We investigate from the competence standpoint two recent models of lexical semantics, algebraic conceptual representations and continuous vector models. Characterizing what it means for a speaker to be competent in lexical semantics remains perhaps the most significant stumbling block in reconciling the two main threads of semantics, Chomsky’s cognitivism and Montague’s formalism. As Partee (19...

The focus of this article is the integration of two different perspectives on lexical semantics: Discourse Representation Theory's (DRT) inferentially motivated approach and Semantic Emphasis The-ory's (SET) lexical field based view. A new joined representation format is developed which is exemplified by analyses of German verbs. The benefits thereof are on both sides. DI/T gains basic entries ...

This paper shows that several sorts of expressions cannot be interpreted metaphorically, including determiners, tenses, etc. Generally, functional categories cannot be interpreted metaphorically, while lexical categories can. This reveals a semantic property of functional categories, and it shows that metaphor can be used as a probe for investigating them. It also reveals an important linguisti...

This paper is about the classification of noun-compounds (NCs) into classes that reflect the semantic relationships between the nouns. I am ultimately interested in the automatic classification of NCs with machine learning techniques. In order to learn the classification (to eventually classify previously unseen NCs) these techniques need as input noun compounds that have been previously classi...

This paper introduces Vignette Semantics, a lexical semantic theory based on Frame Semantics that represents conceptual and graphical relations. We also describe a lexical resource that implements this theory, VigNet, and its application in text-to-scene generation.

In the project we describe, we have taken a basic core of about 5000 synsets in WordNet that are the most frequently used, and we have categorized these into sixteen broad categories, including, for example, time, space, scalar notions, composite entities, and event structure. We have sketched out the structure of some of the underlying abstract core theories of commonsense knowledge, including...

The modern computational lexical semantics has reached a point in its development when it has become useful to compare the goals and methods of the various approaches to it. This article proposes several choices in terms of which these goals and methods can be discussed. It is argued that the central questions include the use of lexical rules for generating word senses; the role of syntax and f...

This thesis is an investigation of phenomena at the interface between syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, with the aim of arguing for a view of semantic interpretation as lexicallydriven yet contextually dependent. I examine regular, generative processes which operate over the lexicon to induce verbal sense shifts, and discuss the interaction of these processes with the linguistic or discourse c...