Semantics

Chapter 6

What is Semantics?

• Semantics is the study of the meaning of words, phrases and sentences.

• In semantic analysis, there is always an attempt to focus on what the words conventionally mean.

• This technical approach is concerned with objective or general meaning and avoids trying to account for subjective meaning.

Semantic Knowledge

• Everyone is a walking dictionary and he stores words in the mental LEXICON.

• We have in our minds semantic knowledge about words and we know what is semantically possible and what is not .

Semantic Properties• One obvious way in which the study of basic

conceptual meaning might be helpful in the study of language would be as a means of accounting for the ‘oddness’ we experience when we read sentences such as the following:

• The hamburger ate the boy.• The table listens to the radio.• The horse is reading the newspaper.

Explanation

• The components of the conceptual meaning of the noun hamburger must be significantly different from those of the noun boy.

• This simple example is an illustration of a procedure for analyzing meaning in terms of semantic properties.

Examples using semantic features

table horse boy man animate+ + + −

human + + − − Female− − − −

Adult+ − + −

Semantic Aspects

• Semantic redundancy means that If one property is available , the opposite is not, so if + human then it must be – abstract; if + slow it must be – fast.

• Semantic postulate means that if something has some quality it must necessarily have some corresponding quality:

If something is metal, it is concrete.If something swims, it is in a liquid.If something is open, it is not closed.

Ambiguity

• Where does it come from ?• Homonyms-homophones : (words that have

the same sounds that can create ambiguity.• Too, two, to . I need this, too.• She can not bear children.

• Structural : Flying planes can be dangerous

Paraphrase

• Sentences with the same meaning are paraphrases. Sentences may be paraphrases either because they contain synonyms (couch-sofa) ; or because they differ structurally :

• They gave the boy help • They gave help to the boy.

Polysemy

• A word that has several meanings :• Good = well behaved : he is a good boy• Good= sound : This is a good investment.

Antonymy

• Antonymy refers to opposite meanings . Opposite meanings can have three aspects :

• Complementary opposites (nothing could be in between) : alive-dead

• Gradable opposites (something could be in between) : hot –cold

• Relational opposites : buy-sell /employer-employee.

Sense and reference• Words usually have meanings (sense) and refer

to some entity (reference):

– The boy living next door to me. (sense : neighbor ; Reference : Ahmed)

– The present king of France ( has sense but no reference).

Discourse• The word ‘discourse’ is usually defined as

‘language beyond the sentence’ and the analysis of discourse is typically concerned with the study of language in text and conversation: things like style-appropriateness-cohesiveness-written and oral performance, etc.

• Getting meaning does not happen by merely getting the meaning of individual words or sentences away from the text/context

Discourse Cont.

• -A: How are you today?• -B: I am not going.• A: Good morning• B :I don’t care. • Why do not these expressions seem to make

sense? Because they are not coherent>• Maxims of conversation (Be relevant, Be brief)

Discourse Cont.

• Coherence in discourse is determined by grammar rules that tell us , for example, when to use ‘the’ and when to use ‘a’.

• Anaphoric reference depends mainly on the whole context/text.

• “they did everything they wanted; they went to the cinema, had fun, ate out and watched a new movie in the cinema . And so did we.”

Pragmatics • Pragmatics is the study of how context affects linguistic

interpretation.• Words are not merely collections of sounds , but they

have the power of an act. Speech acts perform an action. • Promise-warning-divorce- the results of the speech acts

are called the illocutionary force .• A speech act may have an implicit illocutionary force. Is it

raining ? Is an implicit wish that I want you leave. • Look at the time ! May be an implicit excuse on my part to

leave.

Presupposition• Presupposition is an implicit assumption that

accompany certain utterances.• Have you got another baby? Presupposes that

you have already some other(s).• He doesn’t go cinema on Friday. Presupposes

that he sometimes goes to cinema.• Your wife left you a note . Presupposes that the

man is married.

Deixis

• Deictic expressions are those expressions that mainly depend on the circumstances of the situation.

• Do not come now. (the meaning of ‘now’ depends on the time at which the sentence is uttered.

• I am the king. (who is the king depends on who said this statement)

Metaphor and Idioms

• Some expressions can have non-literal meaning.

• He is out in left field (actual field; mad)• Idioms are phrases whose meaning is not the

combinations of the meanings of individual words:

• He kicked the bucket