| Popis: |
A key feature of binominal lexemes is the unstated (or underspecified) relation, ℜ, that pertains between the two major constituents. The nature of ℜ – the kinds of relations – has been the topic of considerable research during recent decades. While early studies focused almost exclusively on English, the last few years have seen a spate of work on other languages. Unfortunately, this work has been uncoordinated and each researcher entering the field has tended to devise their own classification, making it difficult to compare results and advance our understanding of the phenomenon. This is a pity, because such an understanding has the potential to provide insights into the nature of concept combination and the associative character of human thought. The purpose of this chapter is to present a well-documented, systematic classification of semantic relations that operates at multiple levels of granularity and is suitable for reuse across languages. Hatcher- Bourque is based on revisions of two earlier classifications, those of Anna Granville Hatcher and Yves Bourque, which operate at different levels of granularity. These are integrated into a single, coherent system, with automatic mapping from one level to the other. The classification is applied to a set of 3,650 binominals from 106 languages, and an analysis is presented of the frequency and distribution of semantic relations at both a highly abstract level and a more granular level. The Hatcher-Bourque classification, and an accompanying, Excel-based tool, the Bourquifier, are offered to the research community in order to encourage collaboration, and researchers are invited to participate in the Hatcher-Bourque Cake Challenge. |
