Chap.7 总结《CL: An Introduction》 (Vyvyan Evans)

Chap.7: The encyclopaedic view of meaning

• The thesis that meaning is encyclopaedic in nature has two parts associated with it. 语义是百科全书式的。可以从两个方面进行理解：
  -The first part holds that semantic structure provides access to a large inventory of structured knowledge (the conceptual system). And that word meaning cannot be understood independently of the vast repository of encyclopaedic knowledge to which it is linked. 首先，如果没有百科全书式的知识，就无法理解语言意义。
  -The second part holds that this encyclopaedic knowledge is grounded in human interaction with others and the world around us. 其次，百科全书式的知识是基于人们与他人和世界的互动而得到的。
• Problems with whe traditional view of linguistic meaning (the dictionary view) 传统语义观的问题
  -1. It is arbitrary to decide which particular piece of information is core or non-core (the decision between core and non-core meaning).
  -2. The dictionary view assumes that words can be difined in a context-independent way.
  -3. The third problem is the dichotomy between sense and reference. (See p.211) And also the division of linguistic meaning into semantics and pragmatics is problematic.
• Cognitive linguistics also argue that there are problems with the distinction between word meaning and sentence meaning. 认知语言学认为除了传统的语义观外，划分词语意义和句子意义也是有问题的。
• There are a number of characteristcis associated with this model of the encyclopaedic view. 与语义的百科全书观相关的一些characteristics:
  -1. There is no principled distinction between semantics and pragmatics.
  -2. Encyclopaedic knowledge is structured. According to different centrality, Langacker divides the types of knowledge that make up the encyclopaedic network into four types: conventional, generic, intrinstic, characteristic. (See p. 217)
  -3. There is distinction between encyclopaedic meaning and contextual meaning. Contextual modulation arises when a particular aspect of the encyclopaedic knowledge associated with a lexical item is privileged due to the discourse context.
  -4. Lexical items are points of access to encyclopaedic knowledge.
  -5. Encylopaedic knowledge is dynamic.

Frame semantics(developed by Charles Fillmore)

• This approach attempts to uncover the properties of the structured inventoy of knowledge associated with words, and to consider what consequences the properties of this knowledge system might have for a model of semantics. 框架语义学尝试去发现词汇所表达的知识的结构，同时也探索该知识系统特征怎样影响了语义模型。

What is semantic frame?

• Frame is a schematisation of experience which is represented at the conceptual level and held in long-term memory. 语义框架是经验的图示化，具有概念表征的形式，储存在长时记忆中。
• According to Fillmore, words and grammatical constructions are relativised to frames, which means that the meaning associated with a particular word cannot be understood independently of the frame with which it is associated. 离开了语义框架，一个单独词语或构式的意义就无法被理解。
• Fillmore adopted the terms figure and ground to distinguish between a particular lexical concept and the background frame against which it is understood. 一个词语化的概念和背景语义框架的关系可以用格式塔心理学中的figure和ground的关系来类比。

Frames in cognitive psychology 认知心理学中的框架研究

• In psychology, the basic unit of knowledge is the concept. Theories of knowledge representation (conceptual structure) attempt to model concepts as categorisation judgements and conceptualisation or meaning construction. Frames are the basic mode of knowledge representation. They are continually updated and modified due to ongoing human experience, and are used in reasoning in order to generate new inferences.
• Frames have two basic components: attribute-value sets and structural invariants.
  -Attribute: a concept that describes an aspect of at least some category members
  -Values: subordinate concepts which represent subtypes of an attribute
  -Structural invariants: attributes within a frame are related to one another in consistent ways. The relations hold in most instances and is therefore represented in the frame as a structural invariant.

About the semantic frame

Based on the COMMERCIAL EVENT frame 以COMMERCIAL EVENT框架为例

• The semantic frame is a knowledge structure required in order to understand a particular word or related set of words.
• Frames include a number of attributes called participant roles.
• Valence (配价) is one of the consequences of a frame. Valence concerns the ways in which lexical items like verbs can be combined with other words to make grammatical sentences. More precisely, the valence (or argument structure) of a verb concerns the number of participants or arguments required, as well as the nature of the arguments (the semantic roles).
• Frames license linguistic relationships, and play a central role in the development of Construction Grammar. 语义框架中允准了一系列语言关系。
• One way of interpreting the structured set of linguistic relationships licenses by frames is to analyse the frame as a knowledge representation system that provides a potentially wide range of event sequences. According to this view, the verb selected by the speaker designates a particular route through the frame: a way of relating the various participant roles in order to higylight certain aspects of the frame. While some routes include obligatory relationships (invariant structure), others are optional. However, not all these participant roles need to be mentioned in any given sentence. 为了理解语义框架中的语言关系，可以将语言框架是做知识表征系统，提供一系列可能的事件顺序。说话者选用的动词表明了语义框架中沟通参与成分的某条特定路线，可能是必选路线，也可能是备选路线。但并非该语义框架中的所有参与成分都必须（在某个句子中）得到体现。

The theory of domains

• Langacker calls knowledge structures domains. Langacker’s theory of domains complements Fillmore’s theory of Freme Semantics in a number of ways.
• What is a domain?
  Domains are conceptual entities of varying levels of complexity and organisation. The only prerequisite for a knowledge structure to count as a domain is that it provides background information against which lexical concepts can be understood and used in language. 如果某知识结构要成为一个域，唯一的条件就是它能够为词汇概念的理解提供必要的背景知识。Encyclopaedic knowledge consists of an inventory of basic and more abstract domains. 百科知识由基础域和更抽象的域组成。
• The theory of domains adds to the theory of Frame Semantics in four important respects.
  -1. Concepts are typically arranged in terms of multiple frames or domains (rather than a singe one). The range of domains that structure a single lexical concept is called the domain matrix.
  -2. There is a distinction between basic domains and abstract domains.
  -3. Domains are organised in a hierarchical fashion in Langacker’s model.
  -4. The theory of domains is more concerned with conceptual ontology.
• Basic domains:
  Domains that are not understood in terms of other domains are the basic domains. Basic domains derive from embodied experiences that are pre-conceptual in nature, which forms the basis of more complex knowledge domains.
• Domains and image schemas 域与意象图式
  -How basic domains relate to image schemas:
  Image schema, like basic domains, are conceptual representations that are directly tied to pre-conceptual experience.
  
• In sum, a central assumption in cognitive semantics is that all human thought is ultimately grouded in basic domains and image schemas.
• Some characteristics of domains
  -1. Dimensionality: some domains are organised relative to one or more dimension. 概念域可能具有一个或多个维度，如温度只有一个维度，但颜色有多个维度（亮度，饱和度等）。But some domains cannot be characterised in terms of dimensionality. 但有些概念域不能用维度来衡量，如情感。
  -2. Locational versus configurational domains: the distinction between configurational and locational domains relates to whether a particular domain is calibrated with respect to a given dimension. For example, COLOUR. But TRIANGLE will never be a square in whatever dimension.
• Profile/base configuration
  -A word provides a point of access to the entire knowledge inventory associated with a particular lexical concept. Then why different facets of the encyclopaedic knowledge network are differentially important in the understanding of that concept?
  -Langacker suggests an explanation for this in terms of scope, profile and base.
  The essential part of the knowledge network is called the scope of a lexical concept, dividied into two aspects, the profile and its base. The profile is the entity or relation designated by the word, and the base is the essential part of the domain matrix necessary for understanding the profile. Without the base, the profile would be meaningless.
  -“The semantic value of an expression resides neither the base nor the profile, but only in their combination.” (Langacker, 1987: 33) 语言表达的语义不能仅通过base或profile得到体现，只有两者结合才能体现。
  -One consequence of the profile/base configuration is that the same base can provide different profiles. 同一个base可以彰显不同的profile。
• Active zones
  Only part of an entity’s profile is relevant or active within a particular utterance. This part of the profile is called the active zone.

The perceptual basis of knowledge representation

• What do mental representations that underpin language look like?
  As Langacker argues, concepts are ultimately grounded in terms of basic domains.