2.3 Different ways of defining meanings: real and nominal definitions (practice)

Question 1

You point at the semantics teacher when you are asked who Celia’s godfather is. What type of definition would it be?

Answer 1

Definition by ostension

Question 2

Imagine you are reading an article, and you come across the word ‘könig’’. You ask your teacher what ‘könig’ means, and the only answer you receive is ‘king’. What type of definition did the teacher use?

Answer 2

Definition by synonymy

König = King in German

Question 3

If I give you the word ‘Rostlina’ and then I give you words such as ‘rose’, ‘bush’ or ‘tree’, what type of definition are we dealing with?

Answer 3

Definition by typical exemplar

Rostlina = Plant in Czech

Question 4

If I say that someone is a songwriter, lyricist, and businesswoman, you might say that those are generic characteristics. If I say that she is the most important person in the music industry right now, you know that I am referring to Taylor Swift. What type of definition is applied in this case?

Answer 4

Definition by genus and differentia

Genus = songwriter, lyricist, and businesswoman
Differentia = most important person in the music industry right now

Question 5

If I say ‘the type of action you do when you are sad or when you finish your semantic class’, what type of definition is it?

Answer 5

Definition by context.

Suggested answer: cry