Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Lexical Relation With A Scale Structure

Definition: 

A lexical relation with a scale structure is a pattern of association between lexical units in a fixed order or progression. They represent successive values of some variable property.

Discussion: 

A scale can be represented mathematically as

  • {… -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3 …}
Examples: 

(English)

Here are some examples of lexical relations with a scale structure in English arranged in decreasing order of discreteness:

Rank

  • {private, corporal, sergeant, general}
  • {Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2 …}

Hierarchy

  • {county, state, country}
  • {phoneme, word, sentence, discourse}

Numeric

  • {one, two, three …}
  • {first, second, third …}
  • {single, double, triple …}
  • {singleton, twins, triplets …}

Units of measurement

  • {inch, foot, yard, mile}
  • {millimeter, centimeter, meter, kilometer}
  • {second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year, decade, century, millennium}

Calendar

  • {Sunday, Monday, Tuesday … Saturday}
  • {January, February, March … December}

Development

  • {newborn, infant, toddler, child, adolescent, adult}
  • {planning, design, implementation, production, evaluation}

Scalar properties

  • {cold, cool, lukewarm, warm, hot}
  • {minuscule, tiny, small, big, huge, gigantic}
  • {slightly, moderately, fairly, very, extremely}