Argument Structure

Definition

Argument structure refers to the way in which different components of a sentence are organized to express relationships among participants in a given action or state, such as the roles played by subjects, objects, and adjuncts. This structure is crucial for understanding how meaning is conveyed in language, especially in relation to verb semantics and the roles that different nouns take in sentences.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Argument structure plays a key role in determining how a verb interacts with its arguments, helping to clarify who is doing what in a sentence.
2. In natural language processing, understanding argument structure is essential for tasks like parsing and semantic interpretation.
3. Different verbs can have different argument structures; for example, 'give' has three arguments (giver, receiver, and theme), while 'sleep' has only one (the sleeper).
4. Argument structure can be influenced by syntactic constructions; for example, passive voice alters the usual arrangement of subject and object.
5. The identification of argument structure is foundational for applications like machine translation and information extraction, as it directly affects the accuracy of meaning conveyed.

Review Questions

• How does argument structure influence the way participants are represented in a sentence?
  • Argument structure influences representation by specifying how different participants relate to the action described by the verb. For instance, an agent usually takes on the role of the doer of the action, while a patient receives or undergoes that action. This organization helps convey meaning clearly and allows listeners or readers to understand who is involved and what roles they play.
• Discuss how semantic role labeling utilizes argument structure to improve understanding in natural language processing tasks.
  • Semantic role labeling leverages argument structure by identifying and labeling the roles that different sentence constituents play relative to the verb. By mapping out these roles—like agent, theme, or goal—semantic role labeling helps systems understand not just who is involved but also how they interact within the context of the action. This enhances various NLP tasks such as machine translation and information retrieval by providing clearer semantic interpretations.
• Evaluate the implications of argument structure on verb selection in natural language generation systems.
  • In natural language generation systems, understanding argument structure is crucial for selecting appropriate verbs based on context and participant roles. If a system misidentifies the required argument structure for a given situation, it may choose an inappropriate verb that doesn't accurately represent the intended action or relationship among participants. This can lead to confusion or ambiguity in generated text, highlighting the importance of accurately analyzing argument structures to ensure coherent and contextually relevant outputs.

Related terms

Thematic Roles: The underlying roles that participants play in a sentence, such as agent, patient, and experiencer, which help determine how they relate to the verb.

Semantic Role Labeling: A process in natural language processing that identifies the semantic roles of constituents in a sentence, assigning labels to express their roles in the action described by the verb.

Verb Argument: The necessary and optional arguments that a verb can take, indicating the participants involved in the action and their relationships to it.