Scalar Representations in Natural Language Semantics
NSF CAREER BCS-009423
Chris Kennedy, PI
The ability to establish orderings among objects and make comparisons between
them according to the amount or degree to which they possess some
gradable property (such as height, brightness, beauty, etc.) is a
basic component of human cognition. Natural languages reflect this
fact: all languages have syntactic categories that express gradable
concepts, and all languages have constructions that are used to make
comparisons between objects. ``Gradable'' adjectives like tall,
bright, beautiful, and so forth are canonical examples of such
expressions, and have formed the central empirical domain for studies
of grading in natural language.
A central conclusion of this body of work is that the semantics of
grading must make reference to abstract representations of
measurement, or ``scales''. A question that has not been seriously
addressed, however, is whether scalar representations underlie the
semantic properties of categories other than gradable adjectives.
This question is important because gradability is not just a property
of adjectives, but of nouns, verbs, and prepositions as well. This
point is made quite clearly in several important early studies of
grading (in particular in work by Sapir and Bolinger), but it has not been
investigated in depth or detail by contemporary work in semantics.
Although some analyses of non-adjectival categories have incorporated
elements of grading and scalar representations (in particular, work on
verbal aspect and directional prepositions), there have been no
systematic investigations of the deeper role of scalar
representations in natural language.
The purpose of this study is to conduct just such an investigation,
through a comprehensive examination of the role of scalar representations
across categories. The primary focus will be
on scalar representations in adjectives and verbs, both
because the core semantic properties of these categories are best
understood individually, and because preliminary research points
towards a regular relation between scale structure in adjectives
and event structure in verbs. The project will begin with a
close examination of the role of scalar representations within each
category, and will then investigate the relations between the two,
focusing on derivational relations between verbs and adjectives.
The study will conclude with a preliminary examination of the role of
scalar representations in the prepositional and nominal domains.
The educational component of this project will involve
course development, graduate
and undergraduate mentorship, and direct access to research. The
empirical domain of the project will support the development of an integrated
three-quarter sequence in lexical semantics, formal semantics,
and pragmatics. In addition, the topic of scalar representations in
language provides a foundation for an exploration of linguistic,
cognitive, and philosophical questions about meaning in a one-quarter
seminar targeted specifically at freshmen and designed to
emphasize discussion, intellectual challenge, and the development of
critical thinking skills. The project will also support one graduate
research assistant per year and two undergraduate researchers per summer,
providing an opportunity for supervised
independent research in an empirical domain that allows for a range
of variation in research focus. Finally, the project
will introduce students and colleagues directly to research in the
field by bringing in two researchers each year to give guest
lectures in class and present colloquia, and through a workshop on
the role of scalar representations in natural language to be held at
the end of the five year period.
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