Homework from last week

Last week I asked you to send me examples of long and complex sentences. Please send me some!

IA901 2012 Session EightSemantics

From Ferdinand de Saussure’s Course in General Linguistics

tree

word / referent

oink!

word / referent

oink!

Essex University

word / referent

????

word / referent

hope

word / referent

tree

word / referent

tree

word / denotata

Sense relations

“Sense is an internal meaning relation. Sense relations hold

between words within the vocabulary.”

(Jackson and Zé Amvela, 2000 : 106)

HOMOPHONY

HOMONYMY

POLYSEMY

flour and flower, meat and meet

South Bank and Lloyds Bank

Mickey Mouse, wireless mouse, head in headache and head in headteacher

Did you match any of these words and expressions?

What is the relationship between these sets of pairs?

HOMOPHONY

HOMONYMY

POLYSEMY

flour and flower, meat and meet

South Bank and Lloyds Bank

Mickey Mouse, wireless mouse, head in headache and head in headteacher

HYPONYMY flower and rosetree and oakbuilding and house

MERONYMY house and dining roomhand and knuckleday and afternoonplant and shoot

Did you match any of these words and expressions?

What is the relationship between these sets of pairs?

HYPONYMY flower and rosetree and oakbuilding and house

MERONYMY house and dining roomhand and knuckleday and afternoonplant and shoot

METAPHOR Life is a…

METAPHOR Life is a…

Hope is a…

METAPHOR Life is a…

Hope is a…

Opportunity is a…

METAPHOR Life is a…

Hope is a…

Opportunity is a…

Time is…

METAPHOR Life is a…

Hope is a…

Opportunity is a…

Time is…

Love is a…

METAPHOR andMETONYMY

When do babies start crawling?The traffic crawled to a halt.The morning crawled past.

The UK Government and Downing StreetThe US President and The White House

WordAssociation

What’s the first thing that comes into your head when you see / hear the word…

puppy baby

cake tree

father

Synonyms

You will see a number of word clouds. In each cloud, match words with their synonyms, and try to find a connection between all the words in the cloud.

What is the theme that unites these example synonyms?

Synonym 1 Connotation Synonym 2

ambiguousfamoushatemisusenewobtainproudrecollectionsimulate

+

deliberatedisreputably

=

equivocalnotoriousloatheabusenovelprocurehaughtyreminiscencefeign

Synonym 1 Connotation Synonym 2

ambiguousfamoushatemisusenewobtainproudrecollectionsimulate

+

deliberatedisreputablywith disgust

=

equivocalnotoriousloatheabusenovelprocurehaughtyreminiscencefeign

Synonym 1 Connotation Synonym 2

ambiguousfamoushatemisusenewobtainproudrecollectionsimulate

+

deliberatedisreputablywith disgustprivilege of power

=

equivocalnotoriousloatheabusenovelprocurehaughtyreminiscencefeign

Synonym 1 Connotation Synonym 2

ambiguousfamoushatemisusenewobtainproudrecollectionsimulate

+

deliberatedisreputablywith disgustprivilege of powerstrikingly =

equivocalnotoriousloatheabusenovelprocurehaughtyreminiscencefeign

Synonym 1 Connotation Synonym 2

ambiguousfamoushatemisusenewobtainproudrecollectionsimulate

+

deliberatedisreputablywith disgustprivilege of powerstrikinglywith effort

=

equivocalnotoriousloatheabusenovelprocurehaughtyreminiscencefeign

Synonym 1 Connotation Synonym 2

ambiguousfamoushatemisusenewobtainproudrecollectionsimulate

+

deliberatedisreputablywith disgustprivilege of powerstrikinglywith effortwith distain

=

equivocalnotoriousloatheabusenovelprocurehaughtyreminiscencefeign

Synonym 1 Connotation Synonym 2

ambiguousfamoushatemisusenewobtainproudrecollectionsimulate

+

deliberatedisreputablywith disgustprivilege of powerstrikinglywith effortwith distainwith pleasure

=

equivocalnotoriousloatheabusenovelprocurehaughtyreminiscencefeign

Synonym 1 Connotation Synonym 2

ambiguousfamoushatemisusenewobtainproudrecollectionsimulate

+

deliberatedisreputablywith disgustprivilege of powerstrikinglywith effortwith distainwith pleasurewith craftiness

=

equivocalnotoriousloatheabusenovelprocurehaughtyreminiscencefeign

Antonyms

What’s the opposite of…?

What do the words in each box have in common?

To recap…

SYNONYMY (LOOSE)

(STRICT)

find and discover

pavement and sidewalk

famous and notoriousnew and novel

western and occidental

heaven and sky, ghost and spirit

GRADABLE ANTONYMS

COMPLEMENTARY ANTONYMS

CONVERSES

happy and unhappy, logical and illogical

long and short, young and old, beautiful and ugly

alive and dead, asleep and awake

above and below, husband and wife

Sense

What is a fish?

What components define a fish?

Item / Components Human Mature Male

man + + +

woman + + -

boy + - +

girl + - -

COMPONENTIAL ANALYSIS

What’s the difference between a knife, fork, spoon, and chopsticks?

COMPONENTIAL ANALYSIS

Item / component

cutlery can be used to eat soup

has a handle

comes as a pair

cuts safe for children

has prongs (tines)

knife + - + - + - -

fork + - + - - - +

spoon + + + - - + -

chopsticks + - - + - - -

What’s the difference between…. cook,boil,bake,fry,braise,stew,grill,andpoach?

Item / components

pan dish covered uses liquid

uses water

uses oil inside the oven

on a hob

heat applied from above

can be done to eggs

cook + / - + / - + / - + / - + / - + / - + / - + / - + / - + / -

boil + - - + + - - + - +

bake - + - - - - + - - -

fry + - - + - + - + - +

braise - - + + - + -/+ -/+ - -

stew + + + + - - -/+ -/+ - -

grill +/- +/- - - - - -/+ - + -

poach + - - + + - - + - +

Definitions and difficulties

COMPONENTIAL ANALYSIS

Item / component

cutlery can be used to eat soup

has a handle

comes as a pair

cuts safe for children

has prongs

knife + - + - + - -

fork + - + - - - +

spoon + + + - - + -

chopsticks + - - + - - -

A ______ is a piece of cutlery which has a handle and is used for cutting food.

It neither has prongs nor comes in pairs. It cannot be used to eat soup and it

is not safe for children to use.

But…is this a spoon?

…is this a cat?

PROTOTYPES

Imagine a bird… Does it look like this?

PROTOTYPES

PROTOTYPES

Beg, entreat, beseech, implore, supplicate and importune all

signify the making of an appeal which is likely to be refused or

demurred at. A person ________for what he/she cannot claim as

a right; ________ suggests earnestness, insistence, and sometimes

self-abasement. By ________ing someone, one hopes to persuade

him / her by earnest pleading and reasoning. ________ and

________ convey eager anxiety which seeks to inspire sympathy or

pity. ________may be stronger than ________, with a suggestion

of tearfulness or evident anguish. ________ adds to ________ a

humble, prayerful attitude…________ denotes persistence with

one’s requests to the point of annoyance or even harassment.

begs

beg

entreat

Beseech

implore

Implore beseech

Supplicate entreat

Importune

(from the 1991 Longman Dictionary of the English Language)

Can you identify the following four words from their definitions, taken from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Online?

1._____________: of a high standard or quality [≠ bad, poor]

2._____________: [uncountable] a feeling of unhappiness because something is not as good as you expected, or has not happened in the way you hoped

3._____________: when something _____________, there is an event, especially one that is not planned [= occur]

4._____________: to happen

SEMANTIC PRIMITIVES

from Jackson and Zé Amvela (2000 : 127) after Wierzbicka (1996)

Semantic fields

????

Semantic sets and collocation

Hoey (2005)

Train as a…

Hoey (2005)

traintrainstrainedtraining

as a teacher doctornurselawyerpainterdancerbarristerchefBraille shorthand typist

Hoey (2005)

traintrainstrainedtraining

as a teacher doctornurselawyerpainterdancerbarristerchefBraille shorthand typistSKILLED ROLE OR OCCUPATION

Semantic Set(from Francis et al, 1996)

Verbs following the pattern VERB + for + NP

Purpose of + for NOUN (Willis)

endure, keep, live, last

extend, stretch

wait

plan, arrange, provide

prepare, study, train

pay, answer, apologise

report, sign on, show up, enrol

hunt, look, shop, listen

beg, send, shout, call

act, fight, play, speak

substitute, stand in

pray, speak up, vote

feel, grieve

Semantic Set(from Francis et al, 1996)

Verbs following the pattern VERB + for + NP

Purpose of + for NOUN (Willis)

LAST endure, keep, live, last TIME

LAST extend, stretch DISTANCE

WAIT wait REASON WHY

PLAN plan, arrange, provide REASON WHY

PREPARE prepare, study, train REASON WHY

COMPENSATE pay, answer, apologise REASON WHY

VOLUNTEER report, sign on, show up, enrol REASON WHY

SEARCH hunt, look, shop, listen ASK / LOOK FOR

ASK beg, send, shout, call ASK / LOOK FOR

WORK act, fight, play, speak WHO WANTS OR NEEDS

DEPUTISE substitute, stand in WHO WANTS OR NEEDS

ARGUE pray, speak up, vote WHO WANTS OR NEEDS

CARE feel, grieve WHO WANTS OR NEEDS

Back to the sentence…

Hoey (2005) takes the opening sentence from a Bill Bryson travel book:

In winter Hammerfest is a thirty-hour ride by bus from Oslo, though why anyone would want to go there in winter is a question worth considering.

and compares it to:

Through winter, rides between Oslo and Hammerfest use thirty hours up in a bus, though why travellers would select to ride there then might be pondered.

The explanation is provided by attention to COLLOCATION and COLLIGATION.

For example, Hoey’s corpus tells him that:

• 59% of uses of IN WINTER relate to a clause whose verb is PRESENT SIMPLE

• 54% of uses of IN THE WINTER relate to a clause whose verb is PAST SIMPLE

• IN WINTER is more likely to occur with “relational process verbs” than “material process verbs”

What do you already know about the University of Essex? Make notes on your answers to the following questions:

Where is Essex university? How many campuses are there?

How old is it?How many students are there? (who are they?)

Is the university famous for anything?

Is it a good university?

Do you know any interesting 'facts' about the university?

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY : PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Students from families with incomes

of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a

more generous student maintenance

grant of up to £3,250, which is non-

repayable.

References and further reading

Ballard, K. 2007 The Frameworks of English, 2nd Edition, Palgrave MacMillan

Cobb, T. 2004 The Compleat Lexical Tutor. Available online at http://tesl-ej.org/ej31/m2.html [Accessed 27 November 2011]

Culpeper, J. et al (eds) 2009 English Language: Description, Variation and Context. Palgrave Macmillan

Francis, S., Hunston, S. and Manning, E. 1996 Grammar Patterns 1: Verbs. Harper Collins

Hoey, M. 2005 Lexical Priming, Routledge

Jackson, H. and Ze Amvela, E. 2000 Words, Meaning and Vocabulary : An Introduction to Modern English Lexicology, Continuum

Leech, G. 1974 Semantics, Penguin

Schmitt, N. 2000 Vocabulary in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press

Wierzbicka, A. 1996 Semantics: Primes and Universals. Oxford University Press

Willis, D. 2003 Rules, Patterns and Words, Cambridge University Press

Yule, G. 1985 The Study of Language, Cambridge University Press

Don’t forget…

…to send me some examples of long and complex sentences.