Lexical Semantics

Cruse [31] stresses the interpretation of lexical items in context and presents numerous diagnostics for determining the lexical relations that are applicable. A frequently used case involves zuegma (Greek for ``joining''), in which different occurrences of a word (or pair of words) are being used in incompatible lexical relations.

For instance, the zuegma in ``Arthur and his driving license expired last Thursday'' is evidence that the word ``expire'' is polysemous. As mentioned earlier, Cruse avoids the use of semantic primitives. Instead he incorporates the notion of semantic trait, which is an aspect of the meaning of a word that contributes to the meaning of others.

Cruse painstakingly details the important types of lexical relations that occur with emphasis on paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations. (Paradigmatic relations hold between elements that can be substituted for one another in the same context, whereas syntagmatic relations hold between elements that can occur together in the same context.) Table 2 shows a representative sample of the basic relations. Furthermore, he spends much time on configurations of lexical relations, in particular the hierarchical structuring in taxonomies and meronymies. He notes that an important part of branching hierarchies is the horizontal differentiation among siblings. (Non-branching hierarchies correspond to a simple linear ordering and thus only require a relation of dominance.) This lends support for the need for finer word-sense distinctions.

 

Table 2: Basic lexical relations defined by Cruse

Relation	Description
hyponymy	z in X $\Rightarrow$ z in Y
taxonomy	X is a kind/type of Y
meronymy	X part-of Y; also called partonymy
cognitive synonymy	X exactly equivalent to Y
plesionymy	X is similar in meaning to Y
antonymy	X opposite to Y
paronymy	relation between one item and a derived item of a different category
compatibility
incompatibility

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