAURICE K.S. WONG Origin of the High Rising Changed Tone in Cantonese SORANEE WONGBIASAJ On the Passive in Thai Department of Linguistics University of Illinois^-^ STUDIES IN THE LINGUISTIC SCIENCES PUBLICATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN EDITORS: Charles W. Kisseberth, Braj B.