Représentation géométrique et calcul dynamique du sens lexical : application à la polysémie de livre

This paper contributes to the study of lexical semantics of the noun book in French. It considers the diversity of the noun’s interpretations by reference to the theoretical framework of dynamic meaning construction (Victorri et Fuchs 1996). Meaning construction is considered as a dynamic process : the interpretation of each unit in an utterance, and the global meaning of the utterance itself, result from mutual adjustments. This is formalised through a topological representation produced from automatic procedures applied to large corpora. The formalisation helps spelling out the semantics of the noun under scrutiny. The relation between the different interpretations is specified through a core meaning, and the actualisation of an interpretation of that meaning is shown to proceed from contextual compatibilities.