Exploring the effect of semantic diversity on boundary permeability in verb/noun heterosemy using deep contextualized word embeddingExploring the effect of semantic diversity on boundary permeability in verb/noun heterosemy using deep contextualized word embedding

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between semantic diversity and boundary permeability in verb/noun heterosemous words in English. Using sense data from the Oxford Dictionaries API and the Corpus of Historical American English enhanced by contextualized word embedding, we quantified semantic diversity using Shannon entropy and measured boundary permeability as the relative proportion of verb/noun uses. Results reveal a significant positive effect of overall semantic diversity on boundary permeability, i.e., words that have more senses or balanced sense distributions show greater cross-categorical flexibility. Furthermore, we find asymmetric effects between noun and verb semantic diversity: noun-sense diversity positively affects permeability, while no meaningful effect was detected for verb-sense diversity. This asymmetry, combined with our finding that higher permeability is driven by increased verb usage, provides strong quantitative evidence for a directional preference in English conversion from noun to verb. To our knowledge, this study offers the first large-scale empirical support for theoretical accounts of directionality in English conversion, demonstrating that semantic diversity functions as a critical indicator of a word’s conceptual flexibility.

摘要： 本研究考察英语动/名兼类词的语义多样性与边界渗透性之间的关系。我们利用 Oxford Dictionaries API 的义项数据，以及借助语境化词嵌入增强的美国历史英语语料库（COHA），以香农熵量化语义多样性，并以动词/名词用法的相对比例衡量边界渗透性。结果显示，整体语义多样性对边界渗透性有显著的正向影响：义项更多或义项分布更均衡的词，跨范畴的灵活性更强。此外，名词和动词的语义多样性效应并不对称：名词义项多样性对渗透性有正向影响，而动词义项多样性未见明显作用。这种不对称性，加上我们发现渗透性的提高主要由动词用法增加驱动，为英语转类中“名转动”的方向性偏好提供了有力的定量证据。据我们所知，本研究首次为英语转类方向性的理论解释提供了大规模实证支持，并表明语义多样性是衡量词语概念灵活性的关键指标。