Semantics: From meaning to text

567 Pages·2015·5.559 MB·Studies in Language Companion Series

by  Igor Mel'cuk, David Beck, Alain Polguère

Semantics
Studies in Language Companion Series (SLCS)
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Editors
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University of Vienna / Arizona State University
University of Munich
Editorial Board
Bernard Comrie Christian Lehmann
Max Planck Institute, Leipzig University of Erfurt
and University of California, Santa Barbara
Marianne Mithun
William Crot University of California, Santa Barbara
University of New Mexico
Heiko Narrog
Östen Dahl Tohuku University
University of Stockholm
Johanna L. Wood
Gerrit J. Dimmendaal University of Aarhus
University of Cologne
Debra Ziegeler
Ekkehard König University of Paris III
Free University of Berlin
Volume 168
Semantics. From meaning to text. Volume 3
by Igor Mel’čuk
Semantics
From meaning to text
Volume 3
Igor A. Mel’čuk
University of Montreal
Edited by
David Beck
University of Alberta
Alain Polguère
Université de Lorraine, CNRS, ATILF
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Amsterdam / Philadelphia
TM he paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
8
the American National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mel’čuk, Igor’ A. (Igor’ Aleksandrovič), 1932-
Semantics : From meaning to text. Volume 3 / Igor A. Mel’čuk.
p. cm. (Studies in Language Companion Series, issn 0165-7763 ; v. 168)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Semantics. 2. Grammar, Comparative and General--Sentences. 3. Meaning
(Psychology) I. Title.
P325.M428 2015
401’.43--dc23 2012017459
isbn 978 90 272 5933 2 (Hb ; alk. paper)
isbn 978 90 272 6896 9 (Eb)
© 2015 – John Benjamins B.V.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microilm, or any
other means, without written permission from the publisher.
John Benjamins Publishing Co. · P.O. Box 36224 · 1020 me Amsterdam · he Netherlands
John Benjamins North America · P.O. Box 27519 · Philadelphia pa 19118-0519 · usa
Contents
Author’s Foreword xv
Acknowledgments xvi
Abbreviations and Notations xvii
Part V Linguistic Excursuses 1
Introduction 3
12 Actants 4
1 Introductory Remarks .......................................................................4
2 Three Major Types of Actants: Semantic, Deep-Syntactic,
and Surface-Syntactic Actants ..........................................................6
3 Semantic Actants ...............................................................................9
3.1 Basic Concepts ..................................................................................9
3.2 Sem-Actant Slot: Preliminary Characterization
(Prototypical Case) ..........................................................................11
3.2.1 The Linguistic Situation and Its Participants ..................................11
3.2.2 The Semantic Deining Property of SemA-Slots ............................16
3.2.3 The Lexical-Syntactic Deining Property of SemA-Slots ...............17
3.3 An Optional Participant or a Circonstant of the SIT(L)? ................25
3.3.1 A Non-Participant of the SIT(L) Formally Controlled by L ...........25
3.3.2 Lexical Functions for Phraseologically Bound Circumstantials ....27
3.3.3 Optional Participants of a SIT(L) ....................................................32
3.3.4 An Optional SemA-Slot or a (Non-Standard) Lexical Function? ...35
3.4 Sem-Actant Slot and Sem-Actant ...................................................40
3.4.1 Deinitions of Sem-Actant Slot and of Sem-Actant ........................40
vi CONTENTS
3.4.2 Additional Comments on SemA-Slots ............................................42
3.4.2.1 No SemA-Slots by Analogy ............................................................42
3.4.2.2 Split Variables .................................................................................44
3.4.2.3 Numbering of SemA-Slots of a Lexical Unit L ..............................44
3.4.3 Three Case Studies ..........................................................................48
3.5 Diathesis of a Lexical Unit L:
SemA-Slots(L) ⇔ DSyntA-Slots(L) ..............................................52
3.6 Obligatory/Optional Saturation of SemA-Slots ..............................54
3.7 Blocking of SemA-Slots .................................................................58
3.7.1 Systematic Blocking of SemA-Slots ...............................................58
3.7.2 Individual Blocking of SemA-Slots ................................................61
3.8 Changing the Number of SemA-Slots of L =
Changing L’s Semantic Valence ......................................................61
3.8.1 Semantic-Valence Increasing Grammemes/Derivatemes ...............62
3.8.2 Semantic-Valence Decreasing Derivatemes ....................................63
4 Deep-Syntactic Actants ...................................................................63
4.1 Deinitions of DSynt-Actant Slot and of DSynt-Actant..................63
4.2 Numbering of DSyntA-Slots ...........................................................64
4.3 Restrictions on the Surface Realization of DSyntA-Slots ..............70
4.4 Changing the Active DSynt-Valence of L .......................................74
5 Surface-Syntactic Actants ...............................................................80
6 Correspondence between Actant Slots and Actants of an LU L .....86
6.1 Violation of the One-to-one Correspondence
between Actant Slots of the Three Types ........................................86
6.2 Violation of the One-to-one Correspondence
between Actant Slots of L and Actants of L in a Sentence..............91
6.2.1 A SemA-Slot of L is Implemented by a DSyntA(Lʹ) ......................92
6.2.1.1 Displaced DSyntAs .........................................................................92
6.2.1.2 DSyntAs of Support Verbs ..............................................................93
6.2.2 An SSyntA of L does not Correspond to a DSyntA-Slot of L ........94
6.2.2.1 Free SSyntAs...................................................................................94
6.2.2.2 Cognate SSyntAs ............................................................................97
6.2.2.3 SSyntAs of a Lexeme within an Idiom ...........................................98
Notes .........................................................................................................99
CONTENTS vii
13 Government Pattern: Government in the Lexicon 108
1 What is Government? ....................................................................108
2 The Structure of a Government Pattern ........................................114
2.1 General Remarks ...........................................................................115
2.2 The Diathesis of a Lexical Unit L .................................................116
2.3 The SSynt-Elements Corresponding to the DSyntAs of L ............120
2.4 Linguistic Means for the Surface Realization of DSyntAs of L ...121
2.5 The Expressibility of SemAs of L .................................................131
2.6 The Constraints on the Expression of SSyntAs of L .....................132
2.6.1 Major Types of Government Pattern Constraints ..........................133
2.6.2 Government Pattern Constraints Concerning
Lexeme-Speciic Expressive Means .............................................133
2.6.2.1 Semantic Lexeme-Speciic Government Pattern Constraints .......134
2.6.2.2 Syntactic/Morphological Lexeme-Speciic
Government Pattern Constraints ...................................................138
2.6.2.3 Stylistic Lexeme-Speciic Government Pattern Constraints .........140
2.6.3 Government Pattern Constraints Concerning
Combinations of Expressive Means ..............................................141
3 Different Government Patterns in One Lexical Entry...................143
4 Collocations Described by Government Patterns .........................146
5 Government Patterns Modiied by Inlection..., Regular Derivation
or Syntactic Constructions ............................................................149
Bibliographical Remarks ..........................................................................152
Notes .......................................................................................................153
14 Lexical Functions: Description of Lexical Relations in a Lexicon 155
1 Lexical Correlates of a Lexical Unit .............................................155
1.1 Introductory Remarks ...................................................................155
1.2 Semantic Derivatives ....................................................................157
1.3 Collocations ..................................................................................162
1.4 The Overlap of Semantic Derivatives and Collocations ...............164
2 The Notion of Lexical Function ....................................................166
2.1 Introductory Remarks ...................................................................166
viii CONTENTS
2.2 Lexical Functions ..........................................................................169
2.3 Standard Lexical Functions ...........................................................173
2.4 Non-Standard Lexical Functions ..................................................174
2.5 Classiication of Lexical Functions ...............................................177
3 A List of Simple Standard Lexical Functions ...............................181
3.1 Introductory Remarks ...................................................................181
3.2 Paradigmatic Lexical Functions (1–26) ........................................182
3.2.1 Basic Paradigmatic Lexical Functions (1–3) ................................183
3.2.2 Contrastive, Generic and Metaphoric
Paradigmatic Lexical Functions (4–6) ..........................................193
3.2.3 Derivational Paradigmatic Lexical Functions (7–26) ...................195
3.3 Syntagmatic Lexical Functions (27–64) .......................................205
3.3.1 Nominal Lexical Functions (27) ...................................................205
3.3.2 Adjectival/Adverbial Lexical Functions (28–34) .........................206
3.3.3 Prepositional Lexical Functions (35–40) ......................................213
3.3.4 Verbal Lexical Functions (41–64) .................................................215
4 Special Phenomena Related to Lexical Functions ........................234
4.1 Complex Lexical Functions ..........................................................235
4.2 Conigurations of Lexical Functions .............................................236
4.3 Fused Elements of the Value of a Lexical Function ......................237

5 Presentation of the Values of Lexical Functions
in the Lexical Entry of a Keyword ................................................239
5.1 Elements of the Value f(L) as Subentries within L’s Entry ...........240
5.2 Generalizing over the Values of Lexical Functions ......................244
5.3 Ellipsis of the Keyword of a Lexical Function .............................248
6 Linguistic Nature of Lexical Functions ........................................249
6.1 Semantic Aspect of Lexical Functions ..........................................249
6.1.1 Lexical Functions are not Semantic Units ....................................250
6.1.2 Semantic Subtypes of Lexical Functions ......................................252
6.1.3 Different Semantic “Facets” of a Keyword ..................................253
6.1.4 Lexical Functions and Their Relation
to the Deinitions of their Keywords .............................................255
6.1.5 Lexical Functions as Deep Lexical Units .....................................257
CONTENTS ix
6.2 Phraseological Aspect of Lexical Functions .................................259
6.2.1 Gradual Restrictedness of Lexical-Functional Expressions ..........259
6.2.2 Lexical-Functional Expressions and Collocations ........................260
6.3 Lexical Functions in Linguistic Representations ..........................261
6.4 Universality of Lexical Functions .................................................262
7 New Simple Standard Lexical Functions? ....................................268

8 Lexical Functions in Applications ................................................269

8.1 Lexical Functions and Text Processing ........................................270
8.1.1 Lexical Functions and Collocates .................................................270
8.1.2 Lexical Functions and Deep-Syntactic Paraphrasing ....................272
8.1.3 Lexical Functions and Communicative Structure .........................273
8.1.4 Lexical Functions and Text Cohesion ...........................................273
8.2 Lexical Functions and Language Pedagogy ..................................274
Bibliographical Remarks ..........................................................................274
Notes .......................................................................................................275
15 Lexical Connotation 280
1 The Term connotation ...................................................................280
2 The Notion of Lexical Connotation ..............................................281
2.1 Lexical Connotations are Language-Speciic ...............................281
2.2 Lexical Connotations are not Part of an LU’s Deinition ..............283
3 Linguistic Manifestations of Lexical Connotations ......................283
4 A Connotation vs. a Component of a Lexicographic Deinition ...288
5 Lexical Connotations in the Dictionary ........................................290
Bibliographical Remarks ..........................................................................291
Notes .......................................................................................................292
16 Phrasemes 293
1 Introductory Remarks ...................................................................293
1.1 Being Compositional vs. Being Phraseologized ...........................293
1.2 The Object and the Organization of this Chapter..........................296
2 The Notion of Phraseme ...............................................................298