Language and
Linguistics Vocabulary
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Last
Update: 3/30/02
Copyright© 1996-2002. All rights reserved. See Terms of Usage.
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#$CommunicationConvention communication convention
The collection of conventions used to encode and
interpret things which bear information; a syntax together
with a semantic mapping. Instances include natural languages
like French or English, database data formats, and computer
languages or idiosyncratic systems of gestures or symbols
known only by a small group of people.
guid: bd58f43f-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$TemporalStuffType
direct specialization of:
#$AbstractInformationalThing
direct generalization of: #$WritingSystem #$Language
#$Language languages
(communication convention)
The collection of systems which use
conventionalized signs or symbols. This includes dead
languages, computer languages, unspoken languages, codes -
anything which relates symbols to meaning.
guid: bd58f489-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$ObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$CommunicationConvention
direct generalization of: #$HumanLanguage #$NaturalLanguage
#$AbstractProgrammingLanguage
#$NaturalLanguage natural languages
A specialization of #$Language. Each
instance of #$NaturalLanguage
is a language which is used for human communication, and
which has evolved naturally. Instances include dead
languages such as Ancient Greek and Latin, but concocted
languages such as Esperanto are not included.
guid: bd58f37a-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$ObjectType
direct specialization of: #$HumanLanguage
direct generalization of:
#$LivingLanguage
#$DeadLanguage
#$LivingLanguage living languages
A specialization of #$NaturalLanguage.
An instance of #$NaturalLanguage
is an instance of #$LivingLanguage
just in case it has at least one extant native speaker.
guid: bd58fc55-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$LanguageGroupingType
direct specialization of:
#$NaturalLanguage
#$DeadLanguage dead languages
A subcollection of #$NaturalLanguage.
Each instance of #$DeadLanguage
is a natural language that is no longer spoken as a native language.
guid: bd58a2a8-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$LanguageGroupingType
direct specialization of:
#$NaturalLanguage
#$SanskritLanguage Sanskrit
This language was originally spoken in the Indic
area and is now a dead language. Its sacred literature,
however, was transmitted orally and eventually written in
the then-current Devanagari script
guid: bd5892ad-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$DeadLanguage
#$Individual
#$EnglishLanguage the
English language
The Germanic Language native to England, now spoken
in the United Kingdom, the United States, and many other countries.
guid: bd58b700-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LivingLanguage
#$Individual
#$SpanishLanguage the
Spanish language
The indigenous language of #$Spain and,
secondarily, most of Central and South America
guid: bd58e563-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LivingLanguage
#$Individual
#$FrenchLanguage the
French language
The Romance language which is the primary language
spoken in #$France.
guid: bd58b6bf-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LivingLanguage
#$Individual
#$GermanLanguage the
German language
In its standard version, the dominant form of High German.
guid: bd58d018-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LivingLanguage
#$Individual
#$MandarinChineseLanguage Mandarin Chinese
One of the major languages spoken in China; also
the official language.
guid: bd58a106-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LivingLanguage
#$Individual
#$HindiLanguage Hindi
Language spoken in the Indic area.
guid: bd58cbdb-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LivingLanguage
#$Individual
#$BengaliLanguage Asamiya
Language spoken in the Indic area.
guid: bd58cf7c-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LivingLanguage
#$Individual
#$MalayIndonesianLanguage the
Indonesian language
A Malayan language spoken in Indonesia.
guid: bd58b9cd-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LivingLanguage
#$Individual
#$JapaneseLanguage the
Japanese language
The language of the people of #$Japan.
guid: bd5886ea-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LivingLanguage
#$Individual
#$PortugueseLanguage the
Portuguese language
Indigenous language of #$Portugal and #$Brazil.
guid: bd590836-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LivingLanguage
#$Individual
#$RussianLanguage the
Russian language
Dominant language of #$Russia.
guid: bd58b38e-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LivingLanguage
#$Individual
#$ArabicLanguage Arabic
(natural language)
A Semitic language spoken by a large number of
people in North Africa and the Middle East.
guid: bd588730-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LivingLanguage
#$Individual
#$AbstractProgrammingLanguage programming languages
A specialization of #$ComputerLanguage, #$AbstractProgrammingLanguage
is the collection of languages invented for the purpose of
issuing commands (in the form of #$ComputerProgram-CWs)
to computers.
guid: bd58c2ea-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$ObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$Language #$ProgramSpecification
#$orthography orthography
(#$orthography
LANG WRIT) means that the #$WritingSystem WRIT is the usual
mode of writing used to encode the #$Language LANG;
that is, WRIT is used by most of the people who customarily
engage in writing LANG.
guid: bd58f1d5-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$BinaryPredicate
#$hasCommConvention has
comm convention
(#$hasCommConvention
AGENT CONV) means that the agent AGENT knows the #$CommunicationConvention
CONV and can use it to encode or decode information.
guid: bd58f9a9-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$BinaryPredicate
#$usesCommConventionForInfo uses
comm convention for info
(#$usesCommConventionForInfo
INFO CC IBT) means that the #$InformationBearingThing
IBT contains the information INFO, and INFO was encoded
using the #$CommunicationConvention
CC. INFO need not be propositional (see also #$PropositionalInformationThing).
guid: bd588095-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$TernaryPredicate
#$languageSpoken language spoken
(#$languageSpoken
AGENT NATLANG) means that the #$IntelligentAgent
AGENT speaks the natural human language NATLANG at least
somewhat fluently. The language must be speakable by humans,
as are English, Latin, or Japanese, but not LISP, C or
LINCOS. See also #$NaturalLanguage.
guid: bd58b67e-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$BinaryPredicate
direct specialization of:
#$knowsAbout
#$hasCommConvention
#$languagesSpokenHere languages
spoken here
(#$languagesSpokenHere
REG LANG) means that LANG is a language spoken in
geographical region REG.
guid: bd58a992-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$BinaryPredicate
#$nationalLanguage national language
(#$nationalLanguage
NAT LANG) means that LANG is officially recognized by the
political region NAT as a national language. A country may
have more than one nationalLanguage.
guid: bd58dc3e-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$IntangibleObjectPredicate
#$BinaryPredicate
direct specialization of:
#$languagesSpokenHere
#$nativeLanguage native language
(#$nativeLanguage
PERSON LANG) means that the #$Person PERSON is
fluent in the #$NaturalLanguage
LANG, and that LANG was (one of the) first language(s)
spoken by PERSON. The #$arg2Format
for this predicate is #$SetTheFormat,
to cover cases in which a person has two or more first
languages (as might be the case when a child is raised in a
bilingual household).
guid: bd58d9e2-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$BinaryPredicate
direct specialization of:
#$languageSpoken
#$LinguisticObject linguistic objects
A specialization of #$AbstractInformationalThing.
Each instance of #$LinguisticObject
is an intangible object that is part of some language or
other, in a broad sense of part whereby #$LinguisticObject's
specializations include such diverse collections as #$Title, #$WordSense,
#$SententialConstituent, #$NonlexicalLinguisticObject,
and #$LinguisticAttribute.
guid: bd58d0fb-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LinguisticObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$AbstractInformationalThing
direct generalization of: #$Sentence
#$ProperNamePredicate-General #$LexicalItem
#$Title #$NonlexicalLinguisticObject
#$SententialConstituent #$ELSentence-Assertible
#$ParsingTemplateCategory #$TemplateMarkerObject #$Phoneme
#$NLWord-Phonological #$LinguisticRuleElement
#$LinguisticRule
#$LinguisticObjectType types
of linguistic object
A collection of collections. Each instance of #$LinguisticObjectType
is a specialization of #$LinguisticObject (q.v.).
guid: bd5900f4-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$SecondOrderCollection
direct specialization of:
#$ObjectType
direct generalization of: #$SententialConstituentType
#$NLPhraseType #$SpeechPart
#$AffixCategory #$LexicalWordTypeByLanguage
#$LexicalWordType
#$LexicalItem lexical item
A subcollection of #$LinguisticObject
(q.v.). #$LexicalItem
is the collection of linguistic objects that are part of the
lexicon of some natural language or other. Instances of #$LexicalItem
include words as well as constituents of words, such as
affixes (see #$LexicalWord,
#$WordConstituent, and #$LexicalAffix).
guid: be1903ee-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LinguisticObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$LinguisticObject #$AbstractInformationStructure
direct generalization of:
#$LexicalWord
#$WordConstituent #$BaseWordForm
#$LexicalWord words (AIT)
A subcollection of #$LexicalItem.
#$LexicalWord
is the collection of all natural language words. A lexical
word is a free morpheme: it can appear in a phrase without
being bound to (i.e. concatenated with) another lexical
item. (Cf. #$LexicalAffix.) Note that different inflectional
forms of a given word do not constitute distinct lexical
words. Instances of #$LexicalWord
include #$Aluminum-TheWord, #$Confetti-TheWord,
#$To-TheWord, #$Confetti-TheWord, #$Hang-Glide-MWW.
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direct instance of: #$LexicalWordType
direct specialization of: #$BaseWordForm
direct generalization of: #$InherentlyVulgarWord #$EnglishWord
#$SimpleWord #$ComplexWord
#$EnglishWord English words
The collection of all lexical words in English; a
subcollection of #$LexicalWord.
Different inflectional forms of a word do not count as
different words; for example, #$Eat-TheWord encompasses the
strings 'eat', 'eating', 'ate', etc.
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direct instance of: #$LexicalWordTypeByLanguage
direct specialization of:
#$LexicalWord
#$NonlexicalLinguisticObject nonlexical
linguistic objects
The collection of linguistic objects which are not
morphemes, but which nonetheless make up part of a language
system; e.g., the parts of speech.
guid: bd588258-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$LinguisticObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$LinguisticObject
direct generalization of: #$SubcategorizationFrame
Some Example Parts Of Speech
#$posForms pos forms
The predicate #$posForms is used
to indicate the different parts of speech that a particular
English word has associated with it. (#$posForms WORD
POS) means that the #$EnglishWord
WORD has a form that can serve as the #$SpeechPart POS.
For example, #$Dot-TheWord has forms for both #$SimpleNoun and
#$Verb. Forms of
a word used for different parts of speech may or may not
differ from each other in sound and/or spelling. To find
out, or to specify, the string that represents a particular
POS form of a specific word, use #$partOfSpeech.
guid: bd5e4f4d-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$NLSyntacticPredicate
#$BinaryPredicate
#$SpeechPart parts
of speech
The collection of all parts of speech. Instances of
#$SpeechPart
include #$Preposition,
#$Adverb, #$SimpleNoun, #$Determiner, #$QuantifyingIndexical,
#$Punctuation-SP,
#$Pronoun).
To link a specific word with the parts of speech for which
it has forms, see #$posForms; e.g.,
#$You-TheWord has a#$Pronoun form, #$And-TheWord has a #$CoordinatingConjunction
form, #$Hit-TheWord has both #$SimpleNoun and
#$Verb forms.
guid: bd588172-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$SecondOrderCollection
direct specialization of:
#$LinguisticObjectType #$TermPhrasesConstraint
direct generalization of: #$GenericSpeechPartType
#$SimpleNoun count
nouns (AIT)
The collection of all simple nouns, also called
common nouns. Simple nouns can typically be preceded by a
determiner, and in English they inflect for number. These
nouns, unlike mass nouns, are countable. Example: 'dog'.
guid: bd588078-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$SpeechPart
direct specialization of: #$CountNoun-Generic
direct generalization of: #$SimpleNoun-Neuter
#$SimpleNoun-Masculine #$SimpleNoun-Feminine #$Number-SP
#$MassNoun common
mass nouns
The collection of all mass nouns. Mass nouns are
syntactically singular, and often they denote stufflike
things. Example: 'water'.
guid: bd652289-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$SpeechPart
direct specialization of: #$MassNoun-Generic
#$AgentiveNoun agentive nouns
The collection of all nouns in the agentive form.
Agentive nouns usually denote the `doer' or `performer' of
some action, and often end in `-er' or `-or'. Example: `runner'.
guid: bd588033-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$SpeechPart
direct specialization of: #$DeVerbalNoun
#$ProperCountNoun proper
count nouns
The collection of all proper count nouns. Proper
nouns are usually capitalized, and they usually denote some
particular person, place, or thing. Many proper nouns cannot
be preceded by a determiner, and many have no plural form.
Example: `Dallas'. Although one might think that names for
languages e.g. ``Cherokee'' are #$ProperCountNouns,
they are actually #$MassNouns. One
test is to see if you can ``too much X'' or ``a lot of X''
without a distinct plural form. For example ``too much
Crest'' vs *``too much Q-tips'' and ``a lot of Coke'' vs
*``a lot of Q-tip'' suggest that ``crest'' and ``coke'' are
mass nouns, whereas ``Q-tip'' is a count noun.
guid: c0f2a028-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$SpeechPart
direct specialization of: #$CountNoun-Generic #$ProperNoun
#$ProperMassNoun proper
mass nouns
The collection of all proper mass nouns. Proper
mass nouns are usually capitalized.
guid: bf668bab-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$SpeechPart
direct specialization of: #$MassNoun-Generic #$ProperNoun
#$Pronoun pronouns
The collection of all pronouns. Pronouns are
indexicals which can replace nouns. Example: `she'.
guid: c0fe02b2-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$SpeechPart
direct specialization of: #$ClosedClassWord
direct generalization of: #$IndefinitePronoun
#$ExpletivePronoun #$Number-SP #$ReciprocalPronoun
#$PossessivePronoun-Post
#$WHPronoun
#$ReflexivePronoun
#$ObjectPronoun
#$SubjectPronoun
#$PossessivePronoun
#$Verb verbs
The collection of all verbs. Verbs usually denote
events, states, or processes. Verbs can be conjugated.
Example: `eat'.
guid: bd58807c-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$SpeechPart
direct specialization of: #$NLWordForm
direct generalization of: #$AuxVerb #$MainVerb
#$DenominalVerb #$DeAdjectivalVerb
#$Adjective adjectives
The collecton of all adjectives. Adjectives are
words which can modify nouns. Many adjectives have
comparative and superlative forms. Example: `red'.
guid: bd588031-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$SpeechPart
direct specialization of: #$NLWordForm
direct generalization of: #$NonIntersectiveAdjective
#$AttributiveOnlyAdjective #$DeverbalAdjective
#$DeAdjectivalAdjective #$DenominalAdjective
#$NongradableAdjective #$PredicativeOnlyAdjective
#$Adverb adverbs
The collection of all adverbs. Adverbs are words
which can modify adverbs, verbs, or adjectives. Many adverbs
are morphologically derived from adjectives. Example: `slowly'.
guid: bd58802c-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$SpeechPart
direct specialization of: #$NLWordForm
direct generalization of:
#$WHAdverb #$ConjunctAdverb
#$DenominalAdverb #$DeAdjectivalAdverb
#$Modal modal verbs
The collection of all modal auxiliary verbs. Modals
have only tensed forms, do not inflect for person and
number, and can take contracted negation. Example: `should'.
guid: bd5884c6-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$SpeechPart
direct specialization of: #$AuxVerb
#$Preposition prepositions
The collection of all prepositions. Prepositions
are function words which usually take a noun phrase
complement. They usually express temporal, spatial, or other
relations. Example: `at'.
guid: bd59095f-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of:
#$SpeechPart
direct specialization of: #$ClosedClassWord
direct generalization of:
#$Preposition-Spatial
#$Preposition-Of
#$Preposition-Temporal
Examples Of Predicates Indicating Syntactic Properties Of
#$singular singular
(#$singular WORD
STRING) means that STRING is the singular noun form of WORD.
For example, the #$singular form of
#$Hit-TheWord is `hit'.
guid: bd6757b8-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$SpeechPartPredicate
direct specialization of: #$singular-Generic
#$simpleNounStrings
#$plural plural
(#$plural
WORD STRING) means that STRING is the plural noun form of
WORD. For example, the #$plural form of
#$Hit-TheWord is `hits', and the plural form of
#$Goose-TheWord is `geese'.
guid: bd5a6853-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$SpeechPartPredicate
direct specialization of: #$plural-Generic
#$simpleNounStrings
#$massNumber mass number
(#$massNumber
WORD STRING) means that STRING is the mass noun form of
WORD. For example, `paper' is the mass noun form of #$Paper-TheWord.
guid: bd60ad01-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$SpeechPartPredicate
direct specialization of: #$massNumber-Generic
#$infinitive infinitive
This predicate relates #$LexicalWords
(q.v.) to their corresponding infinitive verb forms. (#$infinitive
WORD STRING) means that STRING is an infinitive verb form of
WORD. But note that for the sake of convenience STRING does
_not_ include the marker `to' that is commonly given at the
beginning of an (English) infinitive. For example, #$infinitive
relates #$Hit-TheWord simply to the string `hit' (rather
than `to hit'). Note also that, in the Knowledge Base (KB),
the closed atomic sentences (i.e. GAF s) built with #$infinitive
typically have #$SubLStrings (q.v.) as their second
arguments, as indicated by a surrounding pair of
double-quotation marks. So the above example actually
appears in the KB as `(#$infinitive #$Hit-TheWord hit )'.
guid: bd5d6824-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$SpeechPartPredicate
direct specialization of: #$untensed
#$pastTense-Universal past
tense - universal
(#$pastTense-Universal
WORD STRING) means that STRING is the past tense verb form
of WORD. The regular past tense form is formed from the
infinitive verb form with an `-ed' suffix. Since regular
forms are generated by the morphology component, verbs in
the Cyc lexicon should have a #$pastTense-Universal
entry only if they are irregular. Regular example: `helped'.
Irregular example: `ate'.
guid: bd5d8eb7-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$SpeechPartPredicate
direct specialization of: #$perfective-Generic
#$perfect perfect
(#$perfect WORD
STRING) means that STRING is the perfect verb form (also
known as the past participle) of WORD. The regular perfect
verb form is often the same as the past tense verb form.
Verbs in the Cyc lexicon should have a #$perfect entry only
if they are irregular, since regular forms are generated by
the morphology component. Regular example: `helped'.
Irregular example: `eaten'.
guid: bd62ff40-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$SpeechPartPredicate
direct specialization of: #$untensed
#$gerund gerund
(#$gerund
WORD STRING) means that STRING is the gerund form of WORD.
The regular gerund is formed from the infinitive verb form
with an `ing' suffix. Verbs in the Cyc lexicon will have a
#$gerund entry
only if they are irregular. Regular forms are generated by
the morphology component.
guid: bd67b170-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$SpeechPartPredicate
direct specialization of: #$singular-Generic
#$massNumber-Generic #$untensed
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