CAREER: Scalar Representations in Natural Language Semantics

在对象之间建立排序并根据它们拥有某种可分级属性的数量或程度对它们进行比较的能力是人类认知的基本组成部分。自然语言反映了这一事实：所有语言都有表达分级概念的句法范畴，所有语言都有用于比较的结构。“可分级的”形容词，如“高”，“亮”，“美丽”，等等，是典型的例子，这样的表达，并已形成了中央的经验领域的研究，在自然language.An工作的一个重要结论是，自然语言的语义必须参考抽象表示的测量，或“规模”。然而，一个尚未被认真解决的问题是，标量表征是否是形容词以外的范畴的语义属性的基础。本研究将通过系统和全面的调查跨类别的标量表征的作用来解决这个问题。主要的重点将是形容词和动词之间的关系，这既是因为它们的核心语义属性很好地理解，也是因为初步的研究指向形容词的规模结构和动词的事件结构之间的规律性关系。该研究还将探讨在介词和名词领域的标量表示。该项目的经验领域将为词汇语义学，形式语义学和语用学的综合三季度序列提供基础，以及一个新生研讨会，重点是语言，认知和哲学问题的意义。该项目还将支持研究生和本科生研究助理，提供一个机会，监督独立研究的主题，允许在个人研究重点的范围变化。最后，该项目将通过邀请外部学者进行客座讲座，并通过自然语言中标量表示的研讨会，直接向学生和同事介绍当代研究。

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 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. '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.An important conclusion of this work is that natural language semantics 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 adjectives. This study will address this question through a systematic and comprehensive investigation of the role of scalar representations across categories. The primary focus will be on relations between adjectives and verbs, both because their core semantic properties are well understood, and because preliminary research points towards a regular relation between scale structure in adjectives and event structure in verbs. The study will also explore scalar representations in the prepositional and nominal domains.The empirical domain of the project will provide the foundation for an integrated three-quarter sequence in lexical semantics, formal semantics, and pragmatics, as well as a freshman seminar focusing on linguistic, cognitive, and philosophical questions about meaning. The project will also support graduate and undergraduate researcher assistants, providing an opportunity for supervised independent research on a topic that allows a range of variation in individual research focus. Finally, the project will introduce students and colleagues directly to contemporary research by bringing in outside scholars for guest lectures, and through a workshop on scalar representations in natural language.