OpenCyc HomepageLanguage and Linguistics Vocabulary

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Last Update: 3/30/02
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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
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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 #$CommunicationConvention CONV and can use it to encode or decode information.
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direct instance of: #$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, #$Hang-Glide-MWW.
guid: bd58e4ae-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
direct instance of: #$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.
guid: bd588075-9c29-11b1-9dad-c379636f7270
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


Copyright© 1996-2002. All rights reserved. See Terms of Usage.