Digital Humanities

Frame semantics is a linguistic theory developed by Charles J. Fillmore in the late 1970s, building upon earlier work in semantics and cognitive linguistics. It focuses on how meaning is organized and structured in human language, particularly in terms of how individual words or phrases evoke mental "frames" or cognitive structures that help people understand and interpret language. Some key concepts of frame semantics include:

Frames: Frames are cognitive structures or mental representations that organize our understanding of the world. They consist of a set of interconnected concepts, roles, and relations that define a particular scenario or situation. Frames are often activated in language comprehension and production to help understand the meaning of words and sentences.

Frame Elements (Fillmorean Case Roles): Frame elements are the roles or participants associated with a particular frame. They represent the different semantic roles that are filled by the entities mentioned in a sentence. For example, in the frame of "eating," the frame elements might include the eater, the food, the instrument used for eating:

Lexical Units: Lexical units are words or phrases that evoke specific frames. Each word or phrase is associated with one or more frames, and understanding the meaning of the word involves activating the relevant frame(s). For example, the word "car" evokes the frame of transportation, which includes concepts like vehicles, roads, drivers, etc.

At the same time, there was another influential theory of Ch. J. Fillmore to contribute to the frame semantics. It is a theory of Construction Grammar.

Construction Grammar, a theory pioneered by Charles J. Fillmore along with Paul Kay and other linguists, offers a framework for understanding the structure and organization of language. Here's an overview of Construction Grammar as developed by Fillmore:

Constructional Approach: Construction Grammar posits that language is organized around constructions, which are form-meaning pairings that range from individual words to larger syntactic structures. Constructions capture regularities in language use, including both grammatical and semantic patterns.

Syntactic Constructions: In Construction Grammar, syntactic constructions are seen as pairings of form (surface structure) and function (meaning). These constructions can range from simple templates for word order to more complex patterns involving phrasal or clausal structures.

Semantic Constructions: Constructions also encode semantic information, capturing regularities in meaning beyond mere syntax. This allows Construction Grammar to account for how linguistic expressions convey not just grammatical relations but also nuanced semantic concepts.

Flexible Productivity: Unlike earlier generative grammatical frameworks, Construction Grammar allows for greater flexibility and productivity in language use. Constructions can be combined, modified, and extended creatively to convey new meanings and nuances.

Constructional Networks: Construction Grammar represents knowledge of language as a network of interconnected constructions. These networks capture the relationships between constructions, including inheritance (shared properties between related constructions) and constructional schemas (abstract templates that underlie multiple specific constructions).

Constructional Polysemy: Construction Grammar acknowledges that constructions can have multiple related meanings or functions, a phenomenon known as constructional polysemy. This allows for a more nuanced understanding of how constructions are used in different contexts.

Let us look at the example:

A lexical unit (LU) is a pairing of a word with a meaning.

A semantic frame is a script-like conceptual structure that describes a particular type of situation, object, or event along with its participants and props.

For example, the Apply _heat frame describes a common situation involving a Cook, some Food, and a Heating Instrument, and is evoked by words such as bake, blanch, boil, broil, brown, simmer, steam, etc. These are roles frame elements (FEs) and the frame-evoking words are LUs in the Apply _heat frame.

In the simplest case, the frame-evoking LU is a verb and the FEs are its syntactic dependents:

Case Grammar: In Fillmore's theory of Case Grammar, cases refer to the semantic roles that elements of a sentence play. Fillmore identified a set of basic semantic roles, often referred to as Fillmorean Case Roles. These roles capture the relationships between the elements of a sentence and the action or state described by the verb. They include:

Agent: The agent is the entity that performs or initiates the action described by the verb. It is typically animate and volitional. For example, in the sentence "The boy kicked the ball," "the boy" is the agent.

"The chef prepared the meal."

"The dog chased the cat."

"The teacher explained the lesson."

Patient: The patient is the entity that undergoes or is affected by the action described by the verb. It is typically affected by the action but does not necessarily initiate it. In the sentence "The boy kicked the ball," "the ball" is the patient.

"The storm damaged the roof."

"The virus infected many people."

"The earthquake destroyed several buildings."

Instrument: The instrument is the entity used by the agent to perform the action described by the verb. It is the means by which the action is carried out. For example, in the sentence "The boy kicked the ball with his foot," "his foot" is the instrument.

"She cut the paper with scissors."

"He wrote the letter with a pen."

"They built the house with bricks and mortar."

Experiencer: The experiencer is the entity that perceives or experiences the state or event described by the verb. It is typically sentient and capable of experiencing sensations or emotions. For example, in the sentence "Jane loves chocolate," "Jane" is the experiencer.

"He enjoys watching movies."

"She fears spiders."

"They hated the taste of the medicine."

Theme: The theme is the entity that undergoes movement or change as a result of the action described by the verb. It often corresponds to the patient but can also refer to the entity that undergoes a change of state or location. For example, in the sentence "She put the book on the table," "the book" is the theme.

"She read the book to the children."

"He ate the apple."

"They carried the bags."

Location: The location is the entity that specifies the place or spatial context in which the action described by the verb occurs. It provides information about where the action takes place.

"She lives in a small apartment."

"The party will be held at the park."

"He found his keys under the bed."

Goal/Recipient: The goal or recipient is the entity that receives the action or the result of the action described by the verb. It often involves a transfer of possession, information, or affection.

"She gave the book to her friend."

"He sent an email to his colleague."

"They donated money to the charity."

Source: The source is the entity from which the action originates or the point of departure for movement.

"He came from Canada."

"She received a gift from her grandmother."

"They fled from the burning building."

Beneficiary: The beneficiary is the entity for whose benefit the action is performed.

"He bought flowers for his wife."

"She made dinner for her family."

"They organized a fundraiser for the victims."

Attribute: The attribute case represents properties or qualities attributed to a noun.

"She is tall and athletic."

"He is intelligent and creative."

"The book is interesting and informative."

Time: The time case specifies the temporal context in which the action or event described by the verb occurs.

"She arrived at noon."

"He will finish the project by Friday."

"They met last summer."

Frame-to-Frame Relations: Frames are not isolated; they are interconnected through various relations. These relations capture the relationships between different frames, such as inheritance (one frame inherits properties from another), elaboration (one frame adds detail to another), and opposition (one frame contrasts with another).

Frame Evocation and Extension: Frame semantics recognizes that words can evoke frames directly but can also extend or modify existing frames. For example, the word "self-driving car" extends the frame of "car" by adding the concept of autonomy, leading to a modified understanding of the vehicle.