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SEMANTICS IN ENGLISH

Compiled by

Kem Soekemi

English Department

Faculty of Language and Arts

UNESA/PETRA

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UNIT 0

INTRODUCTION

A. Linguistics

Linguistics is a study of the nature and structure

of human speech. While language is communication

of thoughts and feelings through a system of

arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or

written symbols. Such a system, including rules for

combining components, such as words, such a

system is used by a particular group or community.

B. Brunches of Linguistics

There are many branches of linguistics. The main

branches of linguistics are phonetics, phonology,

morphology, syntax, and semantics.

1. Phonetics

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics dealing with

sound features/qualities and their organization

into phones (speech sounds). A sound is anything

that can be heard, while a speech sound is a

sound that is used in a language. Coughing or

snatching of fingers are sounds but they are not

phones or speech sounds. [ u, I, n, and s] are

sound features, because they are used in many

languages.

2. Phonology

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Phonology is a branch of linguistics dealing

with phones and their organization into

phonemes. A phoneme is a group of phones which

are phonetically similar and either in

complementary distribution or in free variation.

For example:

pin [p In]

lips [lIps]

nip [nIp ] [p -], [-p-], and [-p ] are phonetically similar, their

phonetic differences do not cause difference in

meaning, and they are either in complementary

distribution, each has its own distribution and the

distribution of one member makes the distribution

of the other members complete, or in free variation,

their variation is free. So that [p -], [-p-] and [-p ]

can be organized into a single phoneme /p/ (voiceless

bilabial stop consonant phoneme).

3. Morphology

Morphology is a branch of linguistics dealing with

morphs and their organization into morphemes. It

also deals with the organization of morphemes into

words. A morph is the smallest meaningful part of a

word. Morphs are found by segmenting any word

into the smallest meaningful parts. A morpheme is a

group of morphs which are semantically the same

and in complementary distribution.

Example:

Jane always cooks /-s/ meals.

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She sings /-z/ beautifully.

She teaches /-iz/ French at a school.

/-s/, /-z/ and /-iz/ are morphs, because they are the

smallest meaningful parts of the words. They can be

organized into a morpheme, since they are

semantically the same, they have the same meaning (third person singular present tense morphs), and in

complementary distribution.

4. Syntax

Syntax is a branch of linguistics dealing with

words and their organization into phrases, clauses,

and sentences.

5. Semantics

Semantics is a branch of linguistics dealing with

meanings of morphemes, words, phrases, utterances,

sentences, and propositions.

C. Exercise 0

1. What is linguistics? 2. What is phonetics? 3. What is a phone? 4. What is a phoneme? 5. What is an allophone? 6. What is morphology? 7. What is a morph? 8. What is a morpheme? 9. What is an allomorph? 10. What is semantics?

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UNIT I

SEMANTICS AND LINGUISTICS

A. Semantics

1. Semantics as aTerm.

In English the term semantics appeared for the

first time in a paper Reflected meanings: a point in semantics presented by a member of the American Philological Association in 1894.

2. M. Breal.

In French M. Breal coined the term semantique

from the Greek language in 1883. In 1900 M. Breal

published Semantics: studies in the science of

meaning. The original in French was published in

1897.

3. C.K. Ogden and I.A. Richards.

C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards published The

Meaning of Meaning in 1923. Yet the term semantics

was not found in the body of the book, it appears in

the appendix.

B. Semantics and Linguistics

1. Semantics as a level of linguistics.

As it is stated above semantics is a component or

level of linguistics; the other levels are: phonetics,

phonology, morphology, and syntax.

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2. Language as a communication system.

As a communication system, a language is

related with (1) something to be communicated: a

message (signified) and (2) something that

communicates, a set of signs or symbols (signifier).

3. Other communication systems

There are other communication systems, such as

traffic lights, monkeys and crows communication systems, but all of them are much simpler than

language.

4. A Communicative System.

Why language as communication system is

different from other communication systems?

a) Not every piece of language has a message in

any real sense. In many cases the function of

language is concerned with establishing and or

maintaining social relationships.

b) Each sign and message in language is very com-

plicated and the relationships between them are

even more complicated.

c) In language it is extremely difficult to specify

precisely what the message is, while in other

communication systems there is no problem,

because the message can be independently

identified in terms of language, e.g. Red means

stop and green means go. In language we cannot describe the message independently of

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language, because we can only describe the

message in terms of language.

C. Semantics is Empirical

One of the requirements of the statement is that

linguistics should be empirical. Thus semantics

should be empirical, too. Any statement made within

it must be verifiable by observation. It is easy to apply

this method to speaking, but there is no simple way

of dealing with semantics.

D. Semantics Concerning Generalization.

1. Parole and langue

Linguistics as a science is not concerned with

specific instances, but with generalization.

Ferdinand de Saussure (1916) indicates this point by

stating the distinction between LANGUAGE

(langue) and SPEAKING (parole), later Noam

Chomsky (1957) uses the terms COMPETENCE and

PERFORMANCE to refer to more or less the same

point. Both are concerned essentially to exclude

what is purely individual and accidental (speaking

or performance), and to insist that the proper study

of linguistics is langue or competence.

2. The focus of the general study of semantics

The focus of the general study of semantics is on

studying the normal patterns of semantics. But

semantics is also concerned with individuals meaning, because it is interesting as well as

important to know how and why an individual turns

from the normal patterns. For example, in studying

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literary work it is necessary to know what a certain

character really means in his/her utterances.

E. Speaker Meaning versus Word/Sentence Meaning

Speaker meaning is what a speaker means when

he utters a piece of language. Word/Sentence

meaning is what a word/sentence means, i.e. what it

counts as the equivalent of in the language

concerned.

Many sentences deliver information in a straight

forward way, but many other sentences do not give

any information at all they are used to maintain or to establish various social relationships. The social

relationships can be either courteous or hostile.

Examples

a. A: Will you have a drink with us? B: Id love to b. P: Give me a break, please R: No way c. X: Thank you Y: Y strikes the ball back to X.

F. Semantic Theory

Semantics is an attempt to set up a theory to

meaning. Hurford and Heasley (1984, 8) state that

A theory is a precisely specified, coherent, and economical frame-work of interdependent state-

ments and definitions constructed so that as large a

number as possible of particular basic facts can

either be seen to follow from it or be describable in

terms of it Examples of semantics facts are:

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a. Ken Arok caused Kebo Ijo to die: Statement

b. Every man is mortal : Analytic

sentence

c. Bung Karno is the first president : Equative

sentence

d. The lamb is too hot to eat : Ambiguous

e. SBY is our president Mrs. Any SBY is the first lady : Entailment

G. Aristotle

Aristotle (384-322 B. C.), the Greek philosopher,

can be regarded as a forerunner of modern

semantics, because he was concerned with the same

general areas that concern modern semanticists. It is

true that there are areas of meaning studied by

modern semanticists which were terra incognita

(unexplored field) to Aristotle, but the general areas

of Aristotle and modern semanticists are the same.

H. Exercise I

1. Who was M. Breal?

2. What is The Meaning of Meaning?

3. What is the relation between linguistics and

semantics?

4. Compare speaker meaning with sentence

meaning and use examples in your answer.

5. Compare langue with parole and use examples

in your answer.

6. Who was Aristotle?

7. What is meant by the term terra incognita?

8. What does semantic theory deal with?

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9. What is a semantic fact? Use examples in your

answer.

10. Who was Ferdinand de Saussure?

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UNIT II:

UTTERANCE, SENTENCE, AND PROPOSITION

A. Utterance

1. Definition

An utterance is a stretch of talk, used by a person,

before and after which there is a silence on the part of the

speaker. An utterance is the use of a piece of language, a

word, a phrase, a clause, a sentence, or a sequence of

sentences, by a particular speaker on a particular occasion.

An utterance is a physical event or an object. It can be

recorded.

2. Examples:

a. Mother: Who called you just now? Jill : Tom b. John: Whats the matter with you? Julie: Nothing c. Mother: Do you like her? Son : No, I love her

B. Sentence

1. Definition

A sentence is a string of words or phrases put

together by using grammatical rules of a language. It is not

a physical event or object.

A given sentence always consists of the same words or

phrases and in the same order. Any change in the words /

phrases, or in their order, makes a different sentence

2. Examples

a. John only loves Mary

Only John loves Mary They are different

sentences.

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b. Helen rolled up the carpet

Helen rolled the carpet up They are different sentences

c. Courtesy always pays

Courtesy always pays They are the same sentence

When a sentence is used by a particular person on a

particular occasion, it becomes an utterance. Any sentence

belongs to a particular language

Examples:

a) Hanako sang deska? Are you Mr. Hanako? b) Ikan paus itu mamalia Whales are mammals c) Ich bin glucklich I am happy

There is no doubt that example a) is a Japanese

sentence, example b) is an Indonesian sentence, and

example c) is a German sentence.

When the same sentence is used by different speakers

on different occasions will be different utterances.

C. Proposition

1. Definition

A proposition is that part of the meaning of the

utterance of a declarative sentence which describes some

state of affairs. The state of affairs typically involves

persons or things referred to by expressions in the

sentence.

In uttering a declarative sentence a speaker typically

asserts a proposition. Propositions, unlike sentences,

cannot be said to belong to any particular language. Two

or more sentences in different languages can correspond to

the same proposition, if those sentences are perfect

translations of each other.

Examples:

a) Aku tresno kowe I love you

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b) Saya cinta kamu I love you c) Wo ai ni I love you

In reality it is not always easy to have perfect translation

from one language to another.

Examples:

The Indonesian sentence: Saya telah menerima undang-

annya, can be translated into two different sentences in

English, they are I have received her invitation and I have accepted her invitation These two sentences have different senses. In the first sentence, the speaker states that he has

got the invitation, while in the second sentence the speaker

has promised to fulfill the invitation.

2. True versus false propositions

One can have propositions in the mind regardless of

whether they are true or false. True propositions

correspond to facts.

Examples:

a) The earth is round True b) Experience is a good teacher True c) Two and three are six False

A proposition is either true or false. In saying Herman can do the job, a speaker asserts the proposition that Herman can do the job. While in saying Can Herman do the job? he mentions the same proposition, but he merely questions its truth.

Corresponding declaratives and interrogatives /

imperatives have the same propotional contents.

D. Relationship between Utterance, Sentence, and

Proposition

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Utterance

Sentence Utterance

Utterance

Utterance

Proposition Sentence Utterance

Utterance

Utterance

Sentence Utterance

Utterance

Diagram 2.1: Relationship between utterance, sentence,

And proposition.

E. Proposition versus Thought

A proposition is an object of thought, yet propositions

are not equal to thought. Because thoughts are usually held

to be private, personal, and mental processes, whereas

propositions are public.

The relationship between mental processes (e.g.

thoughts), abstract semantic entities (e.g. propositions),

linguistic entities (e.g. sentences), and actions (utterances)

is problematic and complicated.

F. Techniques of Presenting

1. Utterances are written between double quotation

marks.

Examples: John : Who is he? Nancy: Ive never seen him before

2. Sentences are typed in italic typeface.

Examples: a. Rinjani is higher than Semeru

b. There are two seasons in Indonesia.

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3. Propositions are presented by using logical notation.

Examples:

a. Romeo loved Juliet . r LOVE l b. Brutus killed Caesar b KILL c c. Bung Karno is the first president bk = fp

G. Exercise II

1. What is an utterance? Use examples in your answer

2. What is a sentence? Use examples in your answer.

3. Compare an utterance with a sentence and use

examples in your answer

4. Do propositions belong to a particular language?

Illustrate your answer with examples.

5. Is a proposition always true?

6. When is a proposition true? Use examples in your

answer.

7. What is meant by perfect translation?

8. Is it possible to have a perfect translation?

9. Translate the following sentences into Indonesia:

a. Man the ship!

b. I have accepted his invitation.

10. What is meant by a family tree relationship between

utterance, sentence, and proposition?

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UNIT III:

SENSE RELATIONSHIP VS REFERENCE

RELATIONSHIP

A. Sense Relationship

Sense relationships are relationships inside the

language. Sense relates the complex system of relationship

between one linguistic element with other linguistic

elements. It deals with intra-linguistic relationships. The

intra-linguistic relations can be illustrated in the following

diagram.

Diagram 3.1: Sense Relationship

In a sentence, such as: Every house has got a main

bedroom, there are intra-linguistic relations between one

word and other words (between every and house or

between has and got) or between one phrase with other

phrases (between every house and has got or between has

got and a main bedroom) in that sentence. Those

relationships are called sense relationships.

B. Reference Relationship

The World

X1----X2 Language

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In talking a reference relationship, we deal with the

relationships between language elements (words, phrases,

clauses, and sentences) and non-linguistic elements (the

world or experience).

By means of reference, a speaker indicates which things

or persons in the world are being talked about.

Example: William Shakespeare lived in this house William Shakespeare indicates a person, while this house indicates a thing.

A reference relationship is a relationship between parts

of a language and things, animals and men outside the

language. This kind of relationship can be illustrated in the

following diagram.

Diagram 3.2: Reference Relationship

C. Kind of Expressions

Based on their references, expressions can be classified

into the following:

1. Expressions with variable references

Examples: His wife

Her boy friend

My office

Their brothers

2. Expressions which usually never refer to different

The World

Y

X1

Language

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things.

Examples: The sun

The president

The lecturer

The dean

3. Two or more expressions referring to the same object.

Examples: The morning star and the evening star

Bung Karno and the first president

Mother, mama, and Mrs. So and so

D. Does Sense Belong to Words only?

We can talk about sense, not only of the words, but also

of longer expressions (phrases, clauses and sentences).

Each pair in the following examples has the same sense.

Examples: 1. The executive prefer educated ladies.

The executive prefer ladies with high education.

2. Every athlete exercises systematically

Every athlete practices his mind and body

systematically.

3. The child loves cats.

The child likes cats very much.

E. Ambiguous Words

In some cases, the same word can have more than one

sense.

Examples: 1. The Bank of Tokyo.

The bank of Musi

2. A mug of milk

He is a mug.

3. Hak wanita

Hak sepatu

F. Ambiguous Sentences

One sentence can have different senses, too.

Examples: 1. The chicken is ready to eat

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2. He greeted the girl with a smile.

3. Flying planes can be dangerous.

G. Meaning, Sense and Reference

It is important to remember that every expression that

has meaning has sense, but not every expression has

reference. Each of the following words has sense, but none

of them refers to thing: a. almost, b. probable, c. and, d. if,

hardly, and but.

H. Definitions in a Dictionary

There is something essentially circular about the set of

definitions in a dictionary. Similarly, defining the senses of

words and other expressions often has something of this

circular nature. This is not necessary a bad thing, and in

any case it is often unavoidable, since in many cases there is

no way of indicating the meaning of an expression except

with other words.

Examples: sphere any round body or figure having the Surface equally distant from the centre

At all points; globe; ball.

Globe - any round, ball-shaped thing; sphere

Ball - any round, or spherical object; sphere;

globe

1. Proposition as Complete Independent Thought

There is something grammatically complete about a

whole sentence, as opposed to a smaller expression such as

a phrase or a single word. Generally speaking, a

proposition corresponds to a complete independent thought

Examples: 1.Shop lifting is a crime.

2. She finished her work on time.

3. Gambling is a bad habit.

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The three sentences above mentioned are propositions,

while the following are not:

1. An old friend (not understood as an elliptical sentence fragment).

2. Jane (not understood as an elliptical sentence fragment).

3. in Bali (not understood as an elliptical sentence)

J. Reference and Utterance

The relation between reference and utterance is not so

direct as that between sense and proposition, but there is a

similarity worth pointing out. Both referring and uttering

are acts performed by particular speakers on particular

occasions.

Most utterances contain, or are accompanied by, one or

more acts of referring. An act of referring is the picking

out of a particular referent by a speaker in the particular

utterance.

Exam.: 1. Oh, Im not fit for my job! (James, 1960: 110) There are two acts of referring in this utterance

2. Then I may take it from you that he is good (James, 1960: 111).

There are four acts of referring in the second

utterance.

K. Sense or Reference?

In everyday conversations the words meaning, means,

mean, or meant are sometimes used to indicate sense and

sometimes used to indicate reference.

Examples: 1. When a journalist mentioned LUSI, he meant

Lumpur Sidoarjo (reference)

2. When we mention SBY we mean our

President (Reference).

3. Sir, what does unique mean? (Sense)

4. Purchase has the same meaning as buy (Sense)

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L. Two Kinds of Semantics

Based on the distinction between sense and reference,

then there are two kinds of semantics:

1. The first kind deals with semantic structure or sense

relationships.

2. The other kind deals with meaning in terms of

experience outside language or reference relationship.

Some linguists have attempted to limit semantics to

sense relationships. As an example, J.J. Kartz and J.A.

Fodor, through their paper called The Structure of a Semantic Theory 9163), presented their theory which is based upon word meaning.

N. Exercise III

1. What do we deal with in talking of sense?

Illustrate with examples in your answer.

2. What do you deal with in talking of reference?

Use examples in your answer.

3. Mention five expressions that have constant

references.

4. Mention five expressions that have more than one

sense.

5. What is meant by an act of referring?

6. What is meant by an act of uttering?

7. Mention five examples of two or more expressions

that have one referent.

8. Do the morning star have the same meaning with the evening star?

9. Are they mutually substitutable?

10. Are SBY and our president mutually substitutable?

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UNIT IV: REFERRING EXPRESSIONS

A. Definition

A referring expression is any expression used in an utterance to refer to something or someone (or a clearly

delimited collection of things or people), i.e. used with a

particular referent in mind (Hurford et al., 2007: 37).

Example: The name of Partono in an utterance such as

Partono telephoned you last night, where the speaker has a particular person in mind when he says Partono, is a referring expression. But Partono in There is no one called Partono in this class is not a referring expression, because in this case a speaker does not have a particular person in

his mind in uttering the name.

Which of the following are referring expressions:

Jack, her father, whales, or, the man living next door, a tiger,

sing, songs, beyond.

Comment: The same expression can be a referring

expression or not depending on the context. Compare it in

the following utterances: Every man who owns a donkey beats it and Its sinking!

1. Opaque Context

Hurford et al. (2007, 40) define opaque context as

follows: An opaque context is a part of a sentence which could be made into a complete sentence by the addition of a

referring expression, but where the addition of different

referring expression, even though they refer to the same

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thing or person, in a given situation, will yield sentences

with different meanings when uttered in a given situation.

The incomplete sentence Laura Bush thinks that . . . is a

genius is an opaque context. The following utterances

would make different meanings:

(a) Laura Bush thinks that the President is a genius (b) Laura Bush thinks that the Leader of the Republic Party is a genius

If, for example, Laura Bush believes erroneously that

the President is not the Leader of the Republic Party, then

(a) and (b) will mean different things.

Hurford et al. (2001: 41-42) state that the term opaque is especially appropriate because these contexts seem to

block our view through them to the referential

interpretation of referring expression. Opaque contexts typically involve a certain kind of verb

such as want, believe, think, and wonder about.

They state (2007:42) that . . . it was often in the context of such opacity-creating verbs that indefinite noun phrases

could be ambiguous between a referring and non referring

interpretation, as in Nancy wants to marry a Norwegian.

2. Equative Sentence

Then Hurford et al. define An equative sentence is one which is used to assert the identity of the referents of

two referring expressions, i.e. to assert that two referring

expressions have the same referent (2007:42)

Examples: SBY is the President of Indonesia.

The morning star is the evening star.

The boy driving the blue car is her fianc

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Practice:

Are the following referring expressions?

1) he in If anyone ever marries Nancy, hes in for a bad time (meaning that whoever marries Nancy is in for a bad time)

2) it in Every man who owns a donkey beats it 3) a dancer in His uncle married a dancer. 4) a dancer in John wants to marry a dancer. 5) The whale in The whale is the largest mammal. 6) The man who shot Kennedy The man who shot Kennedy was Lee Harvey Oswald.

7) The person who did this in The person who did this must be insane, spoken by someone on discovering a brutally mutilated corpse, where

the speaker has no idea who committed the

crime.

D. Exercise IV

1. What is a referring expression?

Give examples in your answer.

2. What is an opaque context? Use examples in

your answer.

3. What is a reversal test?

4. Is Ken Dedes believed that . . . had killed

Tunggul Ametung an opaque context?

5. What is a reversal test?

6. Is a reversal test always reliable?

7. The same expression can be a referring

expression or not depending on the context. How

is it possible?

8. Identify referring expressions found in the

following sentences:

a. The child is drawing a dog.

b. What is lying under the car is a dog.

9. What is an important feature of equitive

sentence?

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10. Are the following sentences equitive?

a. His father is a general manager.

b. The man sitting there is her fianc.

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UNIT V:

PREDICATES

A. Definition of Predicator According to Hurford et al. (2007: 47) The predicator of a simple declarative sentence is the

word (sometimes a group of words) which does not

belong to any of referring expressions and which, of

the remainder, makes the most specific contribution

to the meaning of the sentence. Intuitively speaking,

the predicator describes the state or process in which

the referring expressions are involved.

Examples:

Mummy is asleep. Asleep is the predicator.

The tourist loved a Balinese dancer. Loved is the predicator.

Rinjani is in Lombok. In is the predicator.

Practice: What is the predicator of each of the following

sentences

(1) She is sick. (2) Lenny is in the library. (3) The Mayor is a corruptor. (4) The doctor who lives next door is a musician. (5) The church is behind the mosque. (6) They go to the church every Sunday.

Comment: The predicators of sentences can be of

various parts of speech: nouns (corruptor, writer,

musician, and mammal), verbs (go, teach, swim, enslave,

and corrupt), adjectives (sick, happy, frightened, and

creative), and propositions (in, behind, beyond, and out).

Other parts of speech, such as conjunctions (and, but, or)

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and articles (the, a) cannot serve as predicators in

sentences.

B. Predicator >< Argument Simple declarative sentences consist of two major

semantic roles played by different subparts of the

sentences. These semantic roles are the role of

predicator, played by predicates, and the role of

arguments, played by the referring expressions.

Examples:

(1) Made is Balinese predicator : Balinese

argument : Made

(2) He teaches English predicator : teach

arguments: he, English

(3) He is in Denpasar predicator : in

arguments: he, Denpasar

3) Predicator >< Predicate According to Hurford et al. (2007, 48) A predicate is any word (or sequence of words) which (in a given single

sentence) can function as the predicator of a sentence.

Examples: school, song, sleep, boil, angry, tall, in, before

are all predicates; and, or, but, not, almost, and quite are

not predicates.

Comment: Predicate and predicator are quite different terms. Predicate identifies elements in the language system, independently of particular example

sentences. The term predicator identifies the semantic role played by a particular word (a group of words) in a

particular sentence.

A simple sentence only has one predicator, although it

may contain more than one predicate.

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As an example, The young, tall, and beautiful doctor

examined an old patient.

There is only one predicator in the sentence, but the

sentence contains the words young, tall, beautiful, old,

and patient, all of which are predicates and can function

as predicators in other sentences such as The doctor is

young, She is tall. She is beautiful. The patient is old. He

is a patient.

Practice:

(1) In which of the following sentences does the word easy function as a predicator?

(a) Easy come easy go. (b) That is an easy chair. (c) Im easy.

(2) In which of the following sentences does the predicate mammal function as a predicator?

(a) A whale is a mammal. (b) The mammal lives at sea. (c) Whales are the biggest mammals.

3) The Degree of Predicates. According to Hurford et al. (2007: 50) The degree of predicate is a number of indicating the number of

arguments it is normally understood to have in simple

sentences

Examples: Tall is a predicate of degree one or one-place

predicate. While make is a predicate of degree two or a

two-place predicate.

In Nila made a cake, made is a two-place predicate: it

has an argument, Nila, as subject and an argument, a cake,

as direct object.

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There are several three-place predicates which are

mostly verbs in English.

Examples:

Ken Arok gave Kebo Ijo a kris.

George sent her a nice card.

Father bought me a cycle.

Most prepositions are two-place predicates, except

between.

Examples

Ponorogo is in East Java.

The mosque is behind the hospital.

The cat is under the car.

The school is between the church and the prison.

The majority of adjectives are one-place predicates, but

comparative degree of adjectives are two-place predicates.

Examples 1:

a. Snakes are useful.

b. Flowers are beautiful.

c. Driving is risky.

Examples 2:

a. Rinjani is taller than Semeru.

b. Surabaya is bigger than Medan.

c. Saying is easier than doing.

Most nouns are one-place predicates, but a few of them

such as father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, uncle,

aunt, cousin, nephew, neighbor, and class mate, are

inherently relational.

Examples:

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1) Mr. Johnson is Jacks father. 2) Alice is a daughter of Mrs. Smith.

3) Mrs. Smith is Alices mother.

3) Identity Relation Identity relation is the relation that is found in equative

sentences. In English, the identity of the referents of two

referring expressions is expressed by a form of the verb be.

Examples:

1) SBY is our president.

2) Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia.

3) London is the largest city in England.

G. Summary

Predicates and referring expressions have completely

different functions. Their roles cannot be exchanged. As an

example, Gesang is a composer makes sense, but A

composer is Gesang does not make sense.

H. Exercises V

1. Explain the following terms:

Predicator, predicate, degree of predicate, identity

relation

2. Identify the semantic roles of predicates found in

the following sentences:

a. It is linguistics.

b. John likes linguistics.

c. Linguistics is useful.

d. The school is between the museum and the

church.

e. Prof. Smith is the head of English department.

3. Indicate the degree of each predicate used as

predicators in item 2 above.

4. What are the function of the verb be in the

following sentences (does it function as an identity

predicate or as a grammatical device for linking a

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non-verbal predicate to its first argument)? Do all

instances of be carry tense?

a. Whales are mammals.

b. John is successful.

c. B. D. Hartono is the Mayor of Surabaya.

d. A rose is a flower.

e. Yesterday was Monday.

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UNIT VI

PREDICATES, REFERRING EXPRESSIONS, AND

UNIVERSE OF DISCOURSE

A. Referring Expressions >< Predicates

1. The same word can be used for the radically different

functions of reference and predications.

Examples:

a. The tiger attacked a man a man: referring

expression

b. Jack is a man a man: predicating

expression

2. Some expressions, proper names, are almost always

referring expressions no matter what sentences they occur

in.

Examples:

a. Mr. Smith is Johns father. b. Jakarta is the most crowded city in Indonesia.

c. Jacob is Jacks parrot.

In the examples, Mr. Smith, John, Jakarta, Indonesia,

Jacob, and Jack are all referring expressions.

Hurford et al. (2007: 57) sate that The distinction between referring expressions and predicates is absolute:

there is not a continuum running from proper names of

one end, through borderline cases to verbs and prepositions at the other. Either an expression is used in a

given utterance to refer to some entity in the world or it is

not so used.

Examples:

a. Jacob is a parrot. A parrot in this utterance is a predicating expression.

b. The cat caught a parrot. A parrot in this

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utterance is a referring expression.

They (2007: 58) state: Predicates do not refer. But they can be used by a hearer when contained in the meaning of

a referring expression, to identify the referent of that

expression.

Examples:

1. The new house is to let -> The word new is a predicate, it

does not refer to anything, but it helps a hearer to identify

the referent of the expression, The new house

2. She met a young doctor. -> Though the word young does

nor refer to any referent, it helps a hearer to identify the

referent of the expression.

3) Generic Sentence They define that A generic sentence is a sentence in which some statement is made about a whole unrestricted

class of individuals, as opposed to any particular

individual.

Examples of generic sentences:

1) Whales are mammals.

2) Gentlemen prefer blondes

3) The male of penguins guards the eggs.

Examples of non generic sentences:

1) Some whales are coming here.

2) The gentle man sitting there prefers a blond.

3) My dog likes cats.

Hurford et al. (2007: 62) state that Even though expressions like tomorrow, the British national anthem,

eleven hundred, the distance between the Earth and the Sun,

etc. do not indicate physical objects, language treats these

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expressions in a very exactly parallel to referring

expressions. They are called referring expressions. They also state that language is used to talk about the real world, and can be used to talk about an infinite variety

of abstractions, and even of entities in imaginary, unreal

world.

C. Universe of Discourse

Hurford et al. (2007:62) state that the UNIVERSE OF DISCOURSE for any utterance as the particular world,

real or imaginary (or part real, part imaginary), that the

speaker assumes he is talking about at the time.

Examples:

1) When an astronomy lecturer states seriously that

the Earth revolves around the Sun, the universe of

discourse is the real world or universe.

2) When a mother tells her child a story and says,

The dragon set fire to the woods with his hot breath, the universe of discourse is not real world but fictitious

world.

It should be remembered that no universe of discourse is totally fictitious world. As an example, when a father tells his son that Santa Clause is bringing a toy telephone for

him. Santa Clause is a fiction, but the toy telephone he might

bring is real. So in the example there is interaction between

fact and fiction.

Two people are arguing at cross-purposes means that

they are working within partially different universes of

discourse.

Examples.

Theist: Diseases must serve some good purpose, or God would not allow them

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Atheist: I cannot accept your premises In the example the theist is operating with a universe of

discourse which is a world in which God exists. The

atheists assumed universe of discourse is a world in which God does not exist.

D. Summary:

1. In utterances speakers use referring expressions to refer

to entities which may be concrete or abstract, real or

fictitious.

2. The predicates embedded in a referring expression help

the hearer to identify its referent.

3. Semantics is not concerned with factual status of things

in the world but with meaning in language.

4. The notion of universe of discourse is introduced

to account for the way in which language allows

us to refer non-existent things.

E. Exercise VI

1. If Nyi Roro Kidul existed, would she be a physical

object?

2. Do unicorns exist in the real world?

3. What is meant by universe of discourse?

4. Compare a generic sentence with a non-generic

sentence and use examples in your answer?

5. Is there any fiction which is totally unreal?

6. Why?

7. Do all participants in a conversation always

have the same universe of discourse?

8. What will happen when the participants of

conversation do not share the same universe of

discourse?

9. Is a language miracle?

10. Why is it necessary to introduce the notion of

the universe of discourse?

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Mid-Term Examination

Academic Year of 2008-2009

Course: Semantics

Time: 100 minute

Books: Closed

1. What is the difference between speaker meaning and

sentence meaning? Use examples in your answer.

2. Why is Aristotle considered as a forerunner of modern

semanticists?

3. Compare an utterance with a sentence and use examples

in your answer.

4. What is the difference between sense relationship and

referent relationship?

Use examples in your answer.

5. What is a referring expression? Use examples in your

answer.

6. What is an equative sentence? How do you test it?

7. What is a predicator? Use examples in your answer.

8. Compare a predicate with a predicator and use examples

in your answer.

9. How do you classify predicates? Use examples in your

answer.

10. Why is the notion of universe of discourse introduced in

semantics?

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UNIT VII:

DEIXIS AND DEFINITENESS

A. Definition of Deictic Words

Hurford et al. (2007: 66) define that A deictic word is one which takes some element of its meaning from the context

or situation (i.e. the speaker, the addressee, the time and

the place) of the utterance in which it is used

Examples: The first person singular pronoun I is a deictic

word. When Barack Obama says I will change the United States of America The word I in the utterance refers to Barack Obama. When SBY says Bersama kita pasti bisa, kita refers to bangsa Indonesia. Kita is a deictic word.

B. Predicates Containing Deictic Ingredient

There are few predicates which have a deictic ingredient.

Such as: come, go, bring, and take.

In sentences:

Come to my office Take this book to the library

C. Psychological Shifting

Some utterances involve a psychological shifting of the speakers view-point for the purpose of interpreting one of the deictic terms.

Examples:

1) If someone says to you, Come over there, please! while pointing to a far corner of the room, could you reasonably

infer that the speaker intends to move to that corner of the

room as well?

Compare it with that when he says to you Go over there, please!

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2) If someone says to you on the phone, Can I come and see you some time? do the speaker probably have in mind a movement to the place where the speaker, or to the place

where you are?

D. Grammatical Devices

Besides deictic words such as he, it, here, there, now,

yesterday, come, and go, there are certain grammatical

devices called tenses for indicating past, present, and future

time, which must be regarded as deictic.

E. Reported Speech

In reported speech, deivtic ters occurring in the original

utterance may be translated into other, possible non-

deictic, terms in order to preserve the original reference.

Example

Jack: Ill marry you here next year. Julia (reporting Jacks utterance some time later) : Jack said he would marry me there the coming year In this example, five adjustments are made in the

reported speech, namely:

I -> he, ll -> would, you -> me, here -> there, next year -> the coming year.

F. The Function of Deictic Words

Imagine a language called Zonglish, exactly like English

in all respects, except that it contains no deictic terms al all,

i.e. all English deictic terms have been eliminated from

Zonglish.

Is I would like a cup of tea a well-formed Zonglish

sentence? The answer is No, because it contains deictic expressions, I and would.

A language without deictic terms could not serve the

communicative needs of its users anything like as well as a

real human language.

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The truth of a sentence containing a deictic expression

can only be considered in relation to some hypothetical

situation of utterance.

Practice:

(1) Can you tell by itself whether the sentence You

are standing on my toe is true or false?

(2) What would you need to know in order to be able

to tell whether the sentence just mentioned is

true or false?

(3) Can one tell whether the sentence There are tigers

in Sumatra, not considered in relation to any particular

time, is true or false?

The relationship of the truth of sentences to hypothetical

times and situations of utterance is brought out most

vividly by deictic terms.

The is traditionally called the definite article, and a the

indefinite article. But what exactly is definiteness? An

answer can be given in terms of several notions already

discussed, in particular the notion of referring expressions,

identifying the referent of referring expression, and

universe of discourse. A new notion, context, is also

needed.

G. Context of Utterance

Hurford et al. (2008: 71) define that The context of an utterance is a small subpart of the universe of discourse

shared by speaker and hearer, and includes facts about the

topic of the conversation in which the utterance occurs, and

also facts about the situation in which the conversation

itself takes place. Example: If someone meets a stranger on a train station

and they begin to talk about the weather, then facts about

the weather (e.g. that it is raining now, it is not as warm as

yesterday), facts about the train (e.g. that it is crowded),

and also facts about the speakers (e.g. their sex) are parts

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of the context of utterances in this conversation. While

facts not associated with the topic of the conversation on

the train (e.g. that Taufic Hidayat has beaten Lie Dan

several times, or that orang utangs live in Kaliman-tan) are

not parts of the context of this conversation, even though

they may happen to be known to both speakers.

H. Immediate Situation of Utterance

The context of an utterance is a part of the universe of

discourse. And an immediate situation of an utterance is a

part of its context. Therefore the relationship between the

universe of discourse, the context of utterance, and the

immediate situation of utterance can be illustrated through

the following diagram.

Universe

Of discourse

Context of

utterance

Immediate

Situation of

utterance

Diagram 4.1: Relationship of universe of discourse, context

of utterance, and immediate situation of utterance

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I. The Definite Article the

The definite article the is used to refer to some entity or

entities (i.e. person(s), object(s), place(s), etc.), if it (they)

is/are the only entity/entities of its/their kind in the context

of utterance.

Examples:

Bambang is involving in a conversation with one of his

friends about the time, ten years earlier, when they first

met at the Sydney University. Now they are holding the

conversation in the garden of Bambangs house in Jakarta.

1) Which one is more appropriate?

a) Do you remember when we met at the university? b) Do you remember when we met at a university? 2) Which one is more appropriate?

a) It is windy shall we go into a house now? b) It is windy shall we go into the house now? 3) In the context we are considering, would it be

appropriate to use referring expression the mammals?

4) In this context, would it be appropriate to use the

referring expression the politician?

Hurford et al. (2007: 73) state that The appropriateness of the definite article the is dependent on

the context in which it is used. The expression judged

inappropriate in the previous practice would be quite

appropriate in other contexts.

Contexts are constructed continuously during the course

of conversation. As a conversation progresses

items previously unmentioned and not even associated with

the topics so far discussed are mentioned for the first time

and then become part of the context the following

utterance

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They further state that When something is introduced for the first time into a conversation, it is

appropriate to use the indefinite article a. Once something

is established in the context of the conversation, it is

appropriate to use the. But the definite article the is not the

only word which indicates definiteness in English

J. Definiteness

They (2007: 73) define that Definiteness is a feature of a noun phrase selected by the speaker to convey his

assumption that the hearer will be able to identify the

referent of the noun phrase, usually because it is the only

thing of its kind in the context of the utterance, or because

it is unique in the universe of discourse. Examples:

That book is definite, if the speaker assumes the hearer can

tell which book is being referred to.

She is definite, when the speaker assumes the hearer can

tell which person is being referred to.

The Earth is definite, because it is the only thing in a

normal universe of discourse known by this name.

K. Simple Straightforward Narrative Style

Alice in Wonderland is written in a very simple

straightforward narrative style, in which things are

introduced into the context by means of indefinite

expressions, e.g. a table, a tree, a dormouse, and

subsequently referred to with definite expressions, e.g. it,

the dormouse. This kind of style is actually only found in

the simplest style.

Another example:

. . . A woman servant came into a room in which a child

was sleeping and drew the curtain . . . (Maugham, 1861: 9).

L. Other Stylistic Device

Very often authors begin a narrative using a

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number of definite referring expressions. This stylistic

device has the effect of drawing the reader into the

narrative fast, by giving the impression that the writer and

the reader already share a number of contextual

assumption.

Novelists use definiteness in strikingly abnormal ways

in the opening passages of novels.

Example:

Having met the girl one evening, at the house of the

office superintendent, M. Lantin became enveloped in love

in a net (Maupassant, 1976: 1).

M. Summary

1. By using deictic words, we can use the same words on

different occasions, at different times and places.

2. The definiteness of a referring expression gives the

hearer a clue in identifying its referent.

N. Exercise VII

1. What is a deictic word?

2. How do you classify deictic words?

3. What is Zonglish?

4. Where is Zonglish spoken?

5. Translate the following sentence into Zonglish

I would like to phone you the day after

tomorrow.

6. What is the function of deictic words?

7. Why is Zonglish introduced?

8. What is definiteness?

9. What is meant by a simple straightforward

narrative style?

10. What is a more common stylistic device used by

novelists?

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UNIT VIII

WORDS AND THINGS: EXTENSIONS AND

PROTOTYPES

A. Some Review of Previous Units.

1. Sense Vs. Reference

It is understood that reference is a relation-

ship between certain uttered expressions and

the things in the world. While the sense of an

expression is its relationship to semantically

equivalent or semantically related expressions

in the same language.

2. Predicates

Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and prepositions are

predicates, because they may function as

predicators. Other words such as and,

because, not, hardly are not predicates,

because they cannot function as predicators.

3. Context of Utterance.

The context of an utterance is a part of the

universe of discourse.

B. Referent

The referent of a referring expression is the thing picked

out by the use of that expression on a particular occasion of

utterance (Hurford et al., 2007: 90).

C. Extension

Hurford et al. (2007: 90) state that The extension of a predicate is the complete set of all things which could

potentially (i.e. in any possible utterance) be the referent of

a referring expression whose head constituent is that

predicate Examples:

The extension of cat is the set of all cats in universe.

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The extension of mango is the set of all mangoes in the

universe.

D. Prototype

A prototype of a predicate is a typical member of its

extension (Hurford et al. , 2007: 90).

Fill in the chart with + and - to indicate the differences and similarities between these three concepts.

Chart 8.1: The Differences and Similarities between

Sense, Extension, and Reference

Sense Extension Reference

Involves a set

Independent

of particular

occasions or

utterance

Connects

language to

the world

If someone has the sense of a dog, he/she knows whether

an animal is a dog or not. Thus the sense of a predicate

provides him/her with an idea of its extension. While a

reference of a referring expression that is used in an

utterance is an individual member of the extension of the

predicate used in the expression. The context of the

utterance helps the hearer to identify which particular

member it is. For example, An old, thin, woman patient came to see the doctor this morning.

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E. Exercise VIII

1. Does every word have sense?

2. Does every word have referent?

3. Does sense belong to words only?

4. Do you know the sense of whale? Do you know

the extension of whale?

5.What is a prototype? Illustrate with examples

in your answer.

6.Is the difference between reference and sense

clear-cut or not? Explain.

7.Distinguish between referent and extension.

8. Describe briefly the extension of a car.

9. Describe briefly the prototype of a house.

10. Can extension and meaning be equated?

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Term Paper

A. Some Suggested Titles. 1. Relationships between utterances, sentences, and

propositions.

2. Sense relationships versus reference relationships.

3. A study of referring expressions.

4. A study of predicates in syntax versus predicates in

semantics.

5. A study of universe of discourse.

6. A study of deictic words.

7. What is Zonglish?

8. Relationships between sense, extension, prototype,

and stereotype.

9. A study of three important sense properties of

sentences.

10. Hyponymy versus entailment.

11. A study of ambiguity.

12. Homonymy versus polysemy.

13. Rational behavior versus logic.

14. A study of logical notation.

15. A study of rules in inferences.

B. Procedures 1. Choose or create a suitable title.

2. Collect relevant references.

3. Study those references collectively as well as

individually.

4. Make notes systematically.

5. Formulate the outline of your term paper carefully.

6. Write the draft of your paper individually.

7. Revise your draft carefully.

8. Type your term paper properly.

9. Photocopy your term paper.

10. Hand in a photocopy of your term paper on time

and keep the original.

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UNIT IX

SENSE PROPERTIES AND STEREOTYPES

Be sure that you know: 0ne-, two-, and three-placed

predicates, extension, and prototype. Through word

formation the degrees of predicates may change. As

examples, sharp (one-place predicate) to sharpen (two-

placed predicate).

A. Truism

To be able to communicate meaningfully about anything,

it is necessary to agree on the meanings of the words used.

This is called truism. In every day life, people reach

agreement and on the meanings of almost all the words

they apply and as results they can communicate effectively

and successfully (Hurford et al., 2007: 94).

B. Three Important Sense Properties of Sentences

1. Analytic sentence

An analytic sentence is one that is necessarily true, as

the result of the senses of the words in it.

Examples:

a. All whales are mammals

The truth of the sentence follows from the senses of

whale and mammal.

b. Every human being is mortal

The truth of the sentence follows from the senses of

human being and mortal.

c. Bachelors are unmarried.

The truth of the sentence follows from the senses of

bachelor and unmarried.

2. Synthetic sentence

A synthetic sentence is one which is not analytic, but

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may be either true or false, depending on the way the

world is.

Examples:

a. Today is Sunday.

The sentence is either true or false depending on

when it is spoken.

b. John has been graduated.

The sentence is either true or false depending on

the facts related with the statement.

c. Tom is very happy.

The truth of the sentence depends on Johns condition.

3. Contradiction sentence

A contradiction is a sentence that is necessarily false,

as a result of the words in it. Thus a contradiction is in a

way the opposite of an analytic sentence.

Examples:

a. Whales are vegetables.

The sentence is contradiction because of the senses

of whale and vegetable.

b. John is younger than his own son.

The sentence is contradiction because of senses of

the words used in the sentence.

Analytic sentences can be formed from contradictions,

and vice versa, by the insertion or removal of the negator

not.

Examples:

1. Whales are vegetables Whales are not vegetables. 2. Man is mortal Man is immortal.

C. A Necessary Condition and A Sufficient Set of

Conditions.

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A necessary condition (NC) on the sense of predicate is a

condition (or criterion) which a thing must meet in order to

qualify as being correctly described by that predicate.

A Sufficient set of conditions (SSC) on th3e sense of

predicate is a set of conditions (or criteria) which, if they

are met by a thing, are enough in themselves to guarantee

that the predicate correctly describe that thing.

Examples:

1. Predicate: square

NC : four-sided

SSC : Plane figure, four-sided, equal-sided,

containing right angles

2. Predicate: bule NC : white colored

SSC : European/American/Australian/New

Zealander, white colored.

3. Predicate: moslem

NC : bersahadat

SSC : bersahadat, sembahyang lima waktu, puasa

dalam bulan ramadhan, zakat, haji.

Notes: As it is shown in the examples the conditions of

predicates are stated in terms of other predicates. Actually

it is possible to give complete definitions of some

predicates in the form of a necessary and sufficient list of

other predicates. Kinship predicates and shape predicates

are common in this case.

Examples:

1) Father is adequately defined as male parent.

2) Female spouse is adequately defined as wife.

3) Hexagon is adequately defined as five-sided plane figure.

4) Triangle is adequately defined as three-sided plane

figure.

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Ludwig Wittgennstein argued against the idea that

definitions of the meaning of words can be given in the

form of sets of necessary and sufficient conditions involves

the word game.

D. Stereotype

The stereotype of a predicate is a list of the typical

characteristics or features of things to which the

predicate may be applied.

Example:

Whale: big aquatic mammal, looking like a fish,

breathing air, bearing live young, having front limbs

modified into flippers and a flat and horizontal tail.

A stereotype is related to a prototype, but they are

different. A prototype of whale is an actual whale,

whereas the stereotype of whale is a list of characteristics

that describe the prototype. Another difference between

prototype and stereotype is that a speaker may know a

stereotype for some predicates, such as ghost,

witchdoctor, flying saucer, but he does not actually

know any prototype of them.

Table 9.1: Prototype and Stereotype Relationship

Thing(s) specified Abstract

specification

Connecting to all

examples

Extension Sense

Connecting to

typical examples

Prototype Stereotype

E. Summary

1. The notions of prototype and stereotype are

relatively new in semantics.

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2. The relationships between stereotype, prototype,

sense, and extension are illustrated in Table 9.1.

3. The sense of an expression can be thought of as the

sum of its sense properties and sense relation. Sense

properties of sentences include those of being analytic,

synthetic, and a contradiction.

4. Except a few predicates such as bachelor, mother,

square, and sphere, it is not possible to give complete

definitions of the sense of most predicates by sets of

necessary and sufficient conditions.

5. Stereotypes that are defined in terms of typical

characteristics describe the fact that people usually

agree on the meanings of the words they use.

E. Exercise IX

1. What is an analytic sentence? Use examples in your

answer.

2. What is a synthetic sentence? Illustrate with examples

in your answer.

3. Compare an analytic sentence with a contradictory

and use examples in your answer.

4. Compare an analytic sentence with a synthetic

sentence. Which one is more informative? Why?

5. What is a necessary condition on the sense of a

predicate? Use examples in your answer.

6. What is a sufficient set of condition on the sense of a

predicate? Use examples in your answer.

7. What is the prototype of a camel?

8. What is the stereotype of a camel?

9. Is it possible to give definitions of the sense of some

predicates by sets of necessary and sufficient

conditions?

10. Explain why?

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UNIT X

IDENTITY AND SIMILARITY OF SENSE

A. Synonymy

Synonymy is the relationship between two predicates

that have the same sense.

Examples:

Stubborn and obstinate

Mercury and quick silver

Brigand and bandit

1. Imperfect synonymy

In English as well as in other languages it is very hard

to find examples of perfect synonymy. The following

synonyms are the examples of imperfect synonymy in

English. The members of each pair are not mutually

substitutable.

Conceal and hide

Purchase and buy

Profound and deep

Kids and children

Fall and autumn

Freedom and liberty

Deep and profound

It is correct to say Lets hide from Mummy, but it is semantically incorrect to say Lets conceal from Mummy. The same thing with Accept our profound sympathy, but it is wrong to say The well in my garden is profound.

2. Predicate relation versus word relation

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The word hide has four different senses. They are:

hide1, the intransitive verb as in Lets hide from Mummy, hide2, the transitive verb as in Hide your sweeties under the

pillow, hide3, the noun, as in We watch the birds from the

hide, and hide4, the noun, as in The hide of an ox weighs

200 lbs. Each distinct sense is a predicate. Only Hide2, but

neither hide1, hide3, nor hide4 has a synonym of conceal.

So synonymy is a relation between predicates, and not

between words.

B. Paraphrase

Hurford et al. (2007: 108) state: A sentence which expresses the same proposition as another sentence is a

paraphrase of that sentence . . . Paraphrase is to

sentences . . . as synonymy is to predicates . . .

Examples:

Girls preferred university graduates is a paraphrase of

Graduates of university are preferred by girls

C. Hyponymy

They state: Hyponymy is a sense relation between predicates (or sometimes longer phrases) such that the

meaning of one predicate (or phrase) is included in the

meaning of the other (2007: 109).

Examples:

1) The meaning of red is included in the meaning of

scarlet. Red is the super-ordinate term, while scarlet

is a hyponym of red.

2) The meaning of emotion is included in the meaning of fear. Emotion is the super-ordinate, while fear is a

hyponym of emotion.

Hyponymy is defined in terms of the inclusion of the

sense of one item in the sense of another. As an example, the

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sense of mammal is included in the sense of cow. This

inclusion can be illustrated by the following diagram giving

a list of the sense components of cow. It is seen that this list

includes the component mammal.

Mammal sense of mammal sense of cow bovine female

Diagram 10.1: Inclusion of the sense of super-ordinate

in the sense of hyponym.

In the following diagram, the inclusion relationship

appears the other way round.

The set of all mammals

The set of all cows

Diagram 10.2: The extensions of cow and mammal

D. Symmetrical Hyponymy

Synonymy is a special case of hyponymy, i.e. symmetrical

hyponymy. If X is a hyponymy of Y and if Y is also a

hyponym of X, then X and Y are synonymous.

Examples:

1) Mercury and quick silver are synonymous, therefore

mercury and quick silver are hyponyms of each other.

2) Stubborn and obstinate are synonymous, so they are

hyponyms of each other.

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E. Entailment

1. Definition

They state: A proposition X ENTAILS a proposition Y if the truth of Y follows necessarily from the truth of X (2007: 111).

Examples:

1) Corruption exists every where entails It is difficult to stop it.

2) SBY was elected as the president entails His wife became

the first lady.

2. Entailment applies cumulatively.

If X entails Y and Y entails Z, then X entails Z.

Example:

A, Ken Arok assassinated Tunggul Ametung entailed B,

Tunggul Ametung died entailed C, Ken Dedes became a

widow entailed D, Ken Arok married her entailed E, Ken Arok

became the king

A E

3. Paraphrase and entailment

Two sentences may be said to be paraphrases of each other

if and only if they have exactly the same set of entailments or

if and only if they mutually entail each other so that whenever

one is true the other must be true.

Examples:

Jane and Mary are twins entails Mary and Jane are twins.

4. Entailment- paraphrase and hyponymy-synonymy

The relation between entailment and paraphrase is parallel to

the relationship between hyponymy and synonymy.

Synonymy is symmetric hyponymy, paraphrase is symmetric

entailment.

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Table 10.1: Relation between ent.par. and hyp.syn.

Relation between

pairs of sentences

Relation between

pairs of words

Not necessarily

symmetric

Symmetric

Fill in the chart with entailment, paraphrase, hyponymy, and

synonymy.

4. Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion

The Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion (BRSI) can be stated as

follows: Given two sentences A and B, identical in every way

except that A contains a word X where B contains a different

word Y, and X is a hyponym of Y, then sentence A entails

sentence B.

Examples: A B

Henry was chewing a tulip Henry was chewing a flower

John was attacked by a bear John was attacked by an

animal

David fried a pound of beef David cooked a pound of beef

Mary drew an armed chair Mary drew a piece of furniture

The BRSI does not work in all cases. There are systematic

exceptions when certain logical words, such as not and all, are

involved.

Example one: A B

Sam was not chewing a tulip Sam was not chewing a flower

Bill wasnt attacked by a bear Bill wasnt attacked by an animal

David did not fry a pound of David didnt cook a pound

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beef of beef

Mary didnt draw an armed Mary didnt draw a piece of chair furniture.

In example one, the B sentences entail the A sentences.

Because if it is true that Sam was not chewing a flower, then it

must be true that he was not chewing a tulip.

Example two:

A B

Bob chewed up all my tulips Bob chewed up all my flowers

All Bills sheep are white All Bills animals are white. Mary colored all chairs pink Mary colored all furniture red

The B sentences entail the A sentences, but the entailment

only happens when the set of things referred to by the phrase

including all actually exists. For example, All Bills animals are white entails All Bills sheep are white only if Bill actually has some sheep, i.e. if some of his animals are in fact sheep.

F. Exercise X

1. What is meant by the term perfectly synonymous?

2. Explain what is meant by stating Synonymy is a relation between predicates, and not between words 3. What is the relation between hyponymy, super-ordinate,

and hyponym?

4. What is meant by the term entailment?

5. Explain that entailment applies cumulatively.

6. What is the relation between entailment and paraphrase?

7. What is the relation between hyponymy and synonymy?

8. What is the Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion (BRSI)?

9. What are the systematic exceptions of BRSI?

10. How are the notions of synonymy and paraphrase

distinguished in semantics?

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UNIT XI

OPPOSITENESS, DISSIMILARITY,

AND AMBIGUITY

A. Antonymy

1. Traditional view

A traditional view of antonymy is that it is simply

oppositeness of meaning. It is not adequate, because words may be opposite in meaning in different ways, and

some words have no real opposites.

Examples:

1) hot >< cold

2) thick >< thin

3) buy >< sell

4) lend >< borrow

5) male >< female

6) true >< false

7) lunch >< . . .

8) liquid >< . . .

Hot is not the opposite of cold in the same way as borrow

is the opposite of lend. Thick is not the opposite of thin in

the same way as true is the opposite of false.

2. Four Basic types of Antonomy

a. Binary Antonyms

Hurford et al. (2007: 121) state: Binary antonyms are predicates which come in pairs and between them exhaust all

the relevant possibilities. If the one predicate is applicable,

then the other cannot be, and vice versa Examples:

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true >< false

If a sentence is true, it cannot be false. If it is false, it cannot be

true.

Married >< unmarried

Dead >< alive

Same >< different

b. Converses

Hurford et al. (2007: 123) state: If a predicate describes a relationship between two things (people) and some other

predicate describes the same relationship when the two things

(people) are mentioned in the opposite order, then the two

predicates are converses of each other

Examples:

(1) Parent >< child

Parent and child are converses, because X is the parent of Y

describes the same relationship as Y is the child of X

(2) below >< above

(3) grandparent >< grandchild

(4) younger than >< older than

(5) own >< belong to

In binary antonomy and converses discussed so far, the

antonyms come in pairs. Between them, the members of a pair

of binary antonyms fully fill the area to which they can be

applied. Such area can be thought of as miniature semantic

systems, sometimes known as semantic fields.

For examples, male >< female and true >< false. Other

systems can be three, or four, or any number of members,

depending upon the way in which the system is organized.

Examples:

(1) Season system (2) Physical state system (3) Playing card system (4) Day system

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(5) Traffic light system Multiple Incompatibility

a) All the terms in a given system are mutually

incompatible. For instance, a playing card cannot

belong to both the hearts suit and the spade suit. Besides

hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs, there are no other

suits. These systems are called multiple incompatibility.

There are large numbers of open-ended systems of

multiple incompatible.

b) Together, the members of a system cover all the

relevant area.

Examples of open-ended systems

(1) English color system

(2) plant name system

(3) metal name system

(4) fish name system

(5) mammal name system

c. Gradable antonyms

Hurford et al. (2007: 125) state: Two predicates are gradable antonyms if they are at opposite ends of a continuous

scale of values. Examples:

(1) hot >< cold

Between hot and cold there is a continuous scale of values,

warm, cool, and tepid. What is called hot in one context could

be classed as cold in another context.

(2) tall >< short

(3) long >< short

(4) clever >< stupid

(5) love >< hate

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A good test for gradability is to see whether a word can

combine with a qualifier, or very much?, or how much? For

example, How tall is he? is acceptable, but How top is that

shelf? is not acceptable.

d. Contradictory

Antonymy is a relationship between predicates, and the

corresponding relationship between sentences is contra-

dictoriness.

Hurford et al. (2007: 126) state: A proposition is contradictory of another proposition if it is impossible for them

both to be true at the same time and of the same circum-

stances. Examples:

(1) This snake is alive is a contradictory of This snake is dead.

(2) That is true is a contradictory of That is false

(3) This doorhandle is brass is a contradictory of This

doorhandle is plastic.

B. Ambiguous

One of the goals of semantic theory is to describe and

explain ambiguities in words and in sentences.

1. Definition of ambiguous

Hurford et al. (2007: 128) state: A word or a sentence is ambiguous when it has more than one sense. A sentence is

ambiguous if two or more paraphrases which are not

themselves paraphrases of each other Example:

We saw her duck is a paraphrase of We saw her lower her head

and of We saw the duck belonging to her, and these two

sentences are not paraphrases of each other. So We saw her

duck is ambiguous.

Exercise:

Give two paraphrases which are not paraphrases of each other:

(1) The lamb is too hot to eat.

(2) Visiting relatives are boring.

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(3) They passed the port at midnight.

(4) The thing that bothered Bill was crouching under the table.

(5) The captain corrected the list.

2. Definition of ambiguous words and phrase

They (2007: 129) state: In the case of words and phrases, a word or a phrase is ambiguous if it has two (or more)

synonyms that are not themselves synonyms of each other Example:

Trunk is synonymous with elephants proboscis and with chest, but the two are not synonyms of each other, so trunk is

ambiguous. In Indonesian bisa is synonymous with dapat and

with racun, but these two words are not synonyms of each

other, so bisa is ambiguous.

Exercise: For each of the following words, find two

synonymous words or phrases that are not themselves

synonymous.

(1) bust

(2) plane

(3) crop

(4) pen

(5) sage

C. Homonymy

Hurford et al. (2007: 130) state . . . homonymy is one of ambiguous word whose different senses are far apart from

each other and not obviously related to each other in any

way with respect to a native speakers institution. Examples:

(1) mug (drinking vessel vs. gullible person (2) bank (financial institution vs. the side of a river or

stream).

D. Polysemy

They state . . . polysemy is one where a word has several very closely related senses.

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Examples:

(1) Mouth (of a river vs of an animal) (2) Foot (of a person or an animal vs of a mountain)

Polysemy is not restricted to just one part of speech.

Examples:

(1) The dog does not bark vs. The bark of tree (2) To steer (to guide) vs. A steer (young bull) (3) To punch (to blow with a fist) vs. Punch (kind of fruity alcoholic drink)

Exercises: Disambiguate the following ambiguous words

simply by giving two or more parts of speech

(1) sack: verb vs. noun. (2) Fast (3) Flat (4) Rock (5) File

D. Structurally or Grammatically Ambiguous

A sentence which is ambiguous because its words relate to

each other in different ways, even though none of the

individual words are ambiguous, is structurally

(grammatically) ambiguous.

Examples:

(1) The lamb is too hot to eat. (2) Visiting relatives can be boring.

E. Lexical Ambiguity

Any ambiguity resulting from the ambiguity of a word is a

lexical ambiguity.

Examples:

(1) The captain corrected the list is lexically ambiguous. (2) Hak wanita Indonesia tinggi.

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F. Referentially Versatile

A phrase is referentially versatile if it can be used to refer to

a wide range of different things or persons.

Examples:

(1) Personal pronouns

(2) Relative pronouns

(3) Other kinds of pronouns.

G. Referential Vagueness

Some nouns and adjectives are gradable. Examples are tall

and short (adjectives) and mountain and hill (nouns). There is

no absolute line drawn between tall and short, there is no

absolute distinction between mountain and hill. What is

referred to on one occasion with that mountain might be called

that hill on another occasion. Hence expressions such as that

hill and that mountain are referentially vague. Referential

vagueness is not the same thing as ambiguity.

F. Exercise XI

(1) What is meant by binary antonymy?

(2) What is meant by converses?

(3) W