An Interface between Lexical and Discourse Semantics : The case of the light verb “have”

Abstract

The macro-target of discourse interpretation for computational purposes is the automatic detection of events in a text and their ordering in a temporal scale. Asher and Lascarides’ (2003) ideas on the semantics-pragmatics interface between the lexical and discourse level along with the logic mechanism for inferring rhetorical structure (often nonmonotonically) proposes an interesting way of achieving this macro-target. This talk examines the discourse behaviour of the light verb have in English, as in “John had his students walk out of class.” and proposes an extension of Asher and Lascarides’ ideas, primarily with respect to the representation of lexical semantics and the interaction with discourse. Light have has previously been analyzed from within lexical semantics as a semantically light element which enters into a complex predication with another predicate (e.g., Ritter and Rosen 1993). This talk argues for a different approach to light have by taking discourse structure into account. When one looks beyond the domain of lexical semantics, it becomes evident that light have supports the inference of discourse relations and functions as a reliable marker for discourse interpretation.