'HAVING', 'CHARACTERIZED BY', AND 'MARKED BY' IN WEBSTER'S SEVENTH NEW COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY,
Abstract
The two most common syntactic constructions in which 'having', 'characterized by', and 'marked by' occur in Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary are discussed, with a view to isolating the standard occurrences of these word groups (which are here referred to as defining formulas for comparison with each other. Standard occurrences of 'characterized by' and 'marked by' are found to perform the same semantic function, while 'having' is found to differ semantically from 'characterized by' and 'marked by' in subtle ways. It is argued that this difference in semantic function can be elucidated by developing a system of semantic categories. Such a system is tentatively proposed and is used to explain a number of the semantic differences in question, thus providing a justification for the system. It is argued that it is possible to interpret the system in such a way that it becomes clearer how, for a given adjective, the proper range of modifiable nouns is determined from the definition of that adjective. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 06, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0661610
Entities
People
- Kenton F. Machina
Organizations
- System Development Corporation