Phrasal Semantics: the Semantics of Noun Phrases

The Semantics of Noun Phrases

    In our first release about phrasal semantics, we have talked about the principle of compositionality. According to the theory, we conclude the meaning of a sentence by computing the meanings of the words and how they are combined. By narrowing the angle, we will be questioning how we can deduce the meaning of noun phrases. So, our topic is the semantics of noun phrases.

If the most crucial part of a phrase is the noun, then it is safe to say that it is a noun phrase. Let's check our example below.

As you can see, our example phrase is "black car." Which part of the "black car" is the most crucial? It is the noun "car." Therefore, the phrase is considered a noun phrase, and "car" is the head of this noun phrase. Besides, "black" is an adjective modifying the noun "car." For this reason, we say that "black" is a modifier of the noun "car." To compute this phrase's meaning, we add the semantic features of the modifier to the head noun. To put it simply, black + car= a car which is black. However, this might not be the case for bigger phrases like sentences. As the property of adjectives changes, the meaning is affected.

In the phrase "so-called truth," we instantly get the impression that something is not real. We do not compute the meaning like "truth which is so-called." If we directly combined the meanings of the parts, we would be in the wrong way. Semantic properties of the adjective "so-called" create negativity and modify the head noun "truth" accordingly.

We may also compute two different meanings in noun phrases. Let's see the example.

In the phrase "alleged king", the semantic properties of alleged create an impression of ambiguity. Something is not absolute; in other words, something is double-edged. We get the meanings of "might be the king" and "might not be the king" in this phrase.

Up to this point, as can be understood, we have added the properties of the modifier to the head noun and computed the meaning as the principle of compositionality says. However, the principle may not work with some of the compound words and idioms.

Compound Words

    For some compound words, we can quickly compute the meaning by following our usual process. The compound "antfarm" may be a good example. We can quickly get the sense of "a farm for ants" in this compound word. However, the principle does not work with compounds like "blue blood." If we follow the principle, we say that a blood which is blue, but this is not correct. Blue blood means royal or noble blood. This kind of compound word should be memorized.

Idioms

    "To bark up the wrong tree" is a good example. It means that somebody is mistaken, but we cannot get this meaning when we follow the principle of compositionality. If it is followed, we get the literal sense like barking up the wrong tree. As it is the case in some compounds, the meanings of idioms are based on memorization.