Framesalience

Framesalience is a concept in cognitive linguistics and computational linguistics that refers to the degree to which a particular frame, as defined by frame semantics, is evoked or activated in a given context. A frame is a conceptual structure that organizes knowledge about a particular topic, event, or situation. For instance, the "Commercial Transaction" frame includes participants like buyer and seller, goods, and money, as well as actions like buying and selling.

When a word or phrase is used, it can activate one or more frames. Framesalience measures how strongly a specific frame is brought to mind by the linguistic input. A highly salient frame is one that is central to the meaning of the utterance and strongly influences its interpretation. Conversely, a less salient frame might be peripherally activated or only weakly relevant.

Factors influencing framesalience include the specific lexical choices made, the grammatical structure of the sentence, and the broader discourse context. For example, the verb "buy" is highly salient for the "Commercial Transaction" frame, while a word like "customer" also activates this frame, though perhaps with a slightly different emphasis on the buyer's role. Computational models often attempt to quantify framesalience to improve natural language understanding, machine translation, and information retrieval. Understanding framesalience helps explain how humans infer meaning beyond the literal words spoken, relying on background knowledge and contextual cues to fully grasp the intended message.