Metaphor Interpretation Using Word Embeddings

Kfir Bar, Nachum Dershowitz, Lena Dankin

Abstract: We suggest a model for metaphor interpretation using word embeddings trained over a relatively large corpus. Our system handles nominal metaphors, like time is money. It generates a ranked list of potential interpretations of given metaphors. Candidate meanings are drawn from collocations of the topic (time) and vehicle (money) components, automatically extracted from a dependency-parsed corpus. We explore adding candidates derived from word association norms (common human responses to cues). Our ranking procedure considers similarity between candidate interpretations and metaphor components, measured in a semantic vector space. Lastly, a clustering algorithm removes semantically related duplicates, thereby allowing other candidate interpretations to attain higher rank. We evaluate using different sets of annotated metaphors, with encouraging preliminary results.