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Frame Semantics, Metalexicography and the Microstructure of Persian Monolingual Dictionaries
Abstract
This paper is based on insights gained from “Frame Semantics Theory", and sets out to undertake a metalexicographical analysis of five current Persian monolingual dictionaries. It demonstrates that a frame semantic perspective can be applied in the microstructures of such dictionaries. This research is conducted by using a descriptive-analytic method. For this purpose, 100 entries have been selected from frames: COMMERCIAL TRANSACTION, EXAMINATION and REQUEST. Bearing in mind that these frames have been used in analysis of the “Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (7th ed.)", It is worthwhile to find out to what extent our proposed model compares with the past achievements. The results of data analysis reveal that none of dictionaries have been compiled on the basis of a linguistic theory. To redress the situation, the authors have come up with a pattern inspired by "Frame Semantics" and designed to compile and edit the entries of prospective Persian monolingual dictionaries.
... Lemmatization is central to the pre-lexicographic stage of dictionary planning. The study pursues the following objectives: (2012) and Aslani et al (2013) affirm that microstructure deals with the organization of vocabulary in dictionary. Given the fact that words may have different variants, it is a difficult task to decide on the issue of reducing a word to its base form so that learners may have basic information about the base-word form and how it is inflected or derivate. ...
Precise lemmatization is the nucleus of the micro structural information of a headword in any dictionary. It helps not only in succinctly appropriate de-structuring of the word into desired morphological semantic and syntactic categories but also having access to a desired entry. The present study seeks to highlight inconsistencies with reference to lemma in the Punjabi dictionaries and suggests a suitable model for these dictionaries. The investigation as such is the study of general principle of lemmatization which underpins dictionary look-ups of a dictionary user. It is both quantitative and empirical in nature, and employs statistical means to measure the frequencies of dictionary look-ups in the major Punjabi dictionaries available in Pakistan. It further seeks to check the validity of using a word-form as lemma to i) see the usefulness of providing lexical information about all related words occurring under a headword form at the same place in dictionary, ii) see whether Punjabi dictionaries available in Pakistan conform to this norm and iii) suggest concrete steps to improve the existing dictionaries of Punjabi in the context of lemmatization. The data for the study was gathered through the survey of Punjabi dictionaries and a test of user' look-up procedures of randomly chosen lexical items. The study revealed that lemmatization process adopted in most recently published dictionaries fully conforms to lexicographic requirement of user' friendliness.
... According to Frense & Bennet (1996), Syntax and Semantics are interrelated refers to the extent to which a word's syntactic behavior follows form its meaning. Next, Aslani (2013), explained that the right way to analyze the meaning of a word is to consider of its semantic and syntactic relations, and to recognize the grammatical constructions in which it participates. Moreover, R.M.W Dixon made a new approach to modern grammar, he used semantic approach to make the grammatical construction of the sentence. ...
This research focuses on Rub subtype verbs in and English Konjo language. The aims of the research were (1) to identify Rub subtype verbs in Konjo language and English. (2) to investigate the similarities and the differences of Rub subtype verbs in English and Konjo language in the aspect of semantic and grammatical construction. Furthermore, this research used descriptive qualitative method. English data were taken from COCA (Corpus of Contemporary American English). Meanwhile, Konjo language data were taken from observation and interview. Then, the results of this research indicated that (1) there are twelve Rub subtype verbs in English: rub, wipe, scrape, scratch, mark, sweep, brush, shave, rake, polish, lick and wash. Then, in Konjo language, there are nineteen verbs of Rub subtype: a’goso’, assossoro, angngampallasa, a’lu’lu’, angnga’ru’ akkankang, angngara’musu, annanrai, a’ca’ a’barrasa, assika’, accukkuru, kokkoro, assumer, a’lemong, angngemu’, a’bissa, assassa, and angngi’lasi. (2) The similiarities and the differences of Rub subtype verbs in English and Konjo language: The similarities are both of Rub subtype verbs in English and Konjo language can be applied in construction I (Agent + Target + Manip) and construction II (Agent + Manip + Target). The differences are the variant construction of English Rub subtype verbs and the extra constructions of Konjo language Rub subtype verbs. The variant construction of English Rub subtype verbs is variant construction Ib (Agent + Target (Adj) + Manip) and extra constructions of Konjo language are extra construction Ia (Agent + Target), Ib (Target + Agent), Ic (Agent + Target + Agent), Id (Agent), Ie (Target + Agent)*, IIa (Agent + Target + Manip)*, IIb (Manip + Agent + Target), IIIa (Manip + Target + Manip) and IIIb (Manip + Manip + Target).
Moving toward more scientific lexicography in Iran requires lexicographers and researchers to pay closer attention to and develop deeper understandings of the interaction between theory and practice in lexicography. If lexicographers ignore theories in their analysis while creating an entry's microstructure, the result will be inconsistency in the microstructures as well as a negligence of some aspects of the words' behaviors (Atkins, 2001, pp. 1-2). In addition, since the microstructure of bilingual dictionaries has directly to do with the quality of translators' finding the right equivalents, such inconsistency and weakness may be problematic for translators.
The analysis of bilingual dictionaries is one of the areas of lexicography that seems to require more scholarly work. One way to do so is by evaluating the microstructures of dictionaries. It goes without saying that such studies can result in optimizing the process of lexicography in general and more efficient use of bilingual dictionaries in particular, especially by translators as specialized users of such dictionaries. Therefore, drawing on Fillmore's semantic frames, the present descriptive-analytical research paper, that analyzed corpus data, aimed to compare three bilingual English-Persian dictionaries in order to identify some of their microstructural differences and postulate some ways for the improvement of such dictionaries. The author argues that there is a reciprocal relationship between the development of lexicography and by extension dictionaries on the one hand and the improvement of language and translation on the other hand.
One of the approaches to lexicography is the cognitive one in which frame semantics is a prominent theory. This theory can, among others, illuminate the relationships between the senses of lexical entries and lexical units. Moreover, this can cast light on how senses can be best structured within a single entry. Despite its rather long history, frame semantics has recently been used in semantic tagging and in compiling corpus-based dictionaries (Fontenelle, 2009, p. 38). It has also been applied in lemmatization and parsing. This theory is the central part of the FrameNet project started in 1997 in the University of California, Berkeley (Boas, 2009, p. 16; Fontenelle, 2009, p. 38). Frame semantics is different from similar approaches to lexical meaning in that the meanings of words are realized though comparing them with the common bodies of knowledge, i.e. frames. In other words, words are only related to each other through the frames they share (Fillmore & Atkins, 1992, pp. 76-77). In Fillmore's theory, the notion of frame replaces concepts such as scene, scenario, meme, schema, etc. (Fillmore & Baker, 2010; Fillmore, 1982). To explain his theory, as Rojo López (2002) points out, Fillmore has frequently given the example of two English synonymous words, those of coast and shore, which considering the conceptualization situations of words, evoke different semantic fields (water in case of shore and land in case of coast). However, this depends on the viewer's view from the sea/lake etc. or the land.
The corpus of this research consisted of, using their short popular titles, Aryanpour, Moaser-e Hezareh and Moaser-e Pouya English-Persian dictionaries from each of which 17 entries, related to the two frames of MOTION (6 entries) and KINSHIP (11 entries), were selected based on the information available in FrameNet online database. The corpus dictionaries were compared and contrasted with Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (OALD) (2002) as the comparand dictionary. The categories selected for comparison comprised collocations, examples, inflections, parts of speech, synonyms/antonyms, valency, and the number of senses and equivalents. These categories in corresponding entries of the corpus dictionaries were compared with each other and with OALD. The data collected contained both quantitative (as in the number of examples, senses and equivalents) and qualitative (for collocation, valency) information.
The findings indicated weak hierarchical structuring and differences in differentiating senses, dissimilarity in the inclusion of different parts of speech in and across entries, a lack of correspondence between some proposed equivalents and the selected frames, and more importantly defects in considering important parameters such as collocations, examples, and valency. Specifically, the entries analyzed in the corpus dictionaries did not include specific parts devoted to collocations, nor did enough examples for each sense, while OALD provides users with a large number of examples that at least indirectly help learners to notice collocations of the given words. This shows that to enrich bilingual English-Persian dictionaries, compilers should be advised to start using Persian corpora. Another defect found was that the corpus dictionaries do not generally seem to care for valency. Due to the important characteristic of Frame Semantics in defining relations, valency can play a substantial role in the microstructures of dictionaries and in helping translators to find the right equivalents. Yet, the dictionary of Moaser-e Hezareh has marked transitive and intransitive verbs, which has to do with the description of valency. What is more, in the entries studied, even though the dictionary of Moaser-e Pouya provides a higher number of senses, this might not guarantee a more efficient use of the dictionary mainly because of examples shortage, valency description, and insufficient number of equivalents.
Theoretical linguistic studies and practical experience in lexicography are two areas of linguistic research, each with special questions and issues. The work of a linguist and a lexicographer in the field of lexical semantics has the largest common border. This research aims to study how these two domains can influence each other in order to increase their efficiency. Among the topics of lexical semantics, this research has selected Polysemy as the subject and tried to investigate it from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Among the various linguistic approaches, it seems that Cognitive Linguistics is a better choice considered as a framework because, in this approach, Polysemy has received more consideration; some of the findings of this approach are the basis of the present research. This study is conducted on the lexical category of verb, which seems to has the most semantic complexity, and to this end, the motion verb of Afshandan(˷ scatter) has been chosen as the case study. The data of this research have been extracted from the corpus of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature of Iran, which includes about 500 sentences and phrases containing this verb from 2 S.H to 14 S.H. this research is conducted through the descriptive tools that cognitive linguistics branches offer, i.e. the theory of semantic networks (Norvig & Lakoff, 1987), frame semantic (Fillmore, 1982) and construction grammar (Goldberg, 1995 & Nemoto, 2005). Hyponymy and synonymy problem and the existence of different types of connectivity between different meanings in the lexical network of the polysemous verb are the main issues, which are addressed in the process of the sense discrimination of the polysemous verb, in this paper. According to the results of this study, the more a lexicographer can use the descriptive tool that linguistics, and in particular the cognitive branch provides, his/her work is more systematic, more tangible , and simpler. On the other hand, the linguist's awareness of the lexicographical tasks and the distance between the actual data of the language and the contents of the dictionaries increases his/her study accuracy, and also reveals a number of language subtleties that seem useful for promoting the language theory.
This article discusses the functions of grammar in relation to lexical semantics and sets out to undertake lexico-grammatical analysis of some physiological verbs in the Russian language. It demonstrates the interaction of lexical and grammatical senses of a word in its structure on a specific language material. The verbs under discussion are: yest' (eat), pit' (drink), lechit' (treat), beremenet' (get pregnant), bolet' (be ill). This research is conducted by using descriptive-analytic method. It is worthwhile to find out to what extent verbal meanings can be presented through the system of grammatical categories. Lexico-grammatical characteristics of verbs with physiological meaning are presented within seven groups. Russian verbs have a number of categories which are not often taken into account in dictionaries. An attempt which brings together grammatical and semantic aspects of the verbs in a dictionary is made in this paper.
This is a down-to-earth, ‘how to do it ‘ textbook on the making of dictionaries. Written by professional lexicographers with over seventy years ‘ experience between them, the book presents a step-by-step course for the training of lexicographers in all settings, including publishing houses, colleges, and universities world-wide, and for the teaching of lexicography as an academic discipline. It takes readers through the processes of designing, collecting, and annotating a corpus of texts; shows how to analyse the data in order to extract the relevant information; and demonstrates how these findings are drawn together in the semantic, grammatical, and pedagogic components that make up an entry. The authors explain the relevance and application of recent linguistic theories, such as prototype theory and frame semantics, and describe the role of software in the manipulation of data and the compilation of entries. They provide practical exercises at every stage. The Oxford Guide to Practical Lexicography draws on materials developed by the authors over more than twenty years of teaching courses for publishing houses and universities in the US, Japan, Hong Kong and China, South Africa, Australia, the UK, and Europe. It will be welcomed everywhere by lexicographers, teachers of lexicography, and their students. It is also fascinating reading for all those interested in discovering how dictionaries are made.
Cognitive Linguistics argues that language is governed by general cognitive principles, rather than by a special-purpose language module. This introductory textbook surveys the field of cognitive linguistics as a distinct area of study, presenting its theoretical foundations and the arguments supporting it. Clearly organised and accessibly written, it provides a useful introduction to the relationship between language and cognitive processing in the human brain. It covers the main topics likely to be encountered in a course or seminar, and provides a synthesis of study and research in this fast-growing field of linguistics. The authors begin by explaining the conceptual structures and cognitive processes governing linguistic representation and behaviour, and go on to explore cognitive approaches to lexical semantics, as well as syntactic representation and analysis, focusing on the closely related frameworks of cognitive grammar and construction grammar. This much-needed introduction will be welcomed by students in linguistics and cognitive science.
This article presents general background information about the FrameNet project, including an introduction to its basic assumptions and goals, a description of its precursors, and information about its evolution during the six years of the project. The companion articles in this special issue of IJL describe various aspects of the project in greater detail.
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Frame semantics is a linguistic theory which is currently gaining ground. The creation of lexical entries for a large number of words presupposes the development of complex lexical acquisition techniques in order to identify the vocabulary for describing the elements of a 'frame'. In this paper, we show how a lexical-semantic database compiled from a bilingual (English-French) dictionary can be used to identify some general frame elements which are relevant to a frame-semantic approach such as the one adopted in the FrameNet project (Fillmore and Atkins 1998, Gahl 1998). The database has been systematically enriched with explicit lexical-semantic relations holding between some elements of the microstructure of the dictionary entries. The manifold relationships have been labelled in terms of lexical functions, based on Mel'cuk's notion of co-occurrence and lexical-semantic relations in Meaning-Text Theory (Mel'cuk et al. 1984). We show how these lexical functions can be used and refined to extract potential realizations of frame elements such as typical instruments or typical locatives, which are believed to be recurrent elements in a large number of frames. We also show how the database organization of the computational lexicon makes it possible to readily access combinatorial information that is implicit and relevant to translation.
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Retrieved from http://framenet.icsi.berkeley.edu/fndrupal
Notes
The following abbreviations are used in the present article by the authors:
FE: frame element
PMD: Persian Monolingual Dictionary
OALD: Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary
NE: No Entry
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