Content
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.