A Semantic-Based Approach to Noun-Noun Compound Interpretation

In this project, we have studied Chinese noun-noun compounds (NNCs) and have found that N1 and N2 are linked either by semantic roles assigned by events (complex relations) or by static relations (simple relations), including meronymy, conjunction, and the host-attribute-value relation. Using data from the FrameNet and E-HowNet, we have found that, for NNCs of either type, the major semantic relations between the two components are limited enough to allow computational implementation. Regarding simple relations, most conjunction pairs have been listed in E-HowNet,and so are host-attribute-value sets. The E-HowNet Taxonomy also makes identification of meronymy possible. As for NNCs involving complex relations, each component’s semantic role, along with the events that assign these roles, can be restored through mappings to corresponding frame elements (FEs) in entity and to event frames and lexical units (LUs) in FrameNet’s frames, respectively, that represent the concept the NNC conveys.