Section 11_7 (1)

Overview of Semantics

  • Semantics: The study of meaning in language. Two main branches are:

    • Lexical Semantics: Focuses on the meaning of individual words.

    • Compositional Semantics: Examines the meaning of phrases based on the words they include and how they are combined.

Important Dates and Reminders

  • Quiz 5: Due today (Nov. 7) - Topic: •Semantics (both lexical and compositional)

  • Homework 4: Opens today, due next Thursday (Nov. 14) - Focus on signed languages

  • Reading: Review Language Files sections 1.5; 2.7; 3.1.2; 4.2.3; 11.3.3 for Friday.

  • Next Week: Monday no lecture due to Veteran's Day; Tuesday Quiz 6 on ASL.

Content for Quiz 5

  • Key Concepts:

    • Vocabulary related to semantics.

    • Identifying senses and referents of expressions.

    • Understanding relationships between sentences (entailment).

    • Types of adjectives, hypernyms, and hyponyms.

Content for Homework 4

  • Topics covered:

    • Phonetic Parameters: Components of signed languages, especially ASL.

    • Phonological Constraints: Rules governing sound patterns in signed languages.

    • Design Features: Application to signed languages.

    • Morphology and Syntax: Understanding structure and formation in sign language.

    • Language Acquisition Theories: Recognizing and applying various theories to contexts.

Compositionality

  • The meaning of expressions is determined by:

    • Meanings of Individual Words

    • Syntactic Combination of Words

  • This principle is known as compositionality: the combined meaning is not merely the sum of the parts.

  • Example: "The cat chased the mouse" does not mean the same as "The mouse chased the cat."

Exceptions to Compositionality

  • Idiom: Fixed expressions with meanings not derived from the literal meanings (e.g., "the cat is out of the bag").

  • Metaphor: Implies similarity by referring to something not literal (e.g., "She is a walking dictionary").

  • Anomaly: Well-formed structures that are nonsensical (e.g., "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously").

Propositions and Truth Values

  • Proposition: The claim expressed by a sentence.

  • Truth Value: The conditions under which a proposition can be determined to be true or false.

  • Importance: Propositions allow us to understand the conditions that guarantee their truth.

Truth Conditions

  • Truth Condition: A statement that must be true for a proposition to hold; e.g., for "The cat is on the mat," both the existence of the cat and mat must be validated.

Entailment and Related Concepts

  • Entailment: Relationship between sentences where the truth of one (A) guarantees the truth of another (B).

  • Mutual Entailment: When two sentences entail each other (e.g., "The dog chased the mailman" and "The mailman was chased by the dog").

  • Testing for Entailment: If a scenario exists where one statement is true but the other is not, they do not entail each other.

Practice Scenarios

  • Example pairs to analyze for entailment:

    • A: All the dogs barked.

    • B: The large dogs all barked.

    • Determine: A entails B, B entails A, mutual entailment, or no entailment based on context.

    • Further examples include combinations of sentences regarding actions, subjects, and specific conditions of reality.

robot