Lexical SemanticsLexical Semantics is about the meaning of words. Although obviously a central concern of linguistics, the semantic behaviour of words has been unduly neglected in the current literature, which has tended to emphasize sentential semantics and its relation to formal systems of logic. In this textbook D. A. Cruse establishes in a principled and disciplined way the descriptive and generalizable facts about lexical relations that any formal theory of semantics will have to encompass. Among the topics covered in depth are idiomaticity, lexical ambiguity, synonymy, hierarchical relations such as hyponymy and meronymy, and various types of oppositeness. Syntagmatic relations are also treated in some detail. The discussions are richly illustrated by examples drawn almost entirely from English. Although a familiarity with traditional grammar is assumed, readers with no technical linguistic background will find the exposition always accessible. All readers with an interest in semantics will find in this original text not only essential background but a stimulating new perspective on the field. |
Contents
A contextual approach to lexical semantics | 1 |
13 The data of semantics | 8 |
14 Disciplining intuitions | 10 |
155 The meaning of a word | 15 |
Notes | 20 |
The syntagmatic delimitation of lexical units | 23 |
22 Semantic constituents | 24 |
23 Semantic constituents which fail the test | 29 |
Meronomies | 157 |
160 | |
165 | |
74 Characteristics of meronomies | 168 |
75 Close relatives of the partwhole relation | 172 |
76 Meronomies and taxonomies | 177 |
Notes | 180 |
Nonbranching hierarchies | 181 |
24 Indicators tallies and categorisers | 32 |
25 Phonetic elicitors of semantic traits | 34 |
26 Words | 35 |
27 Idioms | 37 |
28 Degrees of opacity | 39 |
29 Idioms and collocations | 40 |
210 Idiom and dead metaphor | 41 |
Notes | 45 |
The paradigmatic and syntactic delimitation of lexical units | 49 |
32 Selection and modulation of senses | 50 |
33 Indirect tests for ambiguity | 54 |
34 Direct criteria for ambiguity | 58 |
35 Some difficult cases | 62 |
36 Nonlexical sources of ambiguity | 66 |
38 Sensespectra | 71 |
39 Syntactic delimitation | 74 |
310 Lexemes | 76 |
Notes | 80 |
Introducing lexical relations | 84 |
42 Congruence | 86 |
43 Prepositional synonymy | 88 |
45 Compatibility | 92 |
46 Incompatibility | 93 |
47 Congruence variants | 95 |
48 Partial relations | 96 |
49 Quasirelations | 97 |
410 Pseudorelations | 98 |
411 Pararelations | 99 |
412 Syntagmatic relations of meaning between lexical units | 100 |
Notes | 109 |
Lexical configurations | 112 |
53 Proportional series | 118 |
Notes | 134 |
Taxonomies | 136 |
62 Taxonymy | 137 |
63 Characteristics of natural taxonomies | 145 |
64 Overspecification underspecification and the generic level | 153 |
Notes | 155 |
83 Chains helices and cycles | 187 |
84 Ranks grades and degrees | 192 |
Notes | 195 |
Opposites I complementaries and antonyms | 197 |
92 Complementaries | 198 |
93 Antonyms | 204 |
94 Subclasses of antonyms | 206 |
95 Inherentness | 214 |
96 Implicit superlatives | 216 |
97 Stative verbs | 217 |
98 Contrastive aspects | 218 |
Notes | 220 |
Opposites II directional oppositions | 223 |
103 Antipodals | 224 |
104 Counterparts | 225 |
105 Reversives | 226 |
converses | 231 |
107 Indirect converses | 233 |
108 Congruence variants and pseudoopposites | 240 |
Notes | 242 |
Opposites III general questions | 244 |
112 Polarity | 246 |
113 Linguistic polarity and natural polarity | 247 |
114 Logical polarity | 252 |
115 Neutralisation and semantic markedness | 255 |
116 The nature of opposition | 257 |
117 What makes a good opposition? | 262 |
Synonymy | 265 |
122 Propositional synonyms | 270 |
123 Plesionyms | 285 |
124 Congruence relations and synonymy | 289 |
125 Absolute prepositional and plesio relations outside synonymy | 290 |
Notes | 291 |
References | 295 |
302 | |
309 | |
Common terms and phrases
absolute synonyms adjectives ambiguity animal antonyms Arthur Bill binary branching hierarchy chapter characteristic closed set cognitive synonyms collocational restrictions complementaries congruence congruence relations Consider contexts contrast criteria defined denote deviance discussion distinct elements encapsulated endonym entails example expression function gradable grammatical hand holonym horse hyponym identical idioms impartial incompatibles inherently instance interpretation intuitions John killed Bill language lexeme lexical form lexical items lexical relations lexical semantics lexical units linguistic logically Lyons mare markedness mass noun meaning meronomies meronym metaphors negative non-branching hierarchy normal notion occur open set opposites pair parallel paronym part-whole plesionyms polarity possible proportional series propositional synonyms question recurrent refer relationship relative respect reversal scale semantic constituent semantic properties semantic relations semantic traits sense sentence set items sort speakers specific stallion structure subordinate traits superordinate syntactic syntagmatic taxonomy taxonyms tion typically verbs word form