The Linguist's Shoebox
Integrated data management and analysis for the field linguist
Lexical functions in alphabetical order
The Multi-Dictionary Formatter (MDF) includes five data fields for lexical functions. The following table contains some lexical functions that have been found applicable to Buru (a Central Malayo-Polynesian language of the Austronesian family, eastern Indonesia). They are used in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Buru Language (ms). You can use them as a starting point for exploring and recording the emic networks of meaning in a culture as expressed through the language. However, please note that MDF does not require you to use this particular set of lexical functions and labels. The following information extends Appendix D of Making Dictionaries.
Label: Contents of the \lf field. The links provide at least one example of each lexical function.
Labels in other systems: The abbreviations of comparable or closely related lexical functions in Mel'chuk's or J. Grimes' systems. In several cases, some of Mel'chuk's functions have been generalized under a single lexical function for ease of learning and use. For more information, consult the works of Igor Mel'chuk, Apresyan, and J. Grimes (1990, 1992, and ms) that are cited in the Bibliography of Making Dictionaries. Note: ~ indicates similar to or encompasses.
| Label | Lexical function | Labels in other systems |
|---|---|---|
| Ant | Antonym | ~ Anti, Rev |
| Caus | Causal | ~ Caus, Perm |
| Compound | Lexicalized compound | |
| Cpart | Counterpart, complement, or converse | ~ Conv, Comp |
| Degrad | Degraded, deteriorated, or decayed degree or state | |
| Feel | Feeling or sensation | ~ Manif, Sympt |
| Gen | Generic | = Gener |
| Group | Collective or concentration of headword | ~ Group, Equip, Mult, Organization |
| Head | Head or leader of group | ~ Cap, Lead |
| Idiom | Conventionalized expression | |
| Mat | Material | |
| Max | Superlative degree | ~ Super, Magn, Incr, Plus |
| Min | Reduced or diminished degree | ~ Decr |
| Nact | Actor noun | ~ S1, N1 |
| Nben | Benefactee noun | |
| Ndev | Deverbal noun | ~ S0, N0 |
| Ngoal | Noun goal of an action | |
| Ninst | Instrument noun | ~ S3, N3 |
| Nloc | Noun of location | = Nloc |
| Nug | Undergoer noun | ~ S1, S2, N1, N2 |
| ParD | Parallelism (different) | |
| ParS | Parallelism (same) | |
| Part | A part, of which the headword is the whole | |
| Phase | Phase of a process | ~ Phase, Seq, Child, Adult |
| Prep | Preparatory activity | |
| Res | Result or consequence | = Res, Conseq |
| Serial | Conventionalized serial construction | |
| Sim | Similar | ~ Syn^, Syn<, Syn> |
| Sit | Situation or activity | |
| Sound | Sound uttered by or associated with headword | ~ Son |
| Spec | Specific | ~ Spec, Species, Female, Male, Subadult, Child |
| Start | Initial phase, inceptive, inchoative | ~ Incep, Prox |
| Stop | Final phase, cessative | ~ Fin, Cess, Liqu, State |
| Syn | Synonym | ~ Syn, Syn^, Syn<, Syn> |
| SynD | Dialectal synonym | |
| SynL | Loan synonym | |
| SynR | Register synonym | |
| SynT | Taboo synonym | |
| Unit | Single unit, piece, or occurrence of headword | ~ Sing, Indiv |
| Vwhole | Verb of the whole | ~ V0 |
| Whole | The whole, of which the headword is a part |