Conceptual relations in the semantic domain of Swedish dimensional adjectives

Abstract

In the conventional study of lexical semantics, adjectives are not considered likely to have a hierarchical relation, such as a meronymic (part-whole) relation, to each other. The most possible lexical relations among adjectives are antonymy and synonymy. In this study, however, I assume that meronomic relations between internal members of dimensional adjectives (e. g. big, long, deep) are conceptually possible from an ontological point of view. By using a semantic task, i. e. anaphora resolution, I draw the following conclusion: dimensional adjectives themselves have no meronymic relation to each other. However, restricting our discussion to the usage of Swedish dimensional adjectives in modifying concrete entities, the conceptual relations between the general term, e. g. BIG,1I use capital letters to indicate concepts throughout this essay. Lexical items are written in italics. and specific terms, e. g. LONG, DEEP, are mentally organized in a part-whole relation and thus in a meronomic structure. When applied to the whole expression which is a concept of a big entity, such as BIG CUP, there are meronomic relations between concepts of the big entity and its parts, e. g. BIG CUP – DEEP CUP.