Chapter 18 Lexical Functions: Description of Lexical Relations in a ...

Anti - (hireV) = fireV [an employee]
Anti - (begin) = cease
Anti > (high) = low
Anti > (precede) = follow
—Chapter 18. Lexical Functions— 32
Anti neg(stayV) = leave
Anti neg(dead) = alive
Anti opp(left) = right
Anti opp(backN [human]) = belly
In some languages, one of possible meanings of Anti - , namely, (undo the result of the
preceding action), i.e., (nullify the effect of what has been done before), is grammaticized as a
morphological meaning of reversive, a morphological form found, e.g., in Bantu languages, for
instance, in Swahili [the letter j stands for /z/]:
fung-(a) (fasten) ~ fung+u-(a) (unfasten)
kunj-(a) (fold) ~ kunj+u-(a) (unfold)
tat-(a) (tangle) ~ tat+u-(a) (untangle)
fumb-(a) (close) ~ fumb+u-(a) (open)
teg-(a) (set trap) ~
teg+u-(a) (release trap)
va-(a) (put on clothes) ~
v+u-(a) (take off clothes)
English has a similar formation, too: BUTTONV ~ UNBUTTON, LOCKV ~ UNLOCK, CLIPV ~ UN-
CLIP, etc.; this formation is, however, not as productive and systematic as the reversive in Bantu.
The LF Anti is also used within the system of simple standard LFs, since many such LFs
stand to each other in the relation of antonymy: e.g., Fin ≡ Anti(Incep), Magn vs. AntiMagn, etc.
This will become clearer after the corresponding LFs are introduced.
3. Conv kij [Lat. conversivum] = conversive
Conversives correspond to the third important relation exploited in MTT: that between two
equisignificant LUs whose DSynt-Actants do not correspond. More precisely, this LF returns for
L an LU L´ with the same meaning as L but with its DSynt-Actants [= DSyntAs] i, j and k
permuted with respect to its Sem-actants, so that they become, e.g., the DSyntAs k, i and j [i→k,
j→i, and k→j]. The relation of CONVERSION underlies the deep syntax in MTT. 11 For instance, if
L = PRECEDE and Conv 21(L) = FOLLOW ((A precedes B) = (B follows A)), we have:
A
I
L
II
B
!
A
Conv (L)
21
II I
B