Wordnet

[potetjp]

Cheaumont,
    You are right. This list is made for people to communicate. Nothing new
can be boring. I have a glance at all the messages and I keep the ones I am
interested in. I suppose everybody does this. So colleagues should not
hesitate putting forward their ideas and expatiating on them. Those
uninterested will jut keep out of the debate.
    Now, as regards your wordnet, I must confess I don't see very well what
it exactly is. Giving the adjective that is generally associated with a
noun, the patient generally associated with a verb, the instrument generally
associated with a verb etc. is a good start. For instance, when I was in
Britain, I was struck by the a priori associations "small boy" and "little
girl" not "*little boy" and "*small girl". The latter where not a priori
associations and, when used, involved an added meaning.
    Also, I thought at a time yours was a three-dimensional cartesian system
with, say, semantic traits on the x axis, stems on the y axis and
derivatives from the stem on the z axis, with possible sub-systems at tricky
points.
In other words the x y plane is a matrix of traits.
For instance the Tagalog stem  _áso_ "dog" would appear on the y axis and
have the set of traits {+animal, +mammal, +canine, +tame, +domestic,
+common, +faithful, +pet, +food, + hunter, -game, +watcher  etc.} on the
corresponding x axis.
Then on the z axis one would find the position "noun" ticked, and the noun
_áso_ "dog" would be repeated at the corresponding point.
The verb _mang-áso_ "to hunt with a dog" would appear in front of the
position "verb" on the z axis.
The z axis may present difficulties, so that it may be usefully replaced by
the sub-entries noun, verb etc. after each main entry on the y axis of
stems.
áso
    noun                                       áso "dog"
        verb focused on agent            mag-áso "to take care of dogs"
    noun                                       áso "fawning dog"
        verb focused on patient          asúhin "to flatter sb."
    noun                                       áso "hunting dog"
        adjective                                pang-áso > pangáso
"hunting"
        noun + adjective                    ásong pangáso "hunting dog"
        verb focused on agent            mang-áso > mangáso "to hunt with a
dog; to go hunting"
                                                        Kailán ka mangááso?
                                                        "When will you go
hunting?"
        verb focused on instrument    ipang-áso > ipangáso "to hunt with
such and such a dog" (archaic)
                                                       e.g. Ipinangáso nang
panginoón námin ang bágong ásong si Tagpî.
                                                      "Our lord has hunted
with Tagpî, the new dog."
       verb focused on location        pang-asúhan > pangasúhan "to hunt in
such and such a place with a dog" (archaic)
                                                        e.g. Báki(n a)t kayâ
pinangasúhan mó ang gúbat kó?
                                                        "Why then did you
hunt in my forest?"
    noun                                        asú "(you) beast; (you)
swine" (rare)

Well is this the ontological approach you had in mind?
Jean-Paul G. Potet