1st Edition
Lexical Representations and the Semantics of Complementation
First published in 1983, this book represents an effort to lay the groundwork for a general approach to lexical semantics that pays heed to the needs of a theory of discourse interpretation, a theory of compositional semantics, and a theory of lexical rules. The first chapter proposes a basic framework in which to undertake lexical description and a lexical semantic analogue to the classical syntactic distinction between subcategorized for complement and adjunct. This apparatus for lexical description is expanded in the second chapter. A theory of the semantics of nuclear terms along with a proposed implementation is presented in chapter three. The fourth chapter argues that a number of regular, semantically governed valence alternations could be captured in frame representations that give rise to various kinds of realisation options. The final chapter examines interaction of these phenomena with a general account of prediction or control along with the general framework of lexical representation.
1. Prepositions and Verbs; 1.1 Introduction: Methodological Preliminaries 1.1.1 Motivations for Lexical Representations 1.1.2 Lexical Semantics and the Grammar 1.2 Terminological Preliminaries 1.3 Prepositions 1.4 The Problem for Logical Form: A First Solution 1.5 Some more Preposition Meanings 1.5.1 Individuating Preposition Meanings 1.6 A Proposal Concerning English Prepositions 1.7 Lexical Representations 1.8 The Logic of Frames 1.9 Core Participant and Adjuncts 1.9.1 Preposition Meanings 1.9.2 Direct Inheritance 1.9.3 The Right Theory 1.10 Revising Semantic Compatibility 1.11 Conclusion; 2. Figure and Ground Scenes; 2.1 Introduction 2.2 A Commercial Event 2.2.1 Selling and Possessive TO 2.2.2 Buying and Source 2.3 A New Definition of Semantic Compatibility 2.3.1 Commercial Events Revisited 2.4 Lexical Representations and Knowledge Representations 2.4.1 The New Proposal 2.4.2 Some Technical Revisions and Stipulations 2.5 The Preposition for and More Commercial Events 2.5.1 Buy, Sell and Pay 2.5.2 A Note on Polysemy 2.5.3 Ex-spending the Ontology 2.6 Other Motivations for Figure and Ground 2.7 Conclusion; 3. Where are the Case Theories of Yesteryear?; 3.1 Why Case Grammar? 3.2 Some Facts about the Semantical of Grammatical Relations 3.2.1 Active and Causal Subjects 3.2.2 Change and Effective Instruments 3.2.3 Experience and Causers 3.2.4 Summary 3.3 The Hierarchy and its Function 3.4 Some Issues in the Semantics of Nuclear Terms 3.4.1 Cross-Categorical Claims 3.4.2 Optionality and Instruments 3.4.3 Kajita’s Quandary and Subcategorization 3.4.4 A Note on the Figure, and POS_TRANS; The Semantics of Valence’ 3.5.1 A Hierarchy for Verbs 3.5.2 Subcategorisation; 4. Valence Alterations; 4.1 Optional Advancement 4.1.1 Instrument Promotion 4.1.2 Dative Movement 4.2 Advancement Involving Change 4.2.1 Goal Promotion 4.2.1.1 The Patient Valence 4.2.1.2 The Goal Valaence 4.2.2 Other Rules 4.2.2.1 Container Promotion 4.2.2.2 Symmetric Predicates 4.2.2.3 Origin Promotion 4.4 Conclusion: Semantic Options versus Lexical Rule; 5. Predicaton, Control and Lexical Rules Revisited; 5.1 Infinitival Complements 5.2 Predicative PP’s 5.3 Frame Representation of Predictive PP’s
Biography
Jean Mark Gawron
