Combinatorics

Predicate (mathematical logic)

Reciprocity (cultural anthropology)

Mathematics

Noun

Lexical item

Philosophy

Psychology

Programming language

Reciprocal

Computer science

Linguistics

Lexical semantics

Social psychology

Unary operation

Semantics and Pragmatics

Reciprocal alternations appear with binary predicates that also have a collective unary form. Many of these binary predicates are symmetric: if A dated B then B dated A. Most symmetric predicates in English show a simple kind of reciprocity: A and B dated means "A dated B", or equivalently "B dated A". Similar observations hold for nouns and adjectives like cousin and identical. Non-symmetric predicates like hug, fight and kiss also show reciprocity, but of a more complex kind. For instance, the meaning of A and B hugged differs substantially from "A hugged B and/or B hugged A". Addressing a wide range of reciprocal predicates, we observe that "plain" reciprocity only appears with symmetric predicates, while other types of reciprocity only appear with non-symmetric predicates. This Reciprocity-Symmetry Generalization motivates a lexical operator that derives symmetric predicates from collective meanings. By contrast, reciprocity with non-symmetric predicates is analyzed using "soft" preferences of predicate concepts. Developing work by Dowty and Rappaport-Hovav & Levin, we introduce a formal semantic notion of protopredicates, which mediates between lexical meanings and concepts. This mechanism explains symmetry and reciprocity as two semantic aspects of one type system at the lexical-conceptual interface. EARLY ACCESS

Symmetric predicates and the semantics of reciprocal alternations