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Adjectives in GermaNet

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Introduction

There are varying approaches concerning a sound classification of adjectives. Examples are: Rachidi (1989), Dixon (1982), Lee (1994) and Hundsnurscher & Splett (1982).



Adjectives in WordNet®

In the English WordNet® the authors distinguish between two classes of adjectives, namely relational and descriptive adjectives. Relational adjectives cannot be graduated and usually occur only in combination with a noun: atomic bomb. However, the criteria for distinguishing between relational and descriptive adjectives are not at all clear, as can be seen by the following quote from G.A. Miller (1993): "The decision about which file an adjective is to be listed in is, in the end, pragmatic"(p.14). Adjectives are organized in clusters of synsets. A cluster is associated by semantic similarity to a focal adjective that relates it to a contrasting cluster at the opposite pole of the attribute scale (Miller et al. 1993). WordNet® distinguishes between direct antonyms such as heavy/light and indirect antonyms such as heavy/airy. Therefore, in WordNet® every descriptive adjective has antonyms, either directly or indirectly.


The adjectives are not classified further as is done for nouns and verbs, rather a huge file is constructed, containing all adjectives.



Adjectives in GermaNet

The approach taken in GermaNet differs from WordNet® in the following points:


  • We distinguish between different semantic classes of adjectives, which are listed in different files.

  • We abandon the cluster-approach taken in WordNet® in favour of a hierarchical structuring of adjectives comparable to that of nouns and verbs. This eliminates the rather fuzzy concept of indirect antonyms of WordNet®.

  • We also try to cope without distinguishing between relational and descriptive adjectives as the criteria for their distinction seem to be not at all clear. It seems as if some uses of relational adjectives in English are realised by nominal compounds in German.

  • We do not introduce "artificial" antonyms (e.g. Wordnet®: pregnant !-> nonpregnant).

For an overview see the table with semantic adjective classes in GermaNet.



Semantic Relations

Instead of using the concept of satellite or similar synsets we try to structure adjectives in GermaNet hierarchically and do not allow indirect antonyms. We make use of the hyponymy relation wherever it is possible.


Example: "froh" (happy)



The following semantic relations are used to describe adjectives:

  • Antonymy, e.g. schlecht is the antonym of gut
  • Hyponymy, e.g. gut is the hyperonym of toll
  • Association, e.g. landesweit is associated with Land
  • Pertonymy, e.g. medizinisch is the pertainym of Medizin
  • Participle, e.g. bedeutend is the participle ofbedeuten


Derived Adjectives

Adjectives containing productive derivational elements (e.g. -bar, -lich, -mäßig, -ähnlich, -frei, -los, ...) are only included in GermaNet if they occur with high frequency (-> corpus queries, frequency lists). They are connected with its base word (noun, verb) by the following pointers:

  • denominal adjectives: pertainym
  • deverbal adjectives: participle, pertainym


Semantic Classes

In GermaNet we split up the adjectives into 16 semantic classes following the classes proposed by Hundsnurscher and Splett (1982) with some changes to the subclasses and a special class for the so-called pertainyms. All semantic adjective classes that are used in GermaNet are shown in Table 1.


Table 1: Semantic Classes of Adjectives in GermaNet


Adjective Class Examples
Perceptional (Perzeption) lightness (Helligkeit) hell, dunkel
colour (Farbe) rot, grün, blau
sound (Geräusch) laut, leise
taste (Geschmack) süß, sauer, salzig
smell (Geruch) aromatisch, muffig
surface (Oberfläche) rauh, glatt, glänzend
Spatial (Ort) dimension (Dimension) lang, kurz, flach
direction (Richtung) nördlich, frontal
localisation (Lokalisierung) nah, ober, unter
origin(Herkunft) einheimisch, fremd
spatial distribution (Raumverteilung) voll, leer
form (Form) rund, eckig
existence (Existenz) vorhanden, anwesend
Temporality-related (Zeit) time (Zeit) früh, spät
velocity (Geschwindigkeit) langsam, schnell, flott
age (Alter) alt, jung
habit (Gewohnheit) normal, typisch, seltsam
Motion-related (Bewegung) motion plump, fließend
Material-related (Substanz) composition (Beschaffenheit) golden, grob, fein
state (Zustand) offen, geschlossen
stability (Stabilität) stabil, wacklig
consistency (Konsistenz) flüssig, fest, schleimig
ripeness (Reife von Nahrung) reif, frisch, grün
dampness (Feuchtigkeit) naß, trocken, feucht
purity (Reinheit) sauber, schmutzig, trüb
gravity (Gewicht) schwer, leicht, massiv
physics (Physik) elektrisch, magnetisch
chemistry (Chemie) asbesthaltig, dioxinhaltig
temperature (Temperatur) warm, kalt
Weather-related (natPhaenomen) weather / climate schwül, lau, regnerisch
Body-related (Koerper) life (Belebtheit) lebendig, tot
constitution (Konstitution) stark, schwach
affliction (Gebrechen/Krankheit) krank, gesund, taub
desire/feeling (Körpergefühl) hungrig, satt, müde
sex (Geschlecht) männlich, weiblich
appearance (Aussehen) schön, häßlich, hübsch
bodily state (Körperzustand) schwanger, geschlechtsreif
Mood-related (Gefuehl) feeling (Empfindung/Gefühl)) froh, traurig, bewegt
stimulus (Reiz) angenehm, traurig, bewegend
Spirit-related (Geist) intelligence/attention (Intelligenz/Aufmerksamkeit) klug, dumm, aufmerksam
knowledge/experience (Wissen/Erfahrung) erfahren, fähig, gebildet
Behaviour-related (Verhalten) behaviour/character (Verhalten/Charakter) böse, faul, höflich
animal specific tierspezifisch zahm, wild
discipline streng, nachgiebig (Zucht/Erziehung)
skill (Geschicklichkeit) geschickt, unbeholfen
relations (Beziehung) feindlich, verliebt
sympathy (Sympathie) beliebt, verachtet
inclination (Neigung) naschhaft, gesprächig
Social-related (Gesellschaft) stratum (Schicht) arm, reich, erwerbstätig
institution/politics (Institution/Politik) staatlich, privat, demokratisch
religion (Religion) gläubig, christlich
race (Rasse) weiß, farbig
state (Land) europäisch, deutsch
region (Region) städtisch, ländlich, bundesweit
Quantity-related (Gesellschaft) number (Zahl) zwei, dritt-
quantity (Quantität) viel, wenig, vierfach
costs (Kosten) teuer, billig
return (Ertrag) einträglich, fruchtbar
Relational (Relation) validity (Geltung) gültig, ungültig, möglich
certainty (Gewissheit) gewiß, sicher, eindeutig
requirements (Bedarf) wichtig, wesentlich, nötig
effectiveness (Wirksamkeit) wirksam, effektiv
difficulty/energy requirement (Schwierigkeit/Energieaufwand) schwer, einfach, sparsam
functioning (Funktionalität) intakt, defekt, kaputt
security (Sicherheit) gefährlich, sicher, riskant
order (Geordnetheit) geordnet, ordentlich, chaotisch
linking (Verknüpfung) lose, zugehörig, verbunden
correspondence (Übereinstimmung) gleich, verschieden, ähnlich
accuracy (Genauigkeit) genau, vage, klar
completeness (Vollständigkeit) komplett, lückenhaft, total
privative (privativ) nackt, bloß, kniefrei
reference (Bezug) direkt, symbolisch, konkret
beneficial effect (Zuträglichkeit) heilsam, schädlich, giftig
General (Allgemein) comparative enorm, riesig, stattlich
evaluation gut, schlecht, übel
norm sonderbar, grotesk
Pertainyms (Pertonym) 'derived from' medizinisch, notariell, regional
Privative (Privativa) defined by negation rauchfrei, sorglos, luftleer


Perceptional Adjectives (adj.Perzeption)

The class of perceptional adjectives contains adjectives that describe what a human being can perceive by his/her five senses. According to what we can see (lightness, colour, surface), hear (sound), taste, smell and touch (surface) they are further divided into the six subclasses that are listed in Table 1. The adjectives describing the surface of a material include both what we can touch (e.g. weich, glatt) and what we can see (e.g. glänzend, matt).



General Adjectives (adj.Allgemein)

These are adjectives with a "general" meaning. General adjectives can be superordinate to (many of) the other adjective classes. For instance, some behaviour-related adjectives can be assigned to the general adjectives gut or schlecht:

  • gerecht, hyperonyms: verhaltensspezifisch, adj.Allgemein:gut


  • Pertainyms (adj.Pertonym)

    Pertainyms are adjectives pertaining to a noun that forms the basis of the adjective and therefore determines its meaning (e.g. finanziell/financial -> Finanzen/finance). They cannot be classified according to one of the semantic classes described above.


    Each pertainym is connected with its noun by the lexical relation Pertainymy, e.g. finanziell pertains to nomen.Besitz:Finanzen.


    Those denominal adjectives that can be classified should be listed in the corresponding file, e.g. intellektuell/intellectual as a spirit-related adjective in the file adj.Geist: intellektuell pertains to nomen.Kognition:Intellekt


    Typical German pertainym suffixes are -(i,u)ell, -al, -ar, -isch, and -lich.



    Privatives (Privativa)

    These are denominal adjectives that are defined by negation. They can be paraphrased with "to have no x/to be without x" (e.g. ärmellos/sleeveless, rostfrei/stainless). Similar to pertainyms they are only listed in this class if they cannot be assigned to another class, as e.g. { [sorglos, sorgenfrei, nomen.Gefuehl:Sorge,\]} belonging to the class adj.Gefuehl.


    Typical German privative suffixes are -los, -frei, -leer.