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Relations in GermaNet

Content

Overview
Conceptual Relations
Lexical Relations
        Compound Relations

 

This page introduces the set of relations used in GermaNet. Additional information about the use of relations for the modelling of a particular word class can be found on the page for the word class.

 

Overview

Concepts are the primary lexicographic unit in GermaNet, and are represented as sets of synonyms (synsets). Each synset denotes a distinct concept and consists of one or more lexical units. A lexical unit represents a specific sense of a word, which is stored in its base form.

There are two types of relations, conceptual and lexical. Conceptual relations denote relations that hold for the full concept, not only for one of its synonyms. Lexical relations hold between individual lexical units (synonyms). Antonymy, for example, is a frequently occurring lexical relation.

Note that relations in GermaNet differ from those in WordNet® in two important aspects:

  1. GermaNet uses the hyperonymy / hyponymy relations for adjectives, rather than the 'similar-to' relation used in WordNet®.
  2. Cross-classification (multiple inheritance) is explicitly allowed in GermaNet and lexicographers are encouraged to make use of it whenever appropriate.

 

Conceptual Relations in GermaNet

Relation

 Definition Example Classes
hypernymy
(has_hypernym)		 from a more specific to a superordinate / more general term dog —> pet N A V
hyponymy
(has_hyponym)		 from a more general to a more specific / subordinate term dog —> labrador N A V
component-object meronymy
(has_component_meronym)		 from objects to their components car —> body

N
component-object holonymy
(has_component_holonym)		 from components to their objects wall —> room N
substance-object meronymy
(has_substance_meronym)		 from a (whole) object  to its substance/material barrel —> wood N
substance-object holonymy
(has_substance_holonym)		 from a substance/material to a (whole) object oxygen —> water N
member-collection meronymy
(has_member_meronym)		 from groups to their members nobility —> aristocrat N
member-collection holonymy
(has_member_holonym)		 from members to their groups worker —> working class N
portion-mass meronymy
(has_portion_meronym)		 from the whole mass to a portion millennium —> century N
portion-mass holonymy
(has_portion_holonym)		 from a portion to the whole mass month —> year N
causation
(causes)		 a verb causes a result state destroy —> ruined
put —> stand		 V —> A
V —> V

active entailment
(entails)
[few occurrences]

 from verbs (events) to the verbs (events) they entail light up —> shine V
passive entailment
(is_entailed_by)
[few occurrences]		 from verbs (events) that follow from other verbs (events) sleep—> snore V
association
(is_related_to)		 two concepts are associated with each other soccer <—> goal N A V

 

Lexical Relations in GermaNet

Relation

 Definition Example Classes

synonym
(has_synonym)

two lemmas with approximately the same meaning

diligent, hard-working

 N A V

antonym
(has_antonym)

two lemmas that are considered to be opposites

open <—> closed

 N A V

pertainymy
(has_pertainym)

 between a denominal adjective and its nominal base, where the noun forms the basis of the adjective and determines its meaning

financial —> finance

 A —> N

participle
(has_participle)

 from a verb to an adjective, where the adjective corresponds formally with the participle of a verb, but additionally shows idiosyncratic semantic features limit —> limited V —> A

compound relations
(complete list)

semantic relation between compound and modifier

 spiderweb
is_product_of spider		 N

Compound Relations

Compound relations specify the semantic relation which can be established between a compound and its modifier. The inventory of those relations is based on the results of a project in the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 833 "The Construction of Meaning: The Dynamics and Adaptivity of Linguistic Structures" at the University of Tübingen: "Corpus-based Semantic Composition Models for Phrases". In this project a complex annotation scheme was developed to characterize the semantic relation between the modifier and the head of a given noun compound. We adapted this scheme and reformulated it as a relation between modifier and compound.

The following examples illustrate some possible relations of compounds with the head ‚Haus’:

Holzhaus (wooden house) [has_material] Holz (wood)
Gästehaus (guest house) [has_user] Gast (guest)
Autohaus (car dealership) [has_goods] Auto (car)
Baumhaus (tree house) [has_location] Baum (tree)

This table shows all compound relations with an example of each:

GN-relation Example
has_active_usage Schlafwagen has_active_usage Schlaf
has_occasion Geburtstagsgeschenk has_occasion Geburtstag
has_attribute Zauberland has_attribute Zauber
has_appearance Kugelfisch has_appearance Kugel

has_construction_method

Blockhütte has_construction_method Block

has_container

Dosenmilch has_container Dose

is_container_for

Mokkatasse is_container_for Mokka

has_consistency_of

Panzerglas has_consistency_of Panzer

has_component

Chlorwassser has_component Chlor

has_owner

Metzgerladen has_owner Metzger

is_owner _of

Hauseigentümer is_owner _of Haus

has_function

Grenzzaun has_function Grenze

has_manner_of_functioning

Sonnenuhr has_manner_of_functioning Sonne

has_origin

Ackersalat has_origin Acker

has_production_method

Pfannkuchen has_production_method Pfanne

has_content

Bilderbuch has_content Bild

has_no_property

Maultier has_no_property Maul

has_habitat

Bachforelle has_habitat Bach

has_location

Almhütte has_location Alm

is_location_of

Schlossberg is_location_of Schloss

has_measure

Literflasche has_measure Liter

is_measure_of

Blutzuckerspiegel is_measure_of Blutzucker

has_material

Holzhaus has_material Holz

has_member

Kinderchor has_member Kind

is_member_of

Marinesoldat is_member_of Marine

has_diet

Ameisenbär has_diet Ameise

is_diet_of

Katzenfutter is_diet_of Katze

has_eponym

Panflöte has_eponym Pan

has_user

Taucherbrille has_user Taucher

has_product

Autofabrik has_product Auto

is_product_of

Spinnennetz is_product_ofSpinne

has_prototypical_holder

Altartuch has_prototypical_holderAltar

is_prototypical_holder_for

Kleiderbügelis_prototypical_holder_forKleid

has_prototypical_place_of_ usage

Gartenbank has_prototypical _place_of_usage Garten

has_relation

Bankdirektor has_relation Bank

has_raw_product

Apfelsaft has_raw_product Apfel

has_other_property

Jägerzaun has_other_property Jäger

is_storage_for

Bildarchiv is_storage_for Bild

has_specialization

Augenarzt has_specialization Auge

has_part

Gelenkbus has_part Gelenk 

is_part_of

Autodach is_part_of Auto

has_topic

Sportzeitung has_topic Sport

is_caused_by

Regenbogen is_caused_by Regen

is_cause_for

Schauerroman is_cause_for Schauer

is_comparable_to

Satellitenstadt is_comparable_to Satellit

has_usage

Handelsschiff has_usage Handel

has_result_of_usage

Wärmflasche has_result_of_usage Wärme

has_purpose_of_usage

Autoschlüssel has_purpose_of_usage Auto

has_goods

Blumenladen has_goods Blume

has_time

Abendzeitung has_time Abend

is_access_to

Haustür is_access_to Haus

has_ingredient

Obstkuchen has_ingredient Obst
is_ingredient_of Kaffeemilch is_ingredient_of Kaffee

EuroWordNet Tests

The following relationship tests are taken from the EuroWordNet General Document.

Hyperonymy / Hyponymy:

EuroWordNet Hyperonymy / Hyponymy Test for Verbs

Verb synset X is hyponym of verb synset Y and verb synset Y is a hyperonym of verb synset X if the following test sentences can be answered accordingly:

X is Y + AdvP/AdjP/NP/PP. 

('To run' is 'to go' fast.)

 yes
Y is X + AdvP/AdjP/NP/PP. 

('To go' is 'to run' fast.)

 no
EuroWordNet Hyperonymy / Hyponymy Tests for Nouns

Note that this test can also be used for synonymy. Therefore a second test for species, kinds, races, and brands has been developed.

Test 1 (also for synonymy):

X is a hyponym/synonym of Y and Y is a hyperonym/synonym of X if the following test sentences apply:

An X is a Y with specific characteristics.

(A car is a vehicle with specific characteristics.)

It is an X and thus also a Y.

(It is a car and thus also a vehicle.)

If it is an X, it has to be also a Y.

(If it is a car...)

 yes
Inversion of the above sentences

(A vehicle is a car with specific characteristics.)

(It is a vehicle and thus also a car.)

(If it is a vehicle ...)

 no

Test 2 (for species, kinds, races, and brands):

Note that this test cannot be used for synonymy.

X is a kind/a type/a race/a species/a brand of Y.

(A car is a kind of vehicle.)

 yes
Inversion of the above sentence 

(A vehicle is a kind of car.)

 no

Meronymy / Holonymy:

EuroWordNet Meronymy / Holonymy Test

X has a holonym Y and Y has a meronym X if

(an) X constitutes a part of (a) Y 

(a) Y has (an) X.

 yes
Inversion of the above sentences no

Synonymy:

The definition of synonymy is taken from (Miller et al., 1990): “two expressions are synonymous in a linguistic context C if the substitution of one for the other in C does not alter the truth value”.

EuroWordNet Synonymy Test for Nouns

if it is (a/an) X then it is also (a/an) Y
if it is (a/an) Y then it is also (a/an) X

Example:

if it is a fiddle then it is a violin
if it is a violin then it is a fiddle

synset variants {fiddle, violin}

EuroWordNet Synonymy Test for Verbs

If something/someone/it Xs then something/someone/it Ys
If something/someone/it Ys then something/someone/it Xs

If something/someone/it begins then something/someone/it starts
If something/someone/it starts then something/someone/it begins

synset variants: {begin, start}

Antonymy

EuroWordNet Antonymy Test for Verbs

In EuroWordNet antonymy is a relation between variants, i.e. between elements of the same synset: Synset variant X is an antonym of synset variant Y if X is the opposite of Y.

Test sentences:

If sth./sb. X-s, he/she/it does not Y.

(If she borrows sth., she does not lend it.)

 yes
If sth./sb. Y-s, he/she/it does not X.

(If she lends sth., she does not borrow it.)

 yes

The following conditions have to apply for this relation:

  1. X and Y share the same hyperonym, thus they are elements of a co-hyponym synset (this prevents, e. g., that verbs like eat and sleep are designated as antonyms).
  2. There is a hyperonym of X, which is the opposite of a hyperonym of Y.
  3. Both verbs involve the same participants, which play, however, different roles in the situations (i.e. states, events or processes) that are described by these verbs (example: give and receive are antonyms because the indirect object of give , i.e. the addressee, who is involved in the event, is subject of receive ).

EuroWordNet further assumes a relation called near_antonymy which applies to entire synsets, i.e. the antonymy relation holds between all members of the synset. Besides this, the test is the same as for antonymy (including the three conditions).

EuroWordNet Antonymy Test for Nouns

Antonymy and near_antonymy are also distinguished for nouns. The test is simpler than for verbs however:

X is an antonym of Y and Y is an antonym of X if the following test sentences apply:

X and Y are both a kind of Z, but X is the opposite of Y.

(i.e. Z is a hyperonym of X and Y.)

(Love and hate are both a kind of emotion, but love is the opposite of hate.)

 yes
Inversion of the above sentence

(Hate and love are both a kind of emotion, but hate is the opposite of love.)

 yes

As for verbs, the condition that Z is a hyperonym of both X and Y is necessary in order to guarantee that the antonymy relation is stated in a reasonable, competitive denotational range.