Compositional Semantics - Computational Linguistics and Talking Robots - page 125

On the left, the lexical determiner proplet representing the surface the has
the core attribute noun because after absorbing the noun proplet for garden
the resulting proplet will be a noun. The single step of the determiner-noun
derivation substitutes the n_1 value of the determiner proplet with the core
value of the garden proplet, adds the sg value of the garden proplet to the
sem attribute of the determiner proplet, and discards the garden proplet.
On the right, the lexical preposition proplet representing the surface in has
thecorevalue adj because, after absorbing the determiner proplet for the and
the noun proplet for garden , the resulting proplet is a phrasal adjective. 8 Step
1 of the time-linear preposition-determiner-noun derivation combines the two
lexical function word proplets for in and the into one adj proplet. Thereby
the substitution value n_2 in the preposition proplet is replaced with the sub-
stitution value n_1 of the determiner proplet, the def value of the determiner
proplet is added to the sem attribute of the preposition proplet, and the deter-
miner proplet is discarded.
Step 2 combines the adj proplet resulting from step 1 with the lexical garden
proplet into an adj proplet. This is based on replacing the n_1 substitution
value in the adj proplet with the core value of the garden proplet, adding the
sg value of the garden proplet to the sem attribute of the adj proplet, and
discarding the garden proplet.
Thus, a prepositional phrase, as in Julia slept in the garden. , and an ele-
mentary adjective, as in Julia slept there. , may be represented by the same
single node, A.

7.2.5 P REPOSITIONAL PHRASE AS ELEMENTARY ADJECTIVE

V

sleep sleep

NA

Julia there

Julia in_garden
The modifier-modified relation, indicated by “ ,” connects an A and a V, and

constitutes the adverbial 9 use of an adjective. The crucial difference between
the two elementary content adverbials is the sign kind 10 of their core values:
the core value of in_garden is a symbol , while that of there is an indexical .

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8 As shown in 3.5.3, DBS uses the cat value adnv for modifiers which may be applied to verbs or
nouns, e.g., fast ,the cat value adn (adnominal) for modifiers restricted morphologically to nouns,
e.g., beautiful ,andthe cat value adv (adverbial) for modifiers restricted morphologically to verbs,
e.g., beautifully . Because prepositional phrases may be used adnominally as well as adverbially they
have the cat value adnv .
9 This is in contradistinction to the adnominal use illustrated in 7.1.2. See NLC'06, Chap. 15, for a
detailed analysis of elementary and phrasal adjectives in adnominal and adverbial use.
10 Cf. FoCL'99, Chap. 6.