LI 2013 NATHALIE F. MARTIN S EMANTICS. Table of Content 1. C ONCEPT, R EFERENT AND F ORM C ONCEPT, R...
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Transcript of LI 2013 NATHALIE F. MARTIN S EMANTICS. Table of Content 1. C ONCEPT, R EFERENT AND F ORM C ONCEPT, R...
LI 2013 NATHALIE F. MARTIN
SEMANTICS
Table of Content
1. CONCEPT, REFERENT AND FORM2. SEMANTICS3. SEMANTIC RELATIONS AMONG
WORDS1. THE –NYMS
4. AMBIGUITY (REVIEW OF TEXT - STAGEBERG)
5. MEANING6. MEANING OF WORDS THROUGH TIME
References
References: A Concise Introduction to Linguistics (Rowe & Levine,
2009; 153-173)
Contemporary Linguistic Analysis (O’Grady & Archibald, 2009, p. 190-207)
Ambiguity in College Writing (Stageberb, Norman C., in Linguistics at Work: A Reader of Application, by Dallin D. Oaks, 1998)
Semantics
Definition: Semantics
Semantics is the study of the meaning of linguistic expressions, such as morphemes, words, phrases, clauses, and sentences.
What is the Meaning of This?
ColdOldFineCoolFly
BehindAccentNobodyThisGetting in
touch
CONTEXT is Key !
– Certain aspects of meaning change with the _____________________
Nobody bought milk (store owner vs. room mates) X is old: “old” means different things depending on
what X is (person, food, currency, place, friend…)
Context is therefore very important!!
Can you think of words or expressions that have more than one definition depending on the context?
Semantics
Two types of semantics:
1. ______________:meaning of words2. ______________:meaning of
utterances larger than words
THE –NYMS: 1.HYPONYM, HYPERNYM AND COHYPONYM2.SYNONYM AND PARASYNONYMS3.ANTONYMS4.POLYSEMY5.HOMONYM
1. Homonyms2. Homophone3. Homographs
Semantic Relations Among Words
Hyponyms and hypernymsHyponymy: Words whose meanings
are _________ instances of a more general word, e.g. isosceles and equilateral are hyponyms of the word triangle.
Hyponyms and cohyponyms
1. Hyponyms(Semantic Relations among Words)
Let’s organize these words:
Dance (verb)SalsaExerciceTango
1. Hyponyms(Semantic Relations among Words)
2. Synonyms(Semantic Relations among Words)
Synonymy: words that have the ____ meanings, e.g. start & begin.
Synonyms or Parasynonyms?
Do they really have the same meanings? Are they interchangable?
oVacation = holidaysoYouth = adolescentoRemember = recalloPurchase = buyoBig = large
Synonyms & Parasynonyms
Pride and Prejudice, a screenplay by Deborah MoggachThe danger of parasynonyms and
over-extensionChapter 3 : 20 minutes into the
movie
http://dictionary.reference.com/
Notice the Words with Many Meanings
An Accomplished Woman
Synonyms & Parasynonyms
The danger of parasynonyms and over-extensionChapter 3 : 20 minutes into the movie
Odious: deserving or causing hatred; hateful; detestable.
Long: to have an earnest or strong desire or craving; yearn
Dote one her: to bestow or express excessive love or fondness habitually
In raptures: ecstatic joy or delight; joyful ecstasy. Accomplished
having all the social graces, manners, and other attainments of polite society.
http://dictionary.reference.com/
a. GRADABLE VS UNGRADABLEb. RELAQTIONAL:
• Converse• Reversives
3. Antonyms
Antonymy: words that are ________ in meanings, e.g. hot & cold.
Synonymy or Antonymy Flourish – thrive Intelligent – stupid Casual – informal Flog – whip Drunk – sober
a. synonym
b. antonym
c. synonym
d. synonym
e. antonym
Antonyms vs Synonyms
a. Gradable/ungradable antonyms
Grading involves ______________. When we compare two or more objects.
Do the objects have the property to the same _________or not:
- +… cold cool warm hot …
Gradable: “cold” and “colder”The weather is much colder this week than last week.
Ungradable: “male”٭John is as much male as Peter. .John is more male than Peter٭
a. Gradable/ungradable antonyms (continued)
Exception:Normal language behavior: ungradable
antonyms can sometimes be graded in speech.
ExampleJohn is more of a bachelor than Daniel (i.e.
more determined never to get married, partying, had never had a stable girlfriend, etc.)
I am more alive now than ever (i.e. feeling more energetic, satisfied with my life, etc).
b. Relational: Conversives
There is a ______________between both. Without one you don’t have the other.
Examples: o Husband – wifeo Doctor – patiento Master – mistresso Before - aftero Above – below, etc.
Often used to speak of ______________social roles, ______________and ______________relations.
c. Relational: Reversives
Another term: ____________________________. Examples: o Up - downo Come - goo Arrive – departo Marry – divorce
You can reverse one by doing the other. Common feature: implication of__________in one of the
two opposite directions _______________ _____________.
Mind Mapping
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/
Antonyms (review)
Gradable vs Ungradable? (too, more, less, etc.)
Relational: Conversive? (different points of view)
Relational: Reversives? (one can reverse the other)
4. PolysemySemantic Relations among Words
Polysemy: A word which has ____ or more ________meaningse.g. bright: ‘bright light’ ; ‘bright colors’
A words' ____________is helpful in determining polysemy
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/polysemy http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polysemy?show=0&t=1290530170
5. Homonymy Semantic Relations among Words
Homonymy: A word which has __ or more ______________ meanings
Ex: Club: ‘a social organization’ ; ‘a blunt weapon’.
Identifying Homonyms in Jokes
1. Time flies ____ an arrow Fruit flies ____ a banana
2. Policeman: Why have you parked your car here?
Motorist: Because the sign says “______for Parking”.
3. Customer: Have you got half-inch ______?
Ironmonger: Yes, sir.
Customer: Then could you scratch my back. It’s very itchy
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/like
Polysemy & Homonymy ?
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accent
Homonyms, Homophony & Homography
Homophony: Different words ______________but ______________, ex. two and too.
Homography: Different words ______________but ______________, , e.g. minute and minute.HomonymsHomonyms are words that are _____ _____ homophones
and homographs.
Identifying homophones
1. [steər] 1. Stair, stare
2. [weist] 2. waste, waist
3. [si:lIη] 3. sealing, ceiling
4. [kju:] 4. cue, queue
5. [sent] 5. sent, cent, scent
1.Read
2.Wind
3.Live
4.Tear
5.Invalid
6.Bow
7.Dove
Identifying Homographs
Polysemy or Homonymy*?
GRASS: herbage used for grazing animals; marijuana
LEECH: a bloodsucking worm; a hanger-on who seeks advantage
RANGE: A cooking stove; a series of mountains
KEY: An instrument used to apply to a lock; an answer sheet for tests or assignments
STEAL/STEEL: rob ; a type of metalRACE: the act of running competitively;
people belonging to the same genetic grouping
FLOWER/FLOUR: a type of plant; finely ground wheat
Homonymy or Polysemy ?
PASS ?
A Few Other Relations
PARTS OF A WHOLEMeronym: Part of a wholeHolonym: The whole to which parts belong
Metonym: is a figure of speech where a thing is called by the name of something closely associated to it.
Ex: "ear" means "attention” (lending an ear) Ex: Washington for the United States
government or of the sword for military power.
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/
Application: Bible Translation
A case study of a polysemous word :
I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.
1 Timothy 2:12 (English Standard Version)Context: I allow no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to remain in quietness and keep silence [in religious assemblies].
1 Timothy 2:12 (Amplified Bible)Polysemy and Cooccurance: “Woman” or “Wife” ? But I suffer not a woman to teach, neither to have lordship on the husband [neither for to have lordship on the man], but to be in silence.
1 Timothy 2:12 (Wycliffe New Testament)Key word Bible:
Review of the text: Ambiguity in College Writing (Stageberb, Norman C.,
in Linguistics at Work: A Reader of Application, by Dallin D. Oaks, 1998)
Ambiguity
Multiple Meanings
LEXICAL (OR POLYSEMANTIC) AMBIGUITY E.g. For many purposes they used obsidian or volcanic
rock.
SYNTACTIC (OR STRUCTURAL) AMBIGUITY E.g. a fat lady’s man
CLASS AMBIGUITY: E.g. Many hands make light work. (in given example)
SCRIPT AMBIGUITY: E.g. I am an outdoor lover.
“lover of the Out-of-doors” … or … ?
Ambiguity in College Writing (Stageberb)
What Ambiguity?Lexical (or polysemantic) ambiguity?Syntactic ambiguity?Class ambiguity?Script ambiguity?
What Ambiguity?Lexical (or polysemantic) ambiguity?Syntactic (structural) ambiguity?Class ambiguity?Script ambiguity?
What Ambiguity?Lexical (or polysemantic) ambiguity?Syntactic (structural) ambiguity?Class ambiguity?Script ambiguity?
What Ambiguity?Lexical (or polysemantic) ambiguity?Syntactic (structural) ambiguity?Class ambiguity?Script ambiguity?
What Ambiguity?Lexical (or polysemantic) ambiguity?Syntactic (structural) ambiguity?Class ambiguity?Script ambiguity?
What Ambiguity?Lexical ambiguity?Syntactic
ambiguity?Class ambiguity?Script ambiguity?
What Ambiguity?Lexical (or polysemantic) ambiguity?Syntactic (structural) ambiguity?Class ambiguity?Script ambiguity?
What Ambiguity?Lexical (or polysemantic) ambiguity?Syntactic (structural) ambiguity?Class ambiguity?Script ambiguity?
What Ambiguity?Lexical ambiguity?Syntactic
ambiguity?Class ambiguity?Script ambiguity?
PRELIMINARY THEORY TO SEMANTICS
Concept, Referent and Form
The Abstract Side of Language
Don’t think of a pink elephant!
Referent: the actual thing
Referent, Concept and Symbol
Qu’est-ce que le langage? (Leclerc)
[bərd][bərd]
Referent, Concept and Symbol
Qu’est-ce que le langage? (Leclerc)Ferdinand de Saussure
[bərd]
The _________ refers to the linguistic elements (word, sentence, etc.), the ______ refers to the object in the world of experience, and THOUGHT or REFERENCE refers to _________ .
The symbol or a word signifies “things” by virtue of the “concept” associated with the form of the word in the minds of the speaker of the language, and the concept looked at from this point of view is the meaning of the word.
e.g. The dog over there looks friendly. The word “dog” is directly associated with a certain concept in our
mind, i.e. what a “dog” is like, but it is not directly linked to the referent (the particular dog) in this particular case.
Referent, Concept and Symbol
Referent, Concept and Symbol
Referent
Concept
Refers to
Symbol
evokes
Stands for
There is not a direct link between the sound of the word dog (Symbol) and the object it refers to.
What is called the signified is not actually what we have been shown but an abstract concept formed in our mind.
Ogden & Richards
no direct relationship
Juliet:'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,Nor arm, nor face, nor any other partBelonging to a man. O, be some other name!
WHAT'S IN A NAME? THAT WHICH WE CALL A WHAT'S IN A NAME? THAT WHICH WE CALL A ROSEROSEBY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD SMELL AS BY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD SMELL AS SWEET;SWEET;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,Retain that dear perfection which he owesWithout that title. Romeo, doff thy name,And for that name which is no part of theeTake all myself
Review: The Psychic Side of Things
SYMBOL CONCEPTSounds bərd]
-Mental representation of the sound
-« acoustic image » (sound pattern)
-A string of phonemes (sounds)-Psychic imprint
- We refer to this mental imprint to understand when
someone speaks
-Common to speakers of that language (therefore
conventional)
Concept (mental representation of
reality)-Psychic
-Mental image of the referent
- Ex: covered in feathers, has a beak, etc.
Ferdinand de Saussure
Concepts Across Languages
SIX APPROACHES TO MEANING:
1. Connotation2. Denotation3. Extension and intention4. Componential Analysis5. Subcategorization of verbs6. Actantial Approach
Meaning
What does it mean when you say you know the meaning of a word?
What does it mean when you say you know a word, such as “bird” “blue”, or “happy” ?
How do we _________ of a word meaning?
What is “word meaning”?
Approaches to Word Meaning
Here are a few ways to look at meaning:
1.Connotation2.Denotation3.Extension and intention4.Componential Analysis5.Subcategorization of verbs6.Actantial Approach
1. Connotation
« Set of associations that a word’s use can ______________ »
e.g. winter
Let’s do some word mapping around the word winter !
This is not enough to define the meaning …
According to _________ _________ …To equate meaning to a word or phrase with actual entities to which it refers
e.g. an animal that can bark = dogPrime Minister of Canada = Paul Martin
* But what about imaginary things that have no referents !!!
2. Denotation
And what about words/expressions that have ________referents for one thing, for the
same thing
e.g. Stephen Harper
the Prime Minister of Canada
‡the leader of Conservative Party
Denotation
3. Extension versus intention
ALSO CALLED:COMPONENTIAL ANALYSIS
OR SEMANTIC DECOMPOSITION
4. Componential Analysis
Componential Analysis
Semantic properties: The _________ of meaning of a word.
Semantic feature: A notational device for expressing the _________ or _________ of semantic properties by “+” and “-”.
Example of componential analysis:“baby” is [+ young], [+ human],
[– abstract].
Contemporary Linguistics Analysis: p.
196
Componential Analysis
1. (a) widow, mother, sister, aunt, maid (b) widower, father, brother, uncle, valet
The (a) and (b) words are The (a) words are The (b) words are
[ human][ female][ male]
2. (a) bachelor, paperboy, pope, chief (b) bull, rooster, drake, ram
The (a) and (b) words are The (a) words are The (b) words are
[ male][ human][ animal]
Componential Analysis
3. (a) table, stone, pencil, cup, house, ship (b) milk, alcohol, rice, soup, mud
The (a) words are The (b) words are
[ count][ count]
4. (a) pine, elm, sycamore (b) dandelion, aster, daisy
The (a) and (b) words are The (a) words are The (b) words are
[ plant][ tree]
[ flower]
Componential Analysis
SWINE
Definition: an adult female swine; also : the adult female
of various other animals (as a bear) http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
Semantic Analysis:
Componential Analysis
CAR
Definition: A vehicle moving on wheels
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
Semantic Analysis:
How would we know that it is not a truck?
Componential Analysis
BUTTERFLYDefinition: any of numerous slender-bodied diurnal lepidopteran
insects including one superfamily (Papilionoidea) with broad often brightly colored wings and usually another superfamily comprising the skippers
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
Semantic Analysis: [+ ], [+ ], [-
] …
2 COMPLEMENTS:2 COMPLEMENTS: NO COMPLEMENT:NO COMPLEMENT: Fax Murmur Radio Mumble Wire Mutter Phone Shriek
Emphasis on: Emphasis on:- _________ - _________
So there’s a link between _________ and _________ !!!
5. Subcategorization of Verbs
The Word’s Context / Word Combinations
THE IMPORTANCE OF WORD COMBINATION:
An example:
What is wrong with this sentence: The colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
The Word’s Context / Word Combinations
There are many reasons why two words cannot be combined:
Meaning• Inherent meaning (ex: colorless green*)• Connotation (ex: sleep furiously*)• Semantic limits of words (ex: watched the
intelligence*; or green ideas*)Syntax
• Complements (ex: he closed the telephone*)• Subject (ex: the door danced*)
In defining a verb we should also describe it’s _________ and _________ : A1 tosses A2 to A3:
A1 = [+ human] A2 = [+ concrete], [+ movable], [+ small] A3 = [± human] or [+ living/moving], [+ with hands/arms] …
We can also use this approach with other lexical categories like adjectives, nouns, adverbs, etc.
* Again, this is a combination of ______ and _________ !
6. Actantial Approach
Jacqueline Picoche
SIX APPROACHES TO MEANING
Therefore:
The colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
“IDEAS” cannot have a color since it is [+ abstract] “FURIOUSLY” has to modify a verbs where one is
conscious, amongst other things. “SLEEP” has a “restful” connotation. “FURIOUSLY”
doesn’t. Something cannot be “colorless” and “green” at the
same time. There is semantic contradiction here.
SIX APPROACHES TO MEANING
1. Connotation2. Denotation3. Extension and intention4. Componential Analysis5. Subcategorization of verbs6. Actantial Approach
.
Meaning of Words Through Time
Neologism (or Coinage)
Neologism (or Coinage)
Using derivation:
Evolution of Meaning
Language Changes a lot, not just in adding new words here and there, but also as the meaning of these words change with time.
o « Cool » used to mean « not warm/cold ». Then the meaning changed.
o Now, « cool », is not really that « cool » anymore !
Evolution of Meaning = Polysemy
BARRÉ (Acadian French): - Blocked door (with actual bar)- Blocked door (locked)
- Blocked river- Blocked road
This is how you get _________
Evolution of Meaning
MEANING AND DICTIONARIES
Lexicology
Analogy
Definition of the French words “PLUME”:1. A feather2. A feather used for writing (“plume-fontaine”)3. A ball point pen (ou “stylo”)
Definitions drawn out of a metaphor (or _________ ). From something concrete to something concrete.
Choi-Jonin & Delhay, 1998Dictionary.com
Analogy, Figurative Sense & Metonymy
Definition of the words “SWORD” : 1. a weapon (…). 2. this weapon as the symbol of military power, punitive
justice. authority, etc.Ex: The pen is mightier than the sword.
3. war, combat, slaughter, or violence.4. The Bible.
What meanings are drawn out of a certain metaphor? _________– from concrete to concrete: _________– from concrete to abstract:
_________ : pen and sword
Choi-Jonin & Delhay, 1998Dictionary.com