Chapter 22
Semantic Role Labeling and Argument Structure
Chapter: Semantic Role Labeling and Argument Structure, in Daniel Jurafsky and James H. Martin, Speech and Language Processing, 3rd edition draft, August 19, 2026.
Topics to learn
Page numbers refer to the linked chapter PDF.
- Roles and alternations p. 2
- Semantic roles p. 2
- Diathesis alternations p. 2
- Why a small list of thematic roles breaks down p. 4
- Inventories pp. 5-6
- PropBank p. 5
- FrameNet p. 6
- Labeling algorithms p. 8
- The task: who did what to whom p. 8
- Feature-based labeling p. 8
- Neural labeling p. 11
- Evaluation p. 12
- Selectional information p. 12
- Restrictions and preferences p. 12
- How they are represented p. 13
- Breaking predicates into smaller pieces p. 16
FAQ
Is a syntactic object always the same semantic role?
No. Alternations move the same participant into different syntactic positions. Role labeling has to follow the participant, not the grammatical slot alone.
How do PropBank and FrameNet differ?
PropBank roles are defined relative to a verb's frameset. FrameNet roles belong to a semantic frame that can be evoked by more than one verb. A PropBank Arg0 is not automatically a FrameNet role.
What has to match for a role to be correct?
Usually the predicate, the argument span, and the role label. A right span with the wrong role, or a right role on the wrong span, is not a full match.
What is a selectional preference?
A tendency for a predicate to take arguments of certain kinds, stronger or weaker rather than a hard grammatical rule. It is evidence, not a proof that an unseen combination is impossible.