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.