Word Meaningcan be combined). First, we can use it to explain why some sentences are
semantically anomalous. For example, in sentence (1), Colorless green ideas
sleep furiously, the head of the subject, ideas, has the components NOT +
ANIMATE; in contrast, the predicate sleep requires that its subject have the
component ANIMATE. This shows that in addition to using components to
define individual words, we can also use them to specify how words can com-
bine with each other. Such specifications are called selectional restrictions;
they identify the semantic (literal) limitations on the components of words
put together in close grammatical relationships such as subject and predicate,
verb and object, head and modifier, etc. Semantic anomaly, in short, will re-
sult when selectional restrictions are violated.
Sense relations also can be described in terms of components. Words
are synonymous to the extent that they share components. In simple cases,
antonyms share all components except perhaps just one; e.g., alive and dead
share the component ANIMATE, although the latter also has the component
NOT.
Finally, lexical ambiguity is represented in the C-model by assigning to the
same word two different sets of components. Polysemy is explained as hav-
ing at least one common component and at least one different component.
So the various senses of mouth will share the component of OPENING and
will be distinguished by such components as ANIMATE, SIZE, FLAT, and
CURVED.
Exercise
- Explain the following semantic oddities by noting the selectional
restrictions that the sentence violates. Do not hesitate to use compo-
nents beyond those mentioned in Table 2.
a. ?Monica elapsed.
b. ?John accidentally resembled his sister.
c. ?I lost my dog a grief ago. - For each pair of words, indicate which components they share and
which components distinguish them. (Again, use components beyond
those noted in Table 2 as you need to.)
a. car—automobile
b. chase—follow
c. huge—humongous
d. building—skyscraper