Semantic Roles

By: Siti AmaliaNanda Hutri

Yuliana

Sentence and PropositionSentence containing certain

informationProposition the information

presented predicate + noun phrases

(referring expression)

Sentence= ‘A complete thought’

a. We walk in the park. complete sentenceb. Our walk in the parkc. for us to walk in the park

The three of them has semantic content, but grammatically different

We walk in the park has one single proposition

Other examples:

a Richard wrote the report. has no particular focus

b Richard is the one who wrote the report. Richard

c The report was written by Richard. Richard

d The report is what Richard wrote. the report

Those sentences about Richard embody the same proposition

Richard wrote a report and Helen did, too

two propositions:1. Richard wrote a report2. Helen wrote a report

Propositions abstract but meaningful

expressed in different

utterances/people/time/places

InflectionWe walk

walkedare walkinghave walkedmay walkwould have walkedcould be walking

in the park

Kinds of modification of a sentence. It is included:

1. Tense (walked, walk)2. Aspect (are walking,

have walked)3. Modality (may walk,

could walk)4. Combined (were

walking, should be walking)

Inflection + Proposition (+) Focus

TenseAspectModality

THE GENERAL SCHEME

Syntactic vs Semantic AnalysisSyntactic AnalysisThe description of a

sentenceCombining phrases

and its function of the sentences

Deals with subject, predicate, object, complement and adverbial

Albert sends e-mail to his friends

S P O Adv

Semantic AnalysisThe description of a

propositionDeals with meaningAlbert sends his friends e-

mail Present Tense

Albert sent his friends e-mail

Past Tense

The same propositio

ns

Albert, send, Albert’s friends, e-mail

Semantic AnalysisBe (is, am, are, was, were) has no

meaning.Syntactic structure

Propositions 1 predicate + various argumentsverb, adj, prep. referring expressions

Sentence: Propositions1. A window broke (break, a window)2. Tom broke a window (break, Tom, a

window)3. Our dog is under the house (under, our

dog, the house)4. I am thirsty (thirsty, I)

Semantic RolesPropositions predicate + various

arguments• The meaning: is determined in part

by how many arguments it may have and what role those arguments have.

A window broke, A rope broke, A plate broke

Single ArgumentSemantic Role affectedTom broke the windowAgent affected Two Arguments

Valency Theoryis a description of the semantic potential of

predicates in terms of the number and types of arguments which may co-occur with them.

It is snowing.-> valency of zeroMy brother snores.-> valency of oneTris is lifting a watermelon. -> valency of two Agnes is writing her boyfriend a letter ->valency

of three

valency of zeroWeather verbs Weather

adjectivesIt is raining It is rainyIt is has been thundering It is

windy

PS. Inflection is not a part of proposition

valency of one-> intransitive verbs/one-argument verb

a.The dog is sleepingb.Pecko laughed.c.The earth rotates (on

its axis).Called actor carries out action

d.Grandfather died (last week).

e.A volcano erupted.f.The cake fell.

Event a change in the condition of the entity named

Affected the entity named in the argument undergoes this change

Table of Semantic RolesNo Terms and Meaning Sentence Examples

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Actors= performs some action without affecting any other entityAffected= undergoes changes due to some events/affected by some other entityAffecting= without any actions, affects another entityAgent= by its actions affects any other entitiesAssociate= tells the status/identity of another argumentEffect= comes into existence through the action of the predicatePlace= names of the location where actions of the predicate occursTheme= a topic of the predicate that doesn’t express action – stative predicate

Sylvia left.

Betty likes operaOpera delights BettyTom broke windowBetty likes opera

Tom broke window.

Roger is a student.

Tillie baked a pie.

The fireman climbed a ladder.

Audrey is a computer expert.

More ExamplesThis soup is cold.Terry is impatient.Henrietta was rather

reckless.The bottle is empty.

This man is a carpenter.Dextrose and fructose

are sugars.Eddy Eckstein is the

village idiot.Cora and Willis are the

class leadersEquational proposition can be reversed to create

sentences that differ only in focus

The village idiot is Eddy Eckstein

Argument PredicateTheme Description

soupTerryHenriettabottle

coldimpatientrecklessempty

Theme IdentitymanDextrose and fructoseEddy EcksteinCora and Willis

carpentersugar

village idiotClass leaders

Valency of two Consist of intransitive verbThe cat killed a rat.I broke the window.Bert hit Harry.

The cat dug a hole.Chris is making an

omelet.Picasso created a

masterpiece

Jennie crossed the street.Fiona entered the room.Simon climbed a tree.

Argument1 Predicate Argument2agent action affected

catIBert

killedbrokehit

ratwindowHarry

agent action Effect

catChrisPicasso

dugmakecreate

holeOmeletmasterpiece

Argument1 Predicate Argument2actor action placeJennieFionaSimon

crossenterclimb

streetroomtree

The next groups tell how one entity affects—or fails to affect—

another entitya. The decision surprised us

all.You’re disturbing everybody.The comedian didn’t impress the audience.

b. Oliver was envious of his brother.Oliver envied his brother.Angie was angry with Algernon

c. I’m afraid of that dog.We were not aware of the accident.Aren’t you curious about…?

Argument1 Predicate Argument2

affecting affect affected

decisionYoucomedian

surprisedisturbimpress

useverybodyaudience

Argument1 Predicate Argument2affected affect affectingOliverIWeElla

envyafraidawarecurious

Brotherdogaccidentplans

The predicatemerely acts as a link

theme link associateArgument1

ThemePredicate

LinkArgument2

AssociateSentence

SheilapresentTombook

likeforwithabout

motheryouAnnfossils

Sheila is like her mother.This present is for you.Tom is with AnnThe book is about fossils

CanadaThe books

isare

north ofnear/behind

United Statesthe selves

The partyThe next gameThe meeting

will beisis

onatafter

Saturday3 o’clockclass

So, all prepositions which indicate position in space or time are two argument predicates

at in on near beside under over

Theme Link Associates SentenceBrowns

JulieMr. SeanI

neighbors-of

daughter-ofboss-ofemployee-of

Greens

CarolmeBarton & Dutton

The Browns are neighbors-of the GreensJulie is Carol’s daughterMr . Sean is my bossI am an employee of Barton & Dutton.

It includes measurements of size, weight, value, and the like.

This packageIt

weighscost

five kilostwenty dollars

Some changes in valency

Some predicates can be used in a sentence that has two arguments and in another sentence that has only one argument.

Tom broke the windowThe window broke

We ate lunch (in the kitchen).We ate (in the kitchen).

Maureen bathed the baby (in the tub).Maureen bathed (in the tub).

Harvey drowned his mother-in-law.Harvey drowned.

..THANK YOU..

Let’s Exercise..For each sentence here decide if it

has the semantic structure Actor+Action or Affected+Event. Does the subject name something that is acting or something that is affected?1. My head aches 2. Denis is (always)

complaining3. You were snoring4. The pond froze

(last night)5. Arnold hurried6. The lock has

rusted

1. Affected+ Event2. Actor+Action3. Actor+Action4. Affected+Event5. Affected+Event

Four structures are represented in the sentences below:

1 agent-action-affected2 agent-action-effect3 actor-action-place,4 affecting-affect-affected5 affected-affect-affecting

Read each sentence and tell its structure.

1. 52. 23. 44. 35. 3

1. Jenny admired the painting

2. The children built a sand castle

3. That medicine cured my headache

4. We crossed the street 5. Alan entered the library 6. Stout troops

destroyed the castle. 7. I miss him

8. 19. 5

Each of the following sentences has a verb and two arguments,and in each case that verb can also be used in a sentence with

only one argument. Decide which of the three types is represented.Which predicates are like eat, which are like bathe, and which

are like break? One of them is like eat and break.1. Mary woke her husband (at seven o’clock)

2. Our team lost the game3. The boys are flying kites

4. Did your barber shave you?