Lexical Semantics of Adjectives - CiteSeerX

tively.
27
The gradable/ungradable distinction of Section 1 (see especially Section 1.8 above) retains its significance.
Gradable adjectives are for us a large subset of all adjectives, which cut across all the
three categories of adjectives. Ungradable adjectives also consist of subsets of scalars (male), denominals
(wooden), and deverbals (ablaze): neither male nor wooden nor ablaze, technically,
should allow for degrees of comparison, at least not without a meaning shift. It is a fact, however,
that such meaning shifts are not too hard to make, thus rendering the trait of gradability potentially
nearly universal within the lexical category. The terms ‘scalar’ and ‘gradable’ are often confused
in the literature because, of course, the most typically gradable adjectives are scalars. There is no
confusion between these terms for us: the scalar adjectives are, of course, those whose meanings
are based on scale-type PROPERTY ontological concepts, while gradable adjectives are those which
can be used comparatively. There are scalars which are not gradable, and there are gradables which
are not scalars. Sometimes, gradable scalars are referred to as ‘true scalars,’ and gradable non-scalars
as ‘non-true-scalars,’ but we will try to avoid these terms if we can help it.
The use of continuous scales for representing scalar adjectives eliminates complications, discussed
in Section 1.8, associated with the representation of comparative degrees. Whether it is a straightforward
morphological comparative (41i) or superlative (41ii) degree, the use of an adjective, such
as very (42i) or not very (hardly, barely) (42ii), or the use of a different adjective from the same
scale (43i-ii), comparison is simply a matter of assigning one or more values on the same scale,
and it is very simple to handle within the approach.
(41) (i) Don’s house is bigger than my house.
(ii) Don’s house is the biggest among his siblings.
(42) (i) Don’s house is very big.
(ii) Don’s house is not very big.
(43) (i) Don’s house is gigantic.
(ii) Don’s house in minuscule.
For straightforward comparatives like those in (41i), we use a quantification relation to establish
that the value for one property on the same scale is ‘less than’ or ‘greater than’ the value for the
other, as shown in (44). In the SYN-STRUC zone of the lexicon entry in (44), two noun variables,
$var1 and $var2, are introduced for the nouns with the designated property instead of the usual one:
$var1 stands, of course, for the first occurrence of house in Don’s house and $var2 for the second
occurrence of house in my house. The meaning specification simply states a ‘greater than’ relation
between ^$var1 and ^$var2, that is, between Don’s house and my house.
(44) (bigger
(bigger-adj1
(CAT adj)
(SYN-STRUC
((root $var0)
(cat adj-comp)
(subj ((root $var1)
(conj ((root +than-conj1)
(obj ((root $var2)
(cat n)))))))
(SEM-STRUC
(LEX-MAP
(quantifier-rel
(quant >)
(arg1 ^$var1.size-attribute.range)
(arg2 ^$var2.size-attribute.range))))))