Linguistic Semantic Tutorials



Below you will find a list of tutorials on Linguistic Semantics. The topic is given along with a brief description of the tutorial. Simply follow the bold blue links.


  1. Introduction


    2. This is a small section containing a few thought experiments designed to get you to think about what the differences are between what a Human intuits vs what a Machine learns.


  2. What is Natural Language Semantics?


    3. Here, you will learn about what some of the basic considerations are when Semanticists engage in Natural Language research. There is no discussion of history or theory. What is discussed here are the things a Semanticist thinks about first and or look for when they engage with a new language or construction type. This is an overview which sets up many of the other tutorials.


  3. What is Natural Language Syntax?


    4. Here, you will learn about what some of the basic considerations are when Syntacticians engage in Natural Language research. There is no discussion of history or theory. What you will learn are diagnostic tests for evaluating syntactic structure. They will help you learn to think about Syntax and morphology, investigate the constructions of your native language, or begin research on an understudied language.


  4. Negation, Polarity Items and Sentiment


    5. A topic that has interested many researchers is text sentiment: the affirmative or negative tone of a document. This module will introduce the concept but is much more concerned with discussing the complexities of Negation and providing some instruction on Polarity Items---lexical elements that require certain types of affirmative or negative environments in order to be acceptable. By some estimates, around 35% of language contains some type of negation. This section covers topics like: constituent vs sentential negation; non-canonical negations; negative concord; negative inversion; litotes; and Negative Polarity Items.


  5. Types of Adjectival Modification

  6. The Mass/Count Distinction

  7. Adverbs and their distribution

  8. Presupposition Triggers

  9. Neg-Raising

  10. Morpho-semantics