Semantics

Question 1

Semantics

Answer 1

can be defined as “the study of the meaning of morphemes, words, phrases and sentences. Semantics is that level of linguistic analysis where meaning is analyzed. It is the most abstract level of
linguistic analysis, since we cannot see or observe meaning as we can observe and record sounds. Meaning is related
very closely to the human capacity to think logically and to understand. So when we try to analyze meaning, we are
trying to analyze our own capacity to think and understand our own ability to create meaning. Semantics concerns itself
with „giving a systematic account of the nature of meaning‟ (Leech, 1981)

Question 2

metaphor

Answer 2

“a figure of speech in which a term is transferred from the object it ordinarily designates to an object it may designate only by implicit comparison or analogy.”

Question 3

Metonymy

Answer 3

a figure of speech in which an attribute or commonly associated feature is used to name or designate something.

Question 4

Synecdoche

Answer 4

a figure of speech by which a more inclusive term is used for a less inclusive one, or vice versa.

Question 5

connotation

Answer 5

an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

Question 6

denotation

Answer 6

the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.

Question 7

syntagmatic relations

Answer 7

the way lexemes are related in sentences

Question 8

paradigmatic relations

Answer 8

the way words can substitute for each other in the same sentence context

Question 9

Important paradigmatic relations include:

Answer 9

synonymy, hyponymy, antonymy, incompatibility

Question 10

synonymy

Answer 10

“sameness of meaning” (pavement is a synonym of sidewalk)

Question 11

hyponymy

Answer 11

inclusion of meaning” (cat is a hyponym of animal)

Question 12

antonymy

Answer 12

oppositeness of meaning” (big is an antonym of small)

Question 13

incompatibility

Answer 13

“mutual exclusiveness within the same superordinate category” (e.g. red and green)

Question 14

homonymy

Answer 14

two words are homonyms if they are (accidentally) pronounced the same (e.g. “too” and “two”)

Question 15

polysemy

Answer 15

a single word is polysemous if it has several meanings (e.g. “louse” the bug and “louse” the despicable person)

Question 16

compositional semantics

Answer 16

The meaning of a phrase is determined by combining the meanings of its subphrases, using rules which are driven by the syntactic structure.

Question 17

reference (or extension) of a concept

Answer 17

what it corresponds to in the world

Question 18

sense (or intension) of a concept

Answer 18

what we know about its meaning, whether or not we know anything about its extension, and indeed whether or not it has an extension.

Question 19

possible worlds semantics

Answer 19

In this approach, we imagine that there are indefinitely many possible worlds in addition to the actual one, and now a concept – such as dog – is no longer just a set, but rather is a function from worlds to sets. This function says, “Give me a possible world, and I’ll give you the set of dogs in that world.”

Question 20

counterfactual sentences

Answer 20

conditional sentences which discuss what would have been true under different circumstances, “If you had paid me yesterday, I would not be broke today”

Question 21

Meaning can be any of the following:

Answer 21

1. An intrinsic property of some thing
2. Other words related to that word in a dictionary
3. The connotations of a word (that is discussed below)
4. The thing to which the speaker of that word refers
5. The thing to which the speaker of that word should refer
6. The thing to which the speaker of that word believes himself to be referring
7. The thing to which the hearer of that word believes is being referred to.

Question 22

verb refer, word‟s referent

Answer 22

„having something particular in mind when saying a word, This allows us to say that the speaker of (1) was referring to Jack‟s pen when saying his pen, but
to Betty‟s when saying Betty‟s pen, which varies from occasion to occasion.

Question 23

Linguistic-reference

Answer 23

the systematic denotation of some linguistic expression as part of a language.
For example, the linguistic expression Queen Elizabeth in the sentence Here comes Queen Elizabeth refers in fact to the
public figure Queen Elizabeth. Linguistic-reference, in contrast to speaker-reference, is within the domain of semantics,
since it deals with reference that is a systematic function of the language itself, rather than of the speaker and context.

Question 24

Prototype

Answer 24

A typical member of the extension of a referring expression is a prototype of that expression. For example,
a robin or a bluebird might be a prototype of bird; a pelican or an ostrich, since each is somewhat atypical, would not
be.

Question 25

Stereotype.

Answer 25

A list of characteristics describing a prototype is said to be a stereotype. For example, the stereotype of bird might be something like the following: has two legs and two wings, has feathers, is about six to eight inches from head to tail, makes a chirping noise, lays eggs, builds nests, and so on.

Question 26

Coreference.

Answer 26

Two linguistic expressions that refer to the same real-world entity are said to be coreferential. Consider, for example, the sentence Jay Leno is the host of the Tonight Show. The expression Jay Leno and The host of the Tonight Show are coreferential because they both refer to the same entity, namely the person Jay Leno. Not, however, the coreferential expressions do not “mean” the same thing; that is, they are not synonymous. For example, before Jay Leno hosted the Tonight show, Johnny Carson held that position; thus, there was a period of time when Johnny Carson was corefereential with host of the tonight show. However, we cannot describe Johnny Carson and Jay Leno as “meaning” the same thing. The fact that they are not synonymous is illustrated by the unacceptability of the sentence *Jay Leno used to be Johnny Carson.

Question 27

Anaphora.

Answer 27

A linguistic expression that refers to another linguistic expression is said to be anaphoric or an anaphor. Consider the sentence Mary wants to play whoever thinks himself capable of beating her. In this sentence the linguistic expression himself necessarily refers to whoever; thus himself is being used anaphorically in this case. Note, moreover, that it would be inaccurate to claim that whoever and himself are coreferential (i.e., that they have the same extralinguistic referent). This is because there may in fact not be anyone who thinks himself capable of beating Mary; that is, there may not be any extralinguistic referent for Whoever and himself. (It is common, however, for coreference and anaphora to coincide. Consider, for example, the sentence The media reported that Congress voted themselves a raise. The expressions Congress and themselves are coreferential since they refer to the same real-world entity, namely the legislative branch of the federal government. At the same time, themselves is an anaphor since it necessarily refers to the expression congress. Note that there is no reading of this sentence such that themselves can be construed as referring to the expression the media. In sum, coreference deals with the relation of a linguistic expression to some entity in the real world, past, present, or future; anaphora deals with the relation between two linguistic expressions.)

Question 28

Deixis (pronounced DIKE-sis).

Answer 28

has one meaning but can refer to different entities depending on the speaker and his or her spatial and temporal orientation. Obvious examples are expressions such as you and I, here and there, and right and left. Assume, for instance, that Jack and Jill are speaking to each other face to face. When Jack is speaking, I refers to Jack, and you refers to Jill. When Jill is speaking, the referents for these expressions reverse. Likewise, when Jack is speaking, here refers to a position near Jack, and there refers to a position near Jill. When Jill speaks, the referents for these expressions reverse. Similarly, right and left can refer to the same location, depending upon whether Jack or Jill is speaking; his left is her right, and vice versa. Likewise, expressions such as Jack or Jill is speaking; his left is her right, and vice versa. Likewise, expressions such as yesterday, today, and tomorrow are deitic. Jack may say to Jill, Yesterday I told you I would pay you tomorrow, which is today. (Note, moreover, that deixis can intersect with anaphora. Consider, for example, the sentence Members of Congress believe they deserve a raise. The expression they can refer either to the expression members of Congress or to some other plural entity in the context of the utterance. When, as in the first case, a pronoun refers to another linguistic expression, it is used anaphorically; when, as in the second case, it refers to some entity in the extralinguistic context, it is used deictically.)

Question 29

The Principle of Compositionality:

Answer 29

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 30

Social meaning

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Thematic meaning

Answer 31

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