ET118 2-5 Semantics 2_Lecture (1)

Page 1: Introduction to Linguistics

• Course Title: ET118 (LUL)

• Focus: Linguistics - Understanding Language

• Specific Topic: Semantics 2: Lexical/Sense Relations

• Presenter: Evi Sifaki, WARWICK APPLIED LINGUISTICS

Page 2: Recap of Key Concepts

• Lexical Semantics vs. Pragmatics

• Signs:

  • Icon: resembles what it signifies

  • Index: signifies by connection or correlation

  • Symbol: has a conventional relationship with its meaning

• Arbitrariness: No inherent connection between the word and its meaning.

• Sense and Reference:

  • Denotation: Direct meaning of a word.

  • Connotation: Associated meanings.

• Deictic Reference: Context-dependent reference.

Page 3: Overview of Weeks 2-5

• Continued focus on lexical semantics

• Key Relations in Meaning/Sense:

  • Synonyms, Antonyms, Polysemes

• Importance of understanding relationships between words for a coherent grasp of language meanings.

Page 4: Sense/Lexical Relations

• Words interact within the language system to create meaning.

• Primary Semantic Relations:

  • Synonymy: Identity of senses.

  • Antonymy: Opposite senses.

  • Polysemy: Multiple meanings of a single word.

  • Homonymy: Overlapping form, differing meanings.

  • Hyponymy: Inclusion within categories.

  • Meronymy: Part-whole relationships.

Page 5: Organizing Meaning Relations

• Meaning Relations organize relationships between word meanings in communication.

• Key points include examining synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, and part/whole relationships.

Page 6: Understanding Synonymy

• Definition: Words with similar meanings.

• Examples include:

  • big, large

  • father, dad

  • help, assist

  • movie, film

  • quick, fast, rapid

• Synonyms belong to the same semantic field, sharing close meanings.

Page 7: Nuances in Synonyms

• Consider if the following synonyms are interchangeable:

  • pavement vs. sidewalk

  • big vs. large

  • missus vs. wife

  • boy vs. lad

Page 8: The Concept of Complete Synonymy

• Rare: Two distinct words with identical meanings in every context.

• Examples of partial overlap in meanings include:

  • pair vs. couple

  • lapse vs. expire

  • put out vs. extinguish

Page 9: Differences Among Synonyms

• Synonyms usually carry subtle distinctions:

  • Different shades of meaning and collocation links (e.g., rent/hire a car).

  • Distinct connotations and registers across synonyms.

Page 10: Semantic Range and Distribution

• Semantic Range: Difference in meaning scope (e.g., boss vs. employer).

• Distributional Differences: Regional variations in usage (e.g., footpath vs. sidewalk).

Page 11: Differences in Connotation and Register

• Synonyms may differ in connotation and usage contexts:

  • talked vs. droned on vs. lectured.

  • brave vs. reckless.

Page 12: Task 1 - Create Synonyms

• Activity: Find synonyms and create a sentence including both to demonstrate their common sense.

  • Words: betray, current, gift, present, shop, store.

Page 13: Task 1 Continued

• Repeat of Task 1 focusing on the same synonyms: store, shop, gift, present, current.

Page 14: Exploring Antonymy

• Definition: Opposing meanings in word pairs:

  • big vs. small

  • fast vs. slow

  • open vs. closed.

Page 15: Complementary/Binary Antonyms

• Binary Antonyms: One term's negative presupposes the positive of the other (hit/miss, pass/fail).

Page 16: Types of Antonyms

• Gradable Antonyms: Words representing opposing ends of a scale (big/small, hot/cold).

Page 17: Gradable Antonyms in Scale

• Relative terms indicate opposing points on a continuum (e.g., hot vs. cold with intermediate values).

Page 18: Relational/Converse Antonyms

• Antonyms depicting different perspectives in a relationship (e.g., buy/sell, employer/employee).

Page 19: Taxonomic Sisters

• Antonyms that occur at the same classification rank, e.g., days of the week.

Page 20: Task 2 - Classifying Antonyms

• Determine if given pairs are binary, gradable, converse, or none (e.g., fast/slow, student/teacher).

Page 21: Task 2 Continued

• Exercise on classification of antonyms.

Page 22: Lexical/Semantic Fields

• Definition: Groups of related words (e.g., dog/cat/giraffe).

Page 23: Taxonomic Relationship in Lexical Fields

• Hypernyms (superordinate) relation defined within lexical fields (e.g., animal as hypernym for dog).

Page 24: Hyponymy Explained

• Organizes meanings in a semantic field: relationships show 'X is a kind of Y'.

Page 25: Examples of Hyponymy

• Lists of hyponyms for categories like animal (cow, dog, duck) and cooking (cook, toast, bake).

Page 26: Defining Hypernyms and Hyponyms

• Hypernym: Broader term encompassing multiple meanings.

• Hyponym: Specific term under a hypernym, demonstrating inclusion.

Page 27: Multilevel Hyponym Relations

• Examples of nested hyponyms in animal classifications.

Page 28: Task 3 - Arrange Hyponyms

• Exercise on ordering words based on hierarchical relationships in their meanings.

Page 29: Task 3 Continued

• Continue arranging words according to hyponymy.

Page 30: Task 4 - Demonstrating Hyponymy Relationships

• Develop hyponymy with personal examples.

Page 31: Meronymy: Part/Whole Relationships

• Discuss term relationships where one is part of the other (e.g., hand/arm).

Page 32: Meaning Context in Language

• Examples of ambiguous phrases illustrating context impact (e.g., bank as monetary institution vs. riverbank).

Page 33: Lexical Ambiguity

• Words with multiple meanings can lead to ambiguity in phrases.

Page 34: More Lexical Ambiguity

• Further examples showcasing varied meanings within single phrases.

Page 35: Polysemy Defined

• Polysemous Words: One word with related meanings spanning different contexts (e.g., English chip).

Page 36: More on Polysemy

• Interrelated meanings and typical examples of polysemous words.

Page 37: Semantic Fields Further Examined

• Some words within semantic fields gain prominence; unmarked (common) vs. marked (less common) words.

Page 38: Identifying Semantic Fields

• Groups of words share elements of meaning, representing broader categories.

Page 39: Problems with Polysemy

• Challenges include class distinctions, historical meaning, and metaphorical extensions influencing understanding.

Page 40: Homonymy Explained

• Homonyms: Words with unrelated meanings but the same form (e.g., bank).

Page 41: Task 4 - Identifying Homonyms

• Exercise on finding synonyms for given homonym pairs.

Page 42: Types of Homonyms

• Distinction between homophones (same sound) and homographs (same spelling).

Page 43: Collocation and Meaning

• Collocation: Words' meanings impacted by their associational use in sentences.

Page 44: Collocation Examples

• Discuss situational meanings made through associative word placement.

Page 45: Task 5 - Creating Collocations

• Generate sentences using the adjective red, exploring shared meanings.

Page 46: Essential Readings

For Language Understanding and Semantics

• Fromkin et al. (2017) - An Introduction to Language

• Saeed, J. (2016) - Semantics

Additional Readings for Deeper Insight

• Baker & Hengeveld (2012) - Linguistics

• Löbner, S. (2013) - Understanding Semantics.

Introduction to Linguistics

Course Title: ET118 (LUL)

Focus: Linguistics - Understanding LanguageSpecific Topic: Semantics 2: Lexical/Sense RelationsPresenter: Evi Sifaki, WARWICK APPLIED LINGUISTICS

Recap of Key Concepts

Lexical Semantics vs. Pragmatics

• Lexical Semantics: The study of how and what the words of a language denote; it focuses on word meanings and their relationships with one another.

• Pragmatics: The study of how context influences the interpretation of meaning beyond the literal meanings of words.

Signs:

• Icon: A sign that resembles what it signifies (e.g., a photograph of a cat is an icon of a cat).

• Index: A sign that signifies by connection or correlation (e.g., smoke indicates fire).

• Symbol: A sign that has a conventional relationship with its meaning (e.g., the word "cat" symbolizes the actual animal).

• Arbitrariness: The principle that there is no inherent connection between the word and its meaning, as shown in different languages having different words for the same object.

Sense and Reference:

• Denotation: The direct, explicit meaning of a word (e.g., "dog" denotes a domesticated canine).

• Connotation: The associative meanings or emotions evoked by a word beyond its denotation (e.g., "home" connotes comfort and security).

• Deictic Reference: A reference that is context-dependent and changes based on the speaker’s perspective (e.g., "I" vs. "you").

Overview of Weeks 2-5

• Continued focus on lexical semantics: These weeks build on the understanding of words and their meanings through structured explorations of key relationships.

• Key Relations in Meaning/Sense: Important relationships such as synonyms, antonyms, and polysemes highlighted for better language comprehension and articulation.

• The emphasis is on how understanding these relationships can lead to a coherent grasp of language meanings, contributing to effective communication.

Sense/Lexical Relations

• Words interact within the language system to create layered meanings; comprehension requires understanding their interrelations.

• Primary Semantic Relations: key types of relations among words include:

  • Synonymy: Identity of senses, where different words express the same meanings.

  • Antonymy: Opposite senses, where words convey contrasting meanings (e.g., hot vs. cold).

  • Polysemy: the phenomenon where a single word has multiple meanings related by extension (e.g., "bank" can mean the side of a river or a financial institution).

  • Homonymy: Overlapping form where different words share the same spelling or pronunciation but differ in meaning (e.g., "bat" as a flying mammal and "bat" as a sports equipment).

  • Hyponymy: Inclusion within categories, where a word (hyponym) denotes a subclass of a broader category (hypernym) (e.g., a dog is a hyponym of animal).

  • Meronymy: Part-whole relationships indicating how terms are nested within one another (e.g., a wheel is a meronym of a car).

Organizing Meaning Relations

• Meaning Relations: These relationships organize word meanings within communication and include examining synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, and part/whole relationships.

Understanding Synonymy

• Definition: Words with similar meanings, which helps in enriching vocabulary and expressing nuances in communication.

• Examples include:

  • Big, large: Both denote a similar size.

  • Father, dad: Denote the masculine parent role.

  • Help, assist: Both refer to providing support.

  • Movie, film: Both refer to moving pictures.

  • Quick, fast, rapid: Imply speed.

• Synonyms belong to the same semantic field, thus they share close meanings that might differ slightly based on usage and context.

Nuances in Synonyms

• Consider if the following synonyms are interchangeable in every context:

  • Pavement vs. Sidewalk: Different regional usages; sidewalk is more American.

  • Big vs. Large: Contextual implications might differ.

  • Missus vs. Wife: Varying formality levels.

  • Boy vs. Lad: Regional differences in usage (British vs. American English).

The Concept of Complete Synonymy

• Rare: Two distinct words can have identical meanings in every conceivable context; true complete synonymy is more theoretical than practical.

• Examples of partial overlap include:

  • Pair vs. Couple: Some contexts where they can't interchange, e.g.,