On 4/2/2013 6:23 PM, Simon Spero wrote:
> The meaning of the phrase /pineapple tree/ is endocentric - that is to
> say, the meaning of the whole is derived from its constituent parts.
> It is is about as close to canonical an English noun-noun compound as
> they get (which isn't very). (01)
I agree that is a very common pattern in English:
[fruit] & [type of plant] => subtype that produces that type of fruit. (02)
The general principle for Noun-Noun compounds is that the speaker has
some pattern in mind that relates the two nouns and the speaker knows
(or assumes) that the listener is aware of that pattern and can use
it to interpret the implicit relationship. (03)
Examples: 'steamer clam' and 'steamer duck'. (04)
A steamer clam is a clam that is usually cooked by steaming. (05)
But a steamer duck is a duck looks like a paddle-wheel steamer
when it flaps its wings while taking off. (06)
There is no limit to the kinds of pattern. For example, the phrase
"road kill" refers to a dead animal that was killed by a car that
passed on that road. If the animal is totally flattened, it may be
called a "road rug". From that noun phrase, one can form the
participle "road rugged". (07)
> Fake diamond is much more complicated to analyze. (08)
Actually, adjective-noun combinations are usually easier to analyze
because the kinds of patterns fall into a more conventional range. (09)
The adjective 'fake' is called *privative* because it deprives
the thing it modifies of one or more typical attributes. A fake
diamond has many easily observable attributes of a diamond except
the essential property of being made of crystallized carbon. (010)
But note the term 'stuffed bear'. The word 'stuffed' has a privative
effect of denying the essential property of a bear. But it adds
some specific information, which the word 'fake' does not. (011)
Since words like 'bear' or 'flower' can be used to refer to fake
bears and flowers, those meanings could be considered derived senses
of those words. Therefore, 'stuffed' would add information to
the sense of 'fake bear'. (012)
> More complicated still is the case of toys. A toy dog is a toy
> shaped like a dog, but a toy poodle is a dog (and a dog toy is
> a toy for use by dogs). (013)
The phrase 'toy dog' follows the same pattern as 'stuffed bear'.
The phrase 'toy poodle' is ambiguous because it could be
a toy shaped like a poodle. The interpretation of a small
variety of poodle follows one of the word senses of 'toy'
when applied to dogs. (014)
The term 'dog toy' would normally be analyzed as a toy related
to dogs in some way. Anyone (or any computer) who knows that dogs
can be playful is likely to interpret it as a toy that dogs play with. (015)
> For more fun, consider White tigers, Paper tigers, Paper Airplanes,
> and Model airplanes. (016)
'White tiger' follows the default rules. But 'white elephant' is
interesting. It follows the same rule as 'white tiger', but it adds
the background info that white elephants are sacred, but they eat
a lot and a gift of a white elephant is a liability -- from that
the term 'white elephant' has become a frozen metaphor for a gift
that has become a liability. (017)
Bottom line: To interpret NL modifiers, you need an analogy engine
that can find and compare widely used patterns. To be efficient,
you need software that can find analogies in logarithmic time. (018)
John (019)
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