The Lexicon

An accessible introduction to lexical structure and design, and the relation of the lexicon to grammar as a whole.

James Pustejovsky (Author), Olga Batiukova (Author)

9780521547956, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 17 January 2019

440 pages, 101 b/w illus. 39 tables
24.7 x 17.4 x 2 cm, 0.89 kg

'James Pustejovsky and Olga Batiukova guide us through the complexities of the lexicon and lexical theories, offering a long-awaited comprehensive view of their different facets. A must-have compass for learning what we know about the lexicon and the challenges that still lie ahead.' Alessandro Lenci, Università di Pisa

What is the lexicon, what does it contain, and how is it structured? What principles determine the functioning of the lexicon as a component of natural language grammar? What role does lexical information play in linguistic theory? This accessible introduction aims to answer these questions, and explores the relation of the lexicon to grammar as a whole. It includes a critical overview of major theoretical frameworks, and puts forward a unified treatment of lexical structure and design. The text can be used for introductory and advanced courses, and for courses that touch upon different aspects of the lexicon, such as lexical semantics, lexicography, syntax, general linguistics, computational lexicology and ontology design. The book provides students with a set of tools which will enable them to work with lexical data for all kinds of purposes, including an abundance of exercises and in-class activities designed to ensure that students are actively engaged with the content and effectively acquire the necessary knowledge and skills they need.

Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I. The Lexicon in Linguistic Theory: 1. Introduction
2. Lexicon and syntax
3. Lexicon in syntactic frameworks
4. Lexicon and semantics
5. Lexicon in semantic frameworks
Part II. Lexical Structures: 6. The structure of a lexical entry
7. Semantic typing and decomposition
8. Argument structure
9. Lexical aspect, tense, and modality
Part III. Lexicon as a System: 10. General architecture of the lexicon
11. Compositionality in the mapping from the lexicon to syntax
Answers to selected exercises
Online resources
Glossary
References
Subject index
Name index.

Subject Areas: Computational linguistics [CFX], Lexicography [CFM], Grammar, syntax & morphology [CFK], Semantics, discourse analysis, etc [CFG], Linguistics [CF]