Cognitive modeling and verbal semantics

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This book introduces a novel approach to verb semantics through a decompositional representation framework inspired by the Unified Modeling Language (UML), commonly used in object-oriented system design. This framework merges formal precision with conceptual flexibility, enabling the representation of complex verbal meanings through a blend of graphical and linear constructs. It addresses semantic challenges like context-dependency and polysemy, exemplified by a detailed investigation of the polysemy of the German verb "setzen." In addition to formal specifications, the book offers a cognitive interpretation of key modeling elements and discusses issues related to dynamic and static aspects of verbal meanings, granularity, and constraints in verbal semantics. It also makes initial strides toward compositional semantics and proposes a new verb classification based on the graphical framework. Richly illustrated with annotated figures and example diagrams, the book appeals not only to linguists, particularly in semantics, but also to researchers in cognitive science, computational linguistics, and computer science, providing valuable insights from its innovative graphical approach.