File. 6 Semantics key terms and phrases

Question 1

semantics

Answer 1

the branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning.

Question 2

Semantic transparency

Answer 2

the degree to which the meaning of a compound word or an idiom can be inferred from its parts (or morphemes).

Question 3

exocentric compound

Answer 3

a compound construction that lacks a head word

Question 4

endocentric compound

Answer 4

a construction that fulfills the same linguistic function as one of its parts

Question 5

semiotics

Answer 5

the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.

Question 6

Cognitive semantics

Answer 6

Cognitive semantics holds that language is part of a more general human cognitive ability, and can therefore only describe the world as people conceive of it.

Question 7

pragmatics

Answer 7

the branch of linguistics dealing with language in use and the contexts in which it is used, including such matters as deixis, the taking of turns in conversation, text organization, presupposition, and implicature.

Question 8

onomatopoeia

Answer 8

he formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle ).

Question 9

referent

Answer 9

The entity identified by the use of a referring expression such as a noun or noun phrase is the referent of that expression.

Question 10

Extension

Answer 10

Extension refers to the set of all potential referents for a referring expression.

Question 11

Stereotype

Answer 11

A list of characteristics describing a prototype

Question 12

Coreference

Answer 12

Two linguistic expressions that refer to the same real-world entity are said to be coreferential.

Question 13

Anaphora

Answer 13

A linguistic expression that refers to another linguistic expression

Question 14

Deixis

Answer 14

A deictic expression has one meaning but can refer to different entities depending on the speaker and his or her spatial and temporal orientation.

Question 15

The Principle of Compositionality

Answer 15

The semantic meaning of any unit of language is determined by the semantic meanings of its parts along with the way they are put together.

Question 16

lexical semantics

Answer 16

studies word meanings and word relations

Question 17

conceptual semantics

Answer 17

studies the cognitive structure of meaning.

Question 18

Denotative meaning

Answer 18

The logical meaning, which indicates the essential qualities of a concept that distinguish it from other concepts.

Question 19

Connotative meaning

Answer 19

The additional or associated meaning, which is attached to the denotative, conceptual meaning.

Question 20

Social Meaning

Answer 20

It is the meaning that a word possesses by virtue of its use in particular social situations and circumstances.

Question 21

Thematic meaning

Answer 21

It lies in the manner in which a message is organized for emphasis.

Question 22

The Theory of Naming

Answer 22

(Plato) maintains that language is a communication system which works with two elements; the signifier, and the signified.

Question 23

The Conceptual Theory of Meaning

Answer 23

In the theory of meaning, words and things are directly related. (Chomsky)

Question 24

The Behavioristic Theory of Meaning:

Answer 24

word take meaning in terms of the context in which language is used. (Skinner)

Question 25

semantic role

Answer 25

A semantic role is an underlying relationship that a participant has with the main verb in a clause.

Question 26

Benefactive

Answer 26

The noun or a noun phrase that refers to the person or animal who benefits, or is meant to benefit, from the action of the verb.

Question 27

Experiencer

Answer 27

When an NP designates an entity as the person who has a feeling, apperception or a state, it fills the role of experience.

Question 28

Synonymy

Answer 28

Synonymy: Two or with very closely related meanings, which are often, but not always, intersubstitutable in sentences. For example, Broad = Wide.

Question 29

Antonymy

Answer 29

Antonymy: Two forms with opposite meanings are called antonyms.

Question 30

Hyponymy

Answer 30

When the meaning of one form is included in the meaning of another, the relationship is called hyponymy.

Question 31

Prototype

Answer 31

It explains the meaning of certain words like a bird not in terms of component feature (e.g. „has wings‟) but in terms of resemblance to the clearest examplars. e.g., Sparrow

Question 32

Homophony

Answer 32

When two or more differently written forms have the same pronunciation but different meaning; e.g. sea-see.

Question 33

Homography

Answer 33

When two or more forms arethe same only in writing but different in pronunciation and meaning they are described as homographs such as lead ([lid]) and lead ([led]).

Question 34

Homonymy

Answer 34

when one form (written or spoken) has two or more unrelated meanings, but have the same pronunciation and spelling; e.g. bank (of a river) and bank (financial institution).

Question 35

Polysemy

Answer 35

can be defined as one form (written or spoken) having multiple meanings which are all related by extension. e.g. head refers to top of your body, top of a glass of beer, top of a company.

Question 36

Metonymy

Answer 36

This relationship is essentially based on a close connection in everyday experience. e.g., (can-juice)

Question 37

Collocation

Answer 37

Those words which tend to occur with other words; e.g. hammer collocates with nail; wife with husband and knife with fork.

Question 38

Analytic Sentences

Answer 38

An analytic sentence is one that is necessarily true simply by virtue of the words in it. For example, the sentence A bachelor is an unmarried man

Question 39

entailment

Answer 39

a proposition (expressed in a sentence) that follows necessarily from another sentence. For example, Martina aced chemistry entails Martina passed chemistry.

Question 40

presupposition

Answer 40

a proposition (expressed in a sentence) that must be assumed to be true in order to judge the truth or falsity of another sentence. For example, Martina aced chemistry presupposes Martina took chemistry,