Chapter 6 Semantics

Outline

1. Lexical meaning 1.1 Theories of semantics 1.2 Connotation vs.

denotation 1.3 The theory of semantic

features 2. Word connection in

semantics 2.1 Homonym 2.2 Synonym 2.2 Polysemy 2.4 Antonym

3. Compositional meanings 3.1 Syntactic structure 3.2 Semantic roles

4. Other semantic structures

5. Summary

Semantics

Semantics : search of rules for what is behind our mutual understanding. Semantics

Lexical meaningEach word means

independently

Some words are connected in sounds, forms, or

meanings.

Compositional meaning

1. Lexical meaning

1.1 Theories of semantics1.2 Connotation vs.

denotation 1.3 The theory of semantic

features

Lexical meaning Speech communication works on the basis

of common knowledge of what words and morphemes mean.water, juice, coffee,

liquor

refer to different objects

share some common semantic properties

(liquid in nature) The semantic properties help group words

into a category or a group.Animate: animals and human In-animate: stones, wood, and

desks In the same way, semantic properties distinguish

verbs for animate from those for in-animate.

John was killed. (O)The desk was killed. (X)

Lexical meaning Apart from words, a morpheme has its own

meaning

Different theories of lexical meaning: (a) mental image (b) definition and prototype (c) semantics and references (d) the theory of semantic features.

cups → a plural formShe dances pretty well. → a verb of the 3rd person,

singular, and present

Mental Image

Mental image: the position that the meaning of a word comes from the image rising from our mind.

Not all nouns or actions can be represented in a concrete image or picture.

e.g. concept, honor, superiority, idea,

Definition and Prototype The theory of definition and prototype: language

acquisition begins with vocabulary, which has its own definition in the first beginning.

Vocabulary in mind

mental lexicon(like a

dictionary)

speak out

Given that every word is well defined, it becomes the prototyped meaning.

Definition and Prototype (problem) Cyclic reasoning in rationale: which goes first, definition, or lexicon?

Lexicon is formed before the definition. Many words whose meaning is arbitrarily

given.

A word is usually defined depending on different contexts.

e.g.Pineapple(pine + apple)

meaning of a wordDenotation

the lexical semantics of a word

Connotation extended to meanings in a

broader sense

Reference–Connotation vs. Denotation

The theory of referents: aims to show that the meaning of a word gets a direct referent or denotation

dove

The Wings of the Dove innocent love

Connotation: historical, cultural, or literary backgrounds e.g. Robert Frost’s Mending Wall (foreign to those without equal

knowledge) Denotation: linguistic

e.g. John was asked to paint the wall.

Reference – Intention vs. Extension

Extension: the referent (the object that is referred to) e.g. John wants to keep a dog. (a whole set of dogs)

Intension: sense or the semantic nature of that word e.g. He did not kill your dog. (a specific dog)

In normal cases: most words are meant by a combination of intension and extension. e.g. cup (the cup in its form and in its usage)

a piece of cakeextension

intensionsomething easy to be done

Reference – Intention vs. Extension

Some proper names do not have intension meaning. e.g. a fashion store might be named Woodhose. a hot pot store named Grasshopper.

Some terms are without extension meaning The king of the US is a bald. (There is no king in the US.) A Hobbit is running for the president of Taiwan. (In the real world, there is no Hobbit.)

Different words may refer the same referent John was put into jail last week. My neighbor was put into jail last week. The one who visited us was put into jail last week.

co-referential

Reference – Intention vs. Extension(difficulty)

Function words: preposition or article He lives in Taipei. (Taipei is a big city.) He lives at Taipei. (Taipei is just like some places else.)

Semantic features

Following the theory of distinctive features in phonology, some semantic scholars try to adapt it and have it named the theory of semantic distinctive features.

What is meant to be adult? What age would be the criterion for adulthood?

Semantic features Phonology features: clear and the amount is not

too huge The features of phonology depend on places and

manners of articulation. Semantic features: 1. not clear in terms of the correspondence

between features and referents. e.g. Adulthood: the age & the look Color naming: black tea (in English) & red tea (in

Chinese)

2. semantic features fail to distinguish category from individual. e.g. larks, sparrows, cuckoos are all [+bird]

[+lark], [+sparrow], [+cuckoo] has to be adopted

2. Word connection in semantics 2.1 Homonym2.2 Synonym2.2 Polysemy 2.4 Antonym

He lay asleep under the tree.

He lays a book on the table.

→ identical in phonetics different in meaning

homonym

wide ←→ narrowlike ←→ dislike

antonym

bench ― sofa

synonymy

1. a bat for baseball Bat 2. a bat flying

at night

polysemy

Homonym

(a) spelling and pronunciation identical, but meaning different

(b) spelling and meaning different but pronunciation identical.

homo(the

same)

nym(sound)

homonym(words with identical sounds while mean

differently)

Homonym

the same spelling and pronunciation

different meaning

the same pronunciation different in spelling and

meaning

Homonyms: words with same pronunciation and spelling but different in semantic meanings

Homonym

Lewis Caroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

identically pronounced [flaur]

homonym might give rise to communication

problems

1. the earth 2. the past participle of

grind Homographs: homonym sharing the same spelling

Homonym Not all homographs are homonym.

e.g. bow [bo] for arrow bow [bau] to show one’s respect

the same spelling (homophonesdifferent in meaning and in pronunciation

Heteronyms: two words spelled identically but different in pronunciation and meaning

e.g. wind [wnd] vs. wind [waind]

lead [lid] vs. lead [ld]

Synonym

Synonym: words with different spelling and pronunciation, but identical in meanings

e.g. silly/stupid, wise/clever, big/large, to have/to own

There are no two words with exact meanings, just like there are no two leaves with the exact identical shape

the pair of words is sometimes interchangeable

Polysemy

Almost all the words are polysemy, because few words are confined to one single meaning.iron → 1. a metal

2. an instrument for clothingbank →1. side of a river 2. a place for money saving

Some words are different in meaning because they are of different categories.

bear → (v.) to tolerate (n.) kind of animal

Antonym Antonym: words with the opposite

meanings

Complementary:

only one pole staying

Gradable antonym:

one pole called marked, the other called unmarked. Normally, the positive one is unmarked.

e.g. wide/narrow, stop/continue, dead/live,

e.g. live vs. dead, present vs. absent.

e.g. long/short, sad/happy

e.g. long, wide, tall, old

Antonym

Unmarked: it is used intuitionally Marked: only when it is marked or labeled

unmarked

marked

3. Compositional meanings

3.1 Syntactic structure3.2 Semantic roles

Syntactic structure

Syntactic rules: Semantics plays an equal role of syntactic

structures in sentential expressions. Semantics is closely associated with word

order.

both grammatical and acceptable

sounds weird in semantics but grammatical

entirely unacceptable in English

Syntactic structure

Ambiguous sentences can be made clear by sentence analysis.e.g. We met a lot of young ladies and gentlemen.

both ladies and gentlemen are youngonly ladies are young

Syntactic structure

Ambiguous sentences can be made clear by sentence analysis.e.g. The boy saw a lady in the library

It is the lady in the library that the boy saw.

It is the library that that the boy saw the lady.

Semantic roles

a. John broke the door with a stone.b. The stone broke the door.

a. John felt happy with the grades.b. John drew some pictures.c. John was satisfied with what you did.

agent patient instrument

experiencer agent patient

a. John mailed Mary a pack of books.b. John changed the paper into a bird.

agent patientgoal

Semantic roles or thematic roles

Semantic roles Focus on the theta role that a word plays

in a sentence.

Each word or entry is implied to get the theta-role assignment

Semantic roles Focus on the theta role that a word plays

in a sentence.

Semantic roles

To summarize, we have the following findings for theta roles in the field of semantic studies. ( i ) Compositional meaning is not necessarily a

combination of each lexical meaning, but word order matters.

( ii ) Semantic ambiguity can be solved by syntactic structures.

i.e. Visiting professors may be embarrassing: (a) It is visiting professors that is

embarrassing. (b) It is embarrassing to pay a visit to professors.

( iii ) Theta roles are mainly subject to the types of verbs or to the relation that a verb raises.

4. Other semantic structures

Other semantic structures

Three types of structures that are culture-based:(a) anomaly(b) metaphors(c) idiomatic expressions

Anomaly

Anomaly: there is a semantic conflict between each component

e.g. a. The widow’s husband treats her gently.

b. The dead man committed a suicide last night.

semantic conflict

How does a widow have a

husband??

How can a dead man committed

suicide??

Anomaly: there is a semantic conflict between each component

a. Colorless green ideas sleep

furiously.

b. He killed the dead umbrella.

c. John killed the rabbit, but the rabbit

ran away.

d. He wanted to buy a triangular

square.

Anomaly

paradoxes

Other examples

Metaphors Metaphor: a figurative language in literature. It should be decoded from cultural or

historical perspective. A brief form, condensing a lot of experiences

and wit into a few words.

A poem should be wordless. (Ars Poetica, A. Macleish, 1892-1982)In appearance, a wordless poem is nothing

but a blank.Metaphorically, a good poem is hardly written in words.

Take time to think it over and figure it out

Metaphors

‘a grief ago’(Dylom

Thomas)It is touching due to the fact that grief always lasts for a long time.Metaphorically, it means a very long time ago.

Wear the mask that grins and lies,It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes.(We wear the mask, P. L. Dunbar, 1872-1906)

Metaphorically, we are not ourselves any more in our daily life.

Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water(in the tombstone of John Keats,1795-1821)

Metaphorically, the name is not noteworthy or is not everlasting.

Idiomatic expressions

Idiomatic expressions: in the form of sayings, proverbs, or idioms.e.g. Sam gets up on the wrong side of the bed.

In general, either side of the bed will serve a right side for one to get up.

It suggests that he do not feel good when he is getting up.

Sometimes there is a story for an idiomatic chunk.

e.g. The origin of a baker’s dozen

Normally, a dozen is 12 pieces. However, a baker’s dozen means 13.