LING100 Semantics

SEMANTICS

_________: the study of meaning, the link between what we say and the real world. However, meaning isn’t really a separate component of language; instead, it intersects with all aspects of language:

o    Meaning and sound

o    Meaning between words

o    Meaning between phrases and sentences

o    Meaning and context

Meaning and culture

Meaning & Sound

Phonology is inherently linked to semantics, because phonemes are meaningful sounds:

• /pɪn/ vs. /bɪn/

Phonesthemes

_______: A sound or sound sequence that suggests a certain meaning, but is not a morpheme (compare the English plural morpheme –s which is a morpheme)

• Gr. phone ‘sound’ + aisthema ‘perception’ + -eme ‘meaning’

• mumble, grumble, murmer, mutter, muted (speaking quietly)

Sound Symbolism

______: the habitual association between certain sounds and certain elements of meaning.

• the narrow front vowel [i] (as opposed to open vowels like [a] and [ɔ]) tends to be associated with small size (as in English little, mini and teeny-weeny as opposed to large, grand and vast); the words small and big being untypical) and proximity to the speaker (this as opposed to that).

• Kiki-Bouba Effect

LEXICON

______: a repository of semantic knowledge; a language’s word inventory, something like a vocabulary list, or a mental dictionary

LEXEME

______: entry in the lexicon, which includes the uninflected form of a word plus any inflected forms

LEXICAL FIELD

______: a domain or subject that relates a set of words to each other

HOMONYMY

________: two words that have different unrelated meanings but the same sound or written form (usually listed as separate entries in a dictionary)

• Homophones and homographs

  • band: a group of musicians

  • band: a thin, flat piece of material that is put around something else

  • spring: the season following winter

  • spring: a piece of coiled metal

• Homophones but not homographs

  • two: 2

  • too: also

• Homographs but not homophones

  • tear: a drop of liquid from the eye

  • tear: a hole in a piece of material

Homophones

______: two words that sound the same

• two, too, to

Homographs

______: two words that are written the same

• tear, tear

POLYSEMY

________: a single word has two or more related meanings (usually listed under same entry in dictionary)

The problem with polysemy

• Criteria of “relatedness” may include both speakers’ intuitions and historical development of the words (compare the different etymologies for the word mole). However, over time, a word may lose its similarity to other polysemous meanings, and speakers are rarely aware of the etymology of the words they use.

• Are two meanings still considered _______________ if speakers don’t consider them to be related

SYONYMY

two words have (almost) the same meaning, usually sane meaning different connotations

• happy and content; smart and intelligent

• Words have a core meaning (denotation). But words also have connotations, which are emotional, stylistic, or social meanings.

DENOTATION

________: the strict dictionary meaning of a word

CONNOTATION

________: the emotional and imaginative association surrounding a word

ANTONYMY

______: : two words have opposite meanings

Binary antonyms

_______: the negative of one guarantees the positive of the other (‘either one or the other’)

• dead/alive

• off/on

• possible/impossible

Gradable antonyms

_______: the negative of one does not necessitate the positive of the other (there are other possibilities in the set)

• hot/cold

• blue-eyed/brown-eyed

• big/small

Reverse antonymy

_______: denotes opposite spatial movement or changes in an action

• Climb/fall

• Enter/leave

• Tie/untie

Converse antonymy

_______: denotes different perspective of the same action or relationship

• Buy/sell

• In front/behind

• Parent/child

HYPONYMY

_______: relation of inclusion

HYPERNYM

_______: the superordinate or general term that specific words fall under

HYPONYM

_______: a subtype of the hypernym

PROTOTYPE

_______: central example

Semantic/Thematic Roles

_______: characterize the meaning of verbs (as requiring a particular type of argument).

Pragmatics

The study of language use in context

• The speakers intentions and beliefs, and not the grammatical form of words spoken

• The deeper meaning of what is said

• Speaker and listener are in an ongoing negotiation of meaning

Semiotics

The study of signs

Speech Act/Illocutionary Act Theory

All utterances involved action of some kind, and all are _______. This is the speaker’s intention, or the act behind the utterance.

• Sometimes the act matches the sentence type (explicit) and sometimes it doesn’t (implicit)

Explicit

Clause type and speech act match

Implicit

Clause type and speech act do not match

Declarative

Statement

• There was an eclipse yesterday.

Interrogative

Question

• Did you see the eclipse?

Imperative

Command

• Don’t stare at the sun!

Performative Verbs

The utterance performs an action, can take the adverb hereby

• I “promise to” take a taxi home

• I “declare” this meeting open

Can be Felicitous (actually perform the action) and infelicitous (do not)

Felicity Conditions (Austin’s Speech Act Theory)

1. There must be an accepted conventional procedure having a certain conventional effect

2. The particular persons and circumstances must be appropriate

3. The procedure must be executed by all the participants correctly and completely.

Sincerity Clause

An act insincerely performed may be called an abuse of a speech act

• I bet you a million dollars

• I apologize

Nonverbal Cues

70% of the meaning of an oral conversation,

• Punctuation helps but emojis do even more

• Punctuation, ALL CAPS, and beat gestures can represent emphasis

Semiotics

The study of signs

Sign

Something that stands for something else

Icon

Resembles its referent, shows exact meaning

Index

Associated with its reference

Symbol

Related to its referent only by convention (words are __________)