Seeing clearly: Frame Semantic, Psycholinguistic, and Cross ...

CHAPTER 2. A FRAME SEMANTIC ANALYSIS 100
This is in part simply compositional; it can largely be understood as inheriting
eye, and adding the restrictions that the seen is text or graphical material (hence not
inheriting read), and the verb must appear in the imperative. But there is also typically
a compressed, \telegraphic" style in the clause (e.g. See chart, p. 37.) and apparently a
rather limited set of nouns that can express the seen: page, section, chapter, appendix,
chart, table, diagram, etc. These facts, taken together, suggest that it should be regarded
as a sense in its own right.
Compositional Uses
Sense AUDIENCE
(54) a. The doctor will see you now.
b. The King will see the Ambassador tomorrow.
c. Mrs. Riggs-Aston will see no-one today.
This is visit with the further restriction that the seer is of higher social rank
than the seen, meaning something like `grantaninterview to'. 14 The di erence in social
rank may be con ned to the particular situation in question; e.g. a millionaire or a state
governor may have towait until the doctor is ready to see him or her. The syntax of seer
and seen are the inverse of those of consult, yet something more formal than a simple
social interaction (i.e., visit) is usually intended.
Stereotypically a set phrase used by receptionists (Ex. (54-a)), it also occurs in
more varied syntax and social settings (Ex. (54-b), (54-c)). In the last case, there is not
necessarily a great di erence in social rank between the hostess and her guests, but the
situation is so formal, that the decision not to see anyoneforaday is clearly the hostess'
prerogative.
14 This is one of the places where the use of common words as names of senses may unfortunately cause some
confusion. The sense visit is by de nition reciprocal, since it uses (indirectly) reciprocal event. Therefore,
it is correct to say that audience is just a further restriction on the social ranks of the participants. But
the ordinary verb visit has a speci c directionality, which happens to run counter to the facts for the sense
audience. Mrs. Riggs-Aston stays at home and people come to visit her, she does not go to visit them, in
the ordinary sense of the word visit. But when they come to her house, they see (sense visit) each other,
and because it is such an unequal relationship, we can say that she sees (sense audience) them; they do
not see (sense audience) her.