Generic-Specific Lexical Relation
Definition:
A generic-specific lexical relation is a hierarchical association between a lexical unit with a broader, more general meaning and other lexical units with a narrower, more precise meaning.
Discussion:
Another name for the generic-specific lexical relation is hyponymy. Hyponymy involves the association between a:
- hyponym—a more semantically complex, specific lexical unit (X)
- superordinate—a less semantically complex, general lexical unit (Y)
X is a hyponym of Y if:
- the sentence "X is necessarily Y" is normal, but
- the sentence "Y is necessarily X" is not normal.
Example: "Parrot" is a hyponym of "bird" since:
- the sentence "A parrot is necessarily a bird" is normal, but
- the sentence *"A bird is necessarily a parrot" is not normal.
Examples:
(English)
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Natural (taxonomic) |
Nominal |
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For animate things: |
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For artifacts: |
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For actions: |
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For attributes: |
See Also:
Source:
24, 88, 109, 140–141
152, 324, 328, 349, 416, 1026, 1123, 1174, 1198, 1423, 1501, 1548
This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library. Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003.