Semantic Roles
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Transcript of Semantic Roles
Semantic Roles
By: Siti AmaliaNanda Hutri
Yuliana
Sentence and PropositionSentence containing certain
informationProposition the information
presented predicate + noun phrases
(referring expression)
Sentence= ‘A complete thought’
a. We walk in the park. complete sentenceb. Our walk in the parkc. for us to walk in the park
The three of them has semantic content, but grammatically different
We walk in the park has one single proposition
Other examples:
a Richard wrote the report. has no particular focus
b Richard is the one who wrote the report. Richard
c The report was written by Richard. Richard
d The report is what Richard wrote. the report
Those sentences about Richard embody the same proposition
Richard wrote a report and Helen did, too
two propositions:1. Richard wrote a report2. Helen wrote a report
Propositions abstract but meaningful
expressed in different
utterances/people/time/places
InflectionWe walk
walkedare walkinghave walkedmay walkwould have walkedcould be walking
in the park
Kinds of modification of a sentence. It is included:
1. Tense (walked, walk)2. Aspect (are walking,
have walked)3. Modality (may walk,
could walk)4. Combined (were
walking, should be walking)
Inflection + Proposition (+) Focus
TenseAspectModality
THE GENERAL SCHEME
Syntactic vs Semantic AnalysisSyntactic AnalysisThe description of a
sentenceCombining phrases
and its function of the sentences
Deals with subject, predicate, object, complement and adverbial
Albert sends e-mail to his friends
S P O Adv
Semantic AnalysisThe description of a
propositionDeals with meaningAlbert sends his friends e-
mail Present Tense
Albert sent his friends e-mail
Past Tense
The same propositio
ns
Albert, send, Albert’s friends, e-mail
Semantic AnalysisBe (is, am, are, was, were) has no
meaning.Syntactic structure
Propositions 1 predicate + various argumentsverb, adj, prep. referring expressions
Sentence: Propositions1. A window broke (break, a window)2. Tom broke a window (break, Tom, a
window)3. Our dog is under the house (under, our
dog, the house)4. I am thirsty (thirsty, I)
Semantic RolesPropositions predicate + various
arguments• The meaning: is determined in part
by how many arguments it may have and what role those arguments have.
A window broke, A rope broke, A plate broke
Single ArgumentSemantic Role affectedTom broke the windowAgent affected Two Arguments
Valency Theoryis a description of the semantic potential of
predicates in terms of the number and types of arguments which may co-occur with them.
It is snowing.-> valency of zeroMy brother snores.-> valency of oneTris is lifting a watermelon. -> valency of two Agnes is writing her boyfriend a letter ->valency
of three
valency of zeroWeather verbs Weather
adjectivesIt is raining It is rainyIt is has been thundering It is
windy
PS. Inflection is not a part of proposition
valency of one-> intransitive verbs/one-argument verb
a.The dog is sleepingb.Pecko laughed.c.The earth rotates (on
its axis).Called actor carries out action
d.Grandfather died (last week).
e.A volcano erupted.f.The cake fell.
Event a change in the condition of the entity named
Affected the entity named in the argument undergoes this change
Table of Semantic RolesNo Terms and Meaning Sentence Examples
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Actors= performs some action without affecting any other entityAffected= undergoes changes due to some events/affected by some other entityAffecting= without any actions, affects another entityAgent= by its actions affects any other entitiesAssociate= tells the status/identity of another argumentEffect= comes into existence through the action of the predicatePlace= names of the location where actions of the predicate occursTheme= a topic of the predicate that doesn’t express action – stative predicate
Sylvia left.
Betty likes operaOpera delights BettyTom broke windowBetty likes opera
Tom broke window.
Roger is a student.
Tillie baked a pie.
The fireman climbed a ladder.
Audrey is a computer expert.
More ExamplesThis soup is cold.Terry is impatient.Henrietta was rather
reckless.The bottle is empty.
This man is a carpenter.Dextrose and fructose
are sugars.Eddy Eckstein is the
village idiot.Cora and Willis are the
class leadersEquational proposition can be reversed to create
sentences that differ only in focus
The village idiot is Eddy Eckstein
Argument PredicateTheme Description
soupTerryHenriettabottle
coldimpatientrecklessempty
Theme IdentitymanDextrose and fructoseEddy EcksteinCora and Willis
carpentersugar
village idiotClass leaders
Valency of two Consist of intransitive verbThe cat killed a rat.I broke the window.Bert hit Harry.
The cat dug a hole.Chris is making an
omelet.Picasso created a
masterpiece
Jennie crossed the street.Fiona entered the room.Simon climbed a tree.
Argument1 Predicate Argument2agent action affected
catIBert
killedbrokehit
ratwindowHarry
agent action Effect
catChrisPicasso
dugmakecreate
holeOmeletmasterpiece
Argument1 Predicate Argument2actor action placeJennieFionaSimon
crossenterclimb
streetroomtree
The next groups tell how one entity affects—or fails to affect—
another entitya. The decision surprised us
all.You’re disturbing everybody.The comedian didn’t impress the audience.
b. Oliver was envious of his brother.Oliver envied his brother.Angie was angry with Algernon
c. I’m afraid of that dog.We were not aware of the accident.Aren’t you curious about…?
Argument1 Predicate Argument2
affecting affect affected
decisionYoucomedian
surprisedisturbimpress
useverybodyaudience
Argument1 Predicate Argument2affected affect affectingOliverIWeElla
envyafraidawarecurious
Brotherdogaccidentplans
The predicatemerely acts as a link
theme link associateArgument1
ThemePredicate
LinkArgument2
AssociateSentence
SheilapresentTombook
likeforwithabout
motheryouAnnfossils
Sheila is like her mother.This present is for you.Tom is with AnnThe book is about fossils
CanadaThe books
isare
north ofnear/behind
United Statesthe selves
The partyThe next gameThe meeting
will beisis
onatafter
Saturday3 o’clockclass
So, all prepositions which indicate position in space or time are two argument predicates
at in on near beside under over
Theme Link Associates SentenceBrowns
JulieMr. SeanI
neighbors-of
daughter-ofboss-ofemployee-of
Greens
CarolmeBarton & Dutton
The Browns are neighbors-of the GreensJulie is Carol’s daughterMr . Sean is my bossI am an employee of Barton & Dutton.
It includes measurements of size, weight, value, and the like.
This packageIt
weighscost
five kilostwenty dollars
Some changes in valency
Some predicates can be used in a sentence that has two arguments and in another sentence that has only one argument.
Tom broke the windowThe window broke
We ate lunch (in the kitchen).We ate (in the kitchen).
Maureen bathed the baby (in the tub).Maureen bathed (in the tub).
Harvey drowned his mother-in-law.Harvey drowned.
..THANK YOU..
Let’s Exercise..For each sentence here decide if it
has the semantic structure Actor+Action or Affected+Event. Does the subject name something that is acting or something that is affected?1. My head aches 2. Denis is (always)
complaining3. You were snoring4. The pond froze
(last night)5. Arnold hurried6. The lock has
rusted
1. Affected+ Event2. Actor+Action3. Actor+Action4. Affected+Event5. Affected+Event
Four structures are represented in the sentences below:
1 agent-action-affected2 agent-action-effect3 actor-action-place,4 affecting-affect-affected5 affected-affect-affecting
Read each sentence and tell its structure.
1. 52. 23. 44. 35. 3
1. Jenny admired the painting
2. The children built a sand castle
3. That medicine cured my headache
4. We crossed the street 5. Alan entered the library 6. Stout troops
destroyed the castle. 7. I miss him
8. 19. 5
Each of the following sentences has a verb and two arguments,and in each case that verb can also be used in a sentence with
only one argument. Decide which of the three types is represented.Which predicates are like eat, which are like bathe, and which
are like break? One of them is like eat and break.1. Mary woke her husband (at seven o’clock)
2. Our team lost the game3. The boys are flying kites
4. Did your barber shave you?