A2. Lexical Relations - Scale

✅ Summary of Lexical Relations – Scale (Lesson A2)

This lesson introduces lexical relations that use a scale underlying structure, one of four main types (alongside simple set, tree, and pair/set of pairs). A scale structure represents a fixed order or progression based on a shared semantic property.

🔹 Types of Lexical Relations Using a Scale Structure:

1. Rank – Levels of status or authority
   Examples: {private, corporal, sergeant, general}
   
   

2. Hierarchy – Arranged by size or complexity
   Examples: {country, state, county}; {discourse, sentence, clause}
   
   

3. Numeric – Ordered by quantitative value
   Examples: {one, two, three}; {first, second, third}
   
   

4. Developmental – Stages in a process
   Examples: {newborn, infant, toddler}; {planning, implementation, evaluation}
   
   

5. Scalar Property – Relative degrees of an attribute
   Examples: {cold, cool, lukewarm, warm, hot}; {nudge, push, bulldoze}
   
   

6. Units of Measurement – Standardized quantity progression
   Examples: {inch, foot, yard}; {second, minute, hour, day}
   
   

7. Calendar – Time-based sequence (e.g., days of the week)
   Examples: {Sunday, Monday, ..., Saturday}
   ➤ Predefined in FLEx using Sense Sequence/scale as the reference type.
   
   

🔧 Hands-On Activity in FLEx

• Navigate to entry: lundi in the FLEx Lexicon Edit view.
  
  

• Insert a Calendar lexical relation using the Insert Calendar Relation tool.
  
  

• Add subsequent days (mardi, mercredi, etc.) via the Add Reference (Calendar) dialog.
  
  

• Observe how the calendar relation displays across entries.
  
  

📌 Notes:

• Only Calendar is predefined in FLEx. Other scale-based relations must be manually created via the Lists area.
  
  

• A future lesson (LEX201 B4) will cover how to rearrange calendar items or add new custom scale relations.
  
  

📘 Additional Resources:

• SIL Glossary of Linguistic Terms:
  https://glossary.sil.org/term/lexical-relation-scale-structure
  
  

• Dive deeper: Bartholomew & Schoenhals (2019), Coward & Grimes (2000), Roberts et al. (2014)
  
  

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