Linguistics final

semantics

the subfield of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences. the study of literal meaning

entailment

a relationship between propositions where the truth of one implies the truth of another.

what is entailment

sentence S1 entails sentence S2 if and only if whenever S1 is true in a situation, S2 is also true in that situation. To prove S1 entails S2: state there is no possible world where S1 is true and S2 is false.

presupposition

a background assumption that must be accepted for a statement to make sense or be relevant.

what is presupposition

setence S1 presupposes S2 just in case. S1 entails S2 and the negation of S1 also entails S2.

∈

is an element of

∉

is not an element of

⊆

is a subset of

∩

intersectsU

U

is the union of sets

Ø

empty set

| |

represents the absolute value of a set

We use the double square brackets

for the denotation or the meaning of a linguistic expression X. ⟦ X ⟧

a proper name is an individual/entity (You can think of it as a member of a set)

Use lower case: ⟦ Mary ⟧ = m

a (common) noun is a set of individuals/entities.

Use upper case: ⟦ child ⟧ = {x | x is a child}

an adjective is also a set of individuals/objects:

⟦ happy ⟧ = {x | x is happy}

an intransitive verb and a verbal phrase is also a set of individuals/objects:

⟦ cry ⟧ = {x | x cries}; ⟦ like soccer ⟧ = {x | x likes soccer}

a modified noun is the intersection of two sets:

⟦ happy baby ⟧ = ⟦ happy ⟧ ∩ ⟦ baby ⟧

Implicature

A sentence can be represented as a set of individuals or objects that correlate to its truth conditions, defining its truth value as either true or false.

what is implicature

Implicatures (often) depend on context. They can be cancelled without contradictions. o They can be reinforced.

Entailment cannot be cancelled or reinforced

Cancelling an entailment will yield a contradiction. Reinforcing an entailment is redundant.

maxim of quantity

A conversational principle that suggests speakers should provide as much information as is needed, but not more than is required.

maxim of quality

be truthful

maxim of relation/relevance

related to the topic or question asked

maxim of manner

be brief and not too vague

bilabial

both lips. /p/, /b/, /m/

labiodental

bottom lip + upper teeth. /f/, /v/

dental

tongue and teeth. /θ/, /ð/

alveolar

tongue and ridge behind teeth. /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /l/

post-alveolar

just behind the alveolar ridge. /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/

palatal

tongue and hard palate. /j/

velar

back of tongue and soft palate. /k/, /g/, /ŋ/

glottal

at the vocal cords. /h/, [ʔ]

plosive/ stop

Air is fully blocked then released./p/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /d/, /g/

fricative

air is forced through a narrow space. /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /θ/, /ð/

affricate

stop and fricative combo./tʃ/, /dʒ/

nasal

air flows through the nose. /m/, /n/, /ŋ/

lateral

air flows around the sides of the tongue. /l/

approximant

close but not enough for friction./w/, /j/, /ɹ/

voiced

vibrate. /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /z/, /ʒ/, /dʒ/, /m/, /n/, /l/, /r/, /w/, /j/

voiceless

do not vibrate. /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /ʃ/, /θ/, /tʃ/

what is place of articulation

Where in the mouth the sound is made.

what is manner of articulation

how the ariflow is shaped

voicing

are the vocal cords vibrating

Front vowels

Tongue is raised near the front of the mouth. /i/, /ɪ/, /e/, /ɛ/, /æ/

Central vowels

tongue is in the middle. /ə/, /ʌ/, /ɜ/

back vowels

tongue is raised near the back of the mouth. /u/, /ʊ/, /o/, /ɔ/, /ɑ/

high vowels

Tongue close to the roof of the mouth. /i/, /ɪ/, /u/, /ʊ/

Mid vowels

Tongue is halfway up. /e/, /ɛ/, /ə/, /ʌ/, /o/, /ɔ/

rounded vowels

Lips form a circle. /u/, /ʊ/, /o/, /ɔ/

Unrounded

Lips are not rounded /i/, /ɪ/, /e/, /ɛ/, /æ/, /ɑ/

close mouth

/i/, /u/

mid mouth

/e/, /o/, /ɛ/, /ʌ/, /ɔ/

open mouth

/æ/, /ɑ/

tense vowels

Longer, more effort, tongue slightly higher. /i/, /e/, /u/, /o/, /ɑ

lax vowels

Shorter, more relaxed. /ɪ/, /ɛ/, /æ/, /ʊ/, /ʌ/, /ə/

phoneme

an abstract unit in your mental grammar. It’s the idea of a sound, not the exact way it's said. / t / in tap vs. / b / in bap
→ Changing the phoneme changes the meaning.

allophone

The actual pronunciation or version of a phoneme. Allophones are context-dependent variations that don’t change meaning. Phoneme: /t/
Allophones:

• [t] as in top (aspirated)

• [t̬] as in butter (flapped in American English)

• [ʔ] as in button (glottal stop in some dialects)
  → They’re all different realizations (allophones) of the same phoneme /t/.

minimal pair

Two words that differ by only one sound (phoneme) in the same position and have different meanings. Used to test whether two sounds are distinct phonemes. Phonemes are written like this: /t/, /d/, / /pæt/ vs. /bæt/ → pat vs. bat
→ /p/ and /b/ are different phonemes (they change meaning)

• /sɪt/ vs. /sɛt/ → sit vs. set

If a minimal pair exists → the sounds are in contrastive distribution → they are separate phonemes

contrastive distribution

Two sounds appear in the same environment, and swapping them changes the word’s meaning. They are different phonemes. [spɪn] vs. [bɪn] → spin vs. bin
→ /s/ and /b/ contrast → different phonemes

Complementary Distribution

Two sounds never occur in the same environment — they "complement" each other. They are allophones of the same phoneme. Use brackets → [t], [tʰ], [ɾ]. [tʰ] in top (aspirated)

• [t] in stop (unaspirated)

• [ɾ] in butter (flap in American English)
  → All are allophones of the phoneme /t/

natural class

A natural class is a group of sounds (phonemes) in a language that share one or more features and behave the same way in phonological patterns or rules. [p, t, k]
→ Voiceless stops
→ All are voiceless, oral, and plosive