Introduction to Semantics: Concepts, Referents, and Deixis

Introduction to Semantics and the Nature of Meaning

• Foundational Questions in Semantics:

  • What is meaning?
  • Which linguistic elements are essential for meaning?
  • How is meaning organized within a specific language?

• Initial Definition of Meaning:

  • Meaning is often defined as the relation between a word and the set of things in the real world that the word can refer to. These real-world entities are called referents.
  • Example: The phonetic form of the word chair $[tʃər]$ relates directly to the physical objects one sits on.

• Characteristics of Linguistic Expressions:

  • Arbitrariness: The linguistic form is generally unrelated to the thing it signifies. Meaning cannot be deduced from the form itself.
  • Language Specificity: Different languages use different linguistic forms to refer to the same entity. For example, the concept of a bird is represented by:
    • English: bird $[bɓȐd]$ or $[bɓɹd]$
    • Other forms (French, Mandarin, Tagalog) vary entirely in phonetics and orthography.

The Complexity of Reference

• Challenges and Complications in Reference:

  • Different expressions can point to the exact same referent.
    • Example: Referents for Donald Trump include "The current president of the US" (at the time of the recorded context), "Commander in Chief", "that toupeed orange fucktrumpet", and "dangerous fascist". While these have the same referent, they clearly possess different meanings and connotations.
  • One-to-Many Mappings: A single referent can be described by a vast array of linguistic expressions based on their role or relationship to the speaker:
    • Referent: Angela Merkel.
    • Expressions: "The first female German chancellor", "Mutti", "Daughter", "Wife", "Friend", "Colleague".
  • Expressions with No Referents: Some linguistic expressions describe entities that do not exist in the real world.
    • Examples: "The first female US president" (at the time of the material), "The Easter Bunny".

• Key Issues with Mapping:

  • There is no direct, one-to-one mapping between words/expressions and real-world referents.
  • Meanings can be fuzzy; the boundaries of where one category ends and another begins are not always clear (e.g., the difference between a cup, a container, or a "thingy").

The Semiotic Triangle

• Need for a Mental Component: Because of the inconsistencies in direct mapping between words and the world, a third point of reference is required: the mental concept.

• The Three Components of Meaning:

  1. Linguistic Expression: The word or signifier (e.g., the word "dog").
  2. Concept/Mental Category: The abstract mental representation or idea.
  3. Referent: The real-world entity or set of entities (denotation).

• Technical Definitions within the Triangle:

  • Meaning: The relation specifically between the linguistic expression and the abstract concept/mental category.
  • Reference: The relation between the linguistic expression and the referent. This is often fixed only through context.
  • Denotation: The relation between the concept and the referent. It represents the set of all potential members of a mental category (e.g., every object in the world that could be classified as a "box").

Excursion: Concepts and Prototypes

• Categorization: Speakers classify objects into categories. These concepts do not necessarily have to be based on strict linguistic features.

• Prototype Theory:

  • Categories are not always defined by a checklist of requirements but by central, prototypical members and peripheral ones.
  • Battig & Montague (1969): Established that some items (like a robin for the category "bird") are seen as more central to a category than others (like a penguin).
  • Eleanor Rosch (1973): Conducted experiments showing that people have longer response times when asked to identify peripheral members of a category compared to prototypical members.

• Fuzzy Boundaries and Gradients:

  • Categories are often gradient rather than binary.
  • Labov (1972) Study: Investigated the distinction between a "cup" and a "bowl". He found that as the height/width ratio changes, or as the context changes (e.g., what the vessel is holding), the classification shifts. There is no hard line between common categories.

• Semantic Features: An earlier approach to word meaning used a limited set of binary features ($[+/-]$) to distinguish words.

  • Example: Woman vs. Girl is distinguished by the feature $[ ±\text{adult} ]$.
  • Example: Woman vs. Man is distinguished by the feature $[ ±\text{female} ]$.

Dimensions of Meaning: Denotation and Connotation

• Denotative Meaning (Referential Meaning): The literal meaning created by establishing the referent of an utterance.

• Connotative Meaning: Additional associations that go beyond the denotative meaning. This is highly culture-dependent and subjective.

  • Examples: "Cats are cute", "Champaign is bougie", "Holidays are sunny".

• Sub-components of Connotation:

  1. Affective Meaning: The emotional associations or feelings a word evokes.
  2. Social Meaning: Information about the speaker's social and geographical origin, as well as their attitudes and intentions.
     • Example: Compare "Moin", "Hi", "Guten Morgen", "Morgen", and "Servus". All can refer to a morning greeting (denotation), but they signal different social contexts or regions.

Establishing Reference: Definiteness

• Indefinite Expressions: Use of the indefinite article (e.g., "a cup"). These have many possible referents and are often non-referential in a specific sense.

• Definite Expressions: Use of the definite article (e.g., "the cup"). These point to one specific, particular referent that the speaker and listener can identify.

Deixis and Contextual Reference

• Definition: Deictic expressions (or "pointing devices") are words whose referents cannot be established without knowledge of the context (who is speaking, where, and when).

• The Problem of the Isolated Sentence: Consider the sentence: "Meet me here a week from now."

  • Without context, we cannot know:
    • Who is "me"?
    • Where is "here"?
    • When is "now"?

• Types of Deixis:

  1. Person Deixis: Points to participants (e.g., I, you, me, they, this person).
  2. Place (Spatial) Deixis: Points to locations (e.g., here, there, this, that, these, those).
  3. Time (Temporal) Deixis: Points to segments of time (e.g., now, tomorrow, today, last Monday).
  4. Gestural Deixis: Requires a physical gesture to be understood (e.g., "The fish was this tall," while holding hands a certain distance apart).

Practical Exercises and Application

• Exercise: Referents and Concepts (Angela Merkel & Vladimir Putin):

  • Text: "The Chancellor of Germany met Vladimir Putin. The Russian President brought his dog to their meeting. The dog’s name is Koni. Angela Merkel reportedly has a fear of dogs. Putin asked Merkel 'Koni does not bother you, does she?' The tail wagger sniffed the German Chancellor and sat very close to her. Merkel was not amused."
  • Referent Groups:
    • Group A (Angela Merkel): "The Chancellor of Germany", "Angela Merkel", "the German Chancellor", "her", "Merkel".
    • Group B (Vladimir Putin): "Vladimir Putin", "The Russian President", "Putin".
    • Group C (Koni): "his dog", "The dog's name", "Koni", "she", "The tail wagger".

• Exercise: Identity of Reference:

  • "George Washington was the first president of the United States." (Same referent)
  • "George Washington was George Washington." (Tautology; same referent)
  • "Jacqueline Bouvier married John F. Kennedy in 1953."
  • "Jacqueline Bouvier married the thirty-fifth president of the United States in 1953." (In this context, John F. Kennedy and the 35th President identify the same person/referent).

• Exercise: Deixis Identification:

  • "You should have been here last Monday."
  • "I really should be going now."
  • "I want this dish, this dish, and this dish." (Accompanying pointing gestures).