

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THE SEMANTIC FIELD THEORY OF METAPHOR PROGRAM


SEMANTIC NETWORK FILES
You need a semantic network file to run the metaphor program.  The semantic
network file is the database of LITERAL language from which metaphors are
generated.

Semantic networks are contained in files with extensions ".prp".  Four such
files are provided in the main metaphor directory.  These files are:

	deceives.prp    -- a simple analogy.
	midwife.prp     -- Socrates is a midwife (from Plato's Theaetetus)
	atom.prp        -- The atom is a solar system analogy.

You can use these files or build your own files.


BUILDING YOUR OWN INPUT FILES
A semantic network file is number followed by a list of augmented
propositions.  The number is the number of augmented propositions in the
file.  An augmented proposition is like a regular proposition, except
that thematic roles are specified.  For example,

	deceives ( AGENT : lover , PATIENT : beloved )

is an augmented proposition.  SPACES ARE NECESSARY AROUND ALL WORDS AND
PUNCTUATION MARKS IN THE SEMANTIC NETWORK FILE.  This is due to the
primitive state of the algorithm that reads the file.  If you don't have
spaces on BOTH SIDES of a word or punctuation mark, the program will not
be able to open the semantic network file, or (more likely) will respond
with an error.  Thus, the following are not correct:

	deceives( AGENT : lover , PATIENT : beloved )  !NOT CORRECT!
	deceives ( AGENT: lover , PATIENT : beloved )  !NOT CORRECT!
	decieves ( AGENT : lover, PATIENT : beloved )  !NOT CORRECT!

A sample semantic network file is given below:

	2
	deceives ( AGENT : lover , PATIENT : beloved )
	deceives ( AGENT : idea , PATIENT : mind )

What you put into semantic network files is up to you.  The point of a
metaphor-generating program like this one is to generate metaphors from
LITERAL LANGUAGE. The program doesn't make any assumptions about what you
put in. It simply analyzes the input, looking for semantic fields and
trying to find analogies, then generating metaphors.  If you enter nonsense,
you'll get nonsense back.  Consider the following file:

	2
	eat ( AGENT : babies , PATIENT : dumptrucks )
	eat ( AGENT : toothpicks , PATIENT : ideas )

If you use this file as your semantic network, the program will tell you
that <babies> are analogous to <toothpicks> and that <dumptrucks> are
analogous to <ideas>, due to the principle of proportional analogy.

If there are analogies in your file, the program should find them.  If
there aren't any, the program will tell you that there aren't, and it
won't generate any metaphors.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO SORT OR ORDER YOUR INPUT IN ANY WAY. In particular, you
do not need to pre-sort the input into seperate semantic fields, or into
the TOPIC and SOURCE of the analogies and metaphors.



1. Executable.
The program is the executable file netmet.exe

2. Running the program.
To run the program, simply type "netmet" at the command line prompt
and strike return.

3. The program responds with the main menu, shown below:

	SFTM Implementation Main Menu.

		1. Initialize a semantic network.
		2. Set parameters.
		3. Quit this program.

	Enter a menu option by number:

To run the program, you must first initialize a semantic network.  Semantic


RUNNING THE PROGRAM FROM THE MAIN MENU
Once you have decided which problem you want to investigate, type "1" at
the main menu prompt.  The program then asks you to enter the name of the
proposition file.  Include the ".prp" extension.

	Enter the name of the proposition file:

	Proposition file opened successfully.
	Network definition file opened successfully.
	Initializing the semantic network.
	Network definition file opened successfully.
	Initialization succeeded.

After initialization has succeeded, the program displays the Network Menu.
This is the menu that controls most of the program.

	Network Menu.

		1. Print the terms in the network.
		2. Print the frames in the network.
		3. Find the frames in which a term sits.
		4. Find the fields in which a term sits.
		5. Perform analogical access.
		6. Induce analogies.
		7. Make a map.
		8. Build a hypothesis network.
		9. Perform access and elaboration.
	       10. Return to the main menu.

	Enter a menu option by number:

The meanings of the menu options are explained in Generating Metaphors
From Networks: A Formalization of the Semantic Field Theory of Metaphor
(Steinhart & Kittay), and in Beyond Proportional Analogy (Steinhart).
These texts are enclosed.

Sample runs of the program can be found in the files with the ".run"
extension.  These are:

	deceives.run
	midwife.run
	atom.run




