Roles and the lexical semantics of role-denoting relational adjectives

Introduction Property adjectives such as green, round, or old define a property of their argument; when combined with a noun, the property is attributed to the referent of the noun. Adjectives of this sort can be thought to define classes in their own right, such as the green ones or the round ones. Relational or classificatory adjectives, such as nuclear, dental, or musical, in contrast, do not form classes in their own right, but are used to define subclasses of the class denoted by a noun alone: dental surgery specifies a subclass of surgeries, while dental assistant specifies a subclass of assistants according to who they assist or in what area of medicine they assist in. We examine the lexical semantics of one class of relational adjectives, what we call role-denoting relational adjectives (RAs). In examining these adjectives, we advance a model of the semantics where lexical information is available for compositional operations, and argue against recent theories that claim RAs denote properties of kinds. Examples of role-denoting RAs include but are not limited to presidential, papal, senatorial, mayoral, and royal. The examples we consider are often derived from nominals. When used attributively, these adjectives have a meaning that is similar but not identical to that of a possessor in a Saxon genitive. To illustrate, (1a) and (2a) have the implication that the referent of the nominal has a relation to the president with respect to their official duties and responsibilities while in office. Although the referents in (1b) and (2b) may be used by the president during their time in office, they do not have an implication that they have any necessary connection to the office itself; the president’s desk may be a favorite desk brought to use in a private study, and the president’s advisor may refer to an advisor in non-official matters, such as personal finances. In contrast, the presidential desk is the desk used by the president for their official duties while in office, and a presidential advisor is an advisor to the president in the president’s official capacity.