chapter 6: semantics… … the study of meaning notes: about exercising: it keeps you healthy:...
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 6: Semantics…
… the Study of Meaning
NOTES: About exercising: it keeps you healthy: physically &
mentally… I’ve tried to match the slides to the order of the textbook
this time…
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What is “Truth”? - Pilate- c 33AD
Travel means “to go from one place to another, as by car, train, plane, or ship.
You are too young to travel.You are not old enough to travel.
Dave spent 4 years in Tokyo, Japan.Dave was once in Tokyo, Japan.
Truth & Contradiction
Paraphrase: Two sentences: the same truth
conditions Entailment
JFK was assassinated __________ Contradiction
*The king is a woman Anomaly
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously
So What??
How do people
use these?
(or misuse them
?)
2 Important Concepts (via vocabulary…)
Ambiguity Principle of Compositionality
The meaning of a sentence comes (mostly) from its constituents and the way they are positioned.
What I meant to say was…
What makes this funny?Or if you don’t think it’s funny, what linguistic quality was
the author employing in his unsuccessful attempt at humor?
Ambiguity The man saw the fish with binoculars.
Other
Examples?
You Try it
Create an ambiguous sentence…
How does the ambiguity in your sentence relate to compositionality, truth, and entailment?
Think About It…
What are some benefits & dangers of ambiguity in our
communication?
Any Questions…
… before we move on?
Cup/Mug (or shades of blue)
What’s the point? Apply the point to something that
matters in your life… Reading Writing Teaching 2nd language study…
Systematicness of Language
Phonology
Syntax
Lexis
Predictable
Unpredictable
Word Relationships (Lexis)
Hyponymy Color – Red, blue, green, etc.
Converseness Reciprocal relationship
Polysemy & Homonymy Plain • Bat
So What??How do people
use these? (or misuse them?)
Fuzzy Concepts (Lexical Semantics)
Nose
Hana(Japanese)
Nos(Russian)
IceIce
Ice
RainWater
H2O
Think About It…
How can knowing about word relationships help us study
another language or communicate with a
non-native speaker of English?
Any Questions…
… before we move on?
Pragmatics…
Band practice…My house
6 to 8
Band practice…My house
6 to 8
Band practice…My house
6 to 8
Band practice…My house
6 to 8Thanks for the
reminder
Thanks for the
reminder
Thanks for the
reminder Thanks for the
warning
What makes this funny?Or if you don’t think it’s funny, what linguistic quality was
the author employing in his unsuccessful attempt at humor?
Types of Meaning Linguistic
Reference GWB is the 43rd president
Beware Referential Meaning Al Gore nearly became the 43rd president ≠ Al Gore nearly became GWB!
Social Y’all come back now. Y’hear?
Affective How many times have I asked you to…
Linguistic, Social or Affective?
Tina, who has two doctorates, gave me a fascinating overview of Warhol’s art last night.
Adjust the sentence below to reflect different L, S, & A
meanings
Pragmatics
What’s the message? “Honey, do we have any fruit…?”
Me sitting making these slides… Me on the cell phone from the grocery
store…
“I’m getting cold…” My wife in the car while we’re driving… Me deciding on pie at a Midwestern diner…
Other Examples?
Why “Fine”? …why ask?
What makes this funny?Or if you don’t think it’s funny, what linguistic
quality was the author employing in his unsuccessful attempt at
humor?
Why not give a ‘real answer’?
Any Questions…
… before we move on?
Meaning Categories
Find Examples of Each… (see pp 200 – 206)
Tense Modality Deixis
So What??How do people
use these? (or misuse them?)
Semantic Roles
Verb-Centered Agent one doing the
action Patient one receiving the
action
Identify A, & P below (two in each…) Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall. Bo Peep pushed Humpty off the wall Miss Muffet heard Humpty shatter
Thematic Roles?
Find Two: Based on the caption…
Agent Theme
Rule Governed?
?What controls who
can do what to whom?
Make a sentence that violates thematic
constraints…
Themes in other lanaguages
Apache *My horse kicked me I allowed myself to be kicked by my
horse German
In diesem hotel sind hunde verboten In this hotel are dogs forbidden (gloss)
* This hotel forbids dogsWhat might one thematic constraint be in
Apache?What might one thematic constraint be in
German?
Think About It…
How do thematic roles apply to how we create sentences?
Any Questions….
… before we move on?
Maxims of Conversation
Grice, 1975
Four “rules” of conversation that are typically followed in everyday
life
Maxim of Conversation #1
Relevance Be relevant
How does the comic violate
the maxim for
humorous effect?
Maxim of Conversation #2
Quantity Be as
informative as required…
How does the comic violate
the maxim for
humorous effect?
Maxim of Conversation #3
Quality Truthful, Supportable claims
How does the comic violate the maxim for humorous
effect?
Maxim of Conversation #4
Manner Brief, orderly Not ambiguous nor obscure
How does the comic violate the maxim for
humorous effect?
Life-Application
What are some situations you’ve experienced (in real-life or literature) where someone has violated a Maxim of Conversation?
What happened? (was it intentional?) How was the situation resolved?
Recommended Exercises
1, 2, 3, 7, 11, 12, 14, 15 Enough of each to get the point