Chapter 9 Flashcards
Semantics
the study of the meaning of words phrases and sentences.
Conceptual Meaning (Dennotative)
Component of meaning that are conveyed by the literal meaning of the word.
Dictionary meaning.
Associative meaning (Connotative)
How we associate words.
Needle (thin sharp instrument) can be associated to knitting drugs etc
(+) or (−).
used to denote whether word has that meaning or not
Semantic roles
Agent- entity that performs action
Theme/patient- entity that is involved in or affected by action
Instrument and Experienced
Instrument : The entity by which the action of the verb is carried out.
Experienced: The entity that undergoes an emotion, a state of being, or a perception expressed by the verb
Location, Source, Goal
Location - Where an entity is
Source - Where the entity moves from
Goal - Where it moves to
Lexical Relations
Synonym: similar meaning difference word
Antonym: opposite meaning different word
Hyponym: meaning of one for included in another ex dog/animal
Superordinates
superior category within a system of classification
Prototype
meaning of certain words in terms of resemblance
Homonym and homophones
Homonym : different writing same pronunciation
Homophones: one form more than one meanings
Polysemy
two or more words with same form and related meaning
Metonymy
substitute word for another word that is similar in meaning
Collocation
natural combination of words that are affiliated with each other.
What semantic feature must a noun have in order to be used in this sentence? The _____________ were discussing what to do.
[+ human]
Using semantic features, how would you explain the oddness of these sentences?
(a) The television drank my water.
(b) His dog writes poetry.
(a) The verb drink requires a subject with the feature [+ animate] and the noun
television has the feature [- animate]. (b) The verb write requires a subject with
the feature [+ human] and the noun dog has the feature [˗ human].
Which of the following words would be analyzed in terms of the semantic features [+ male, − adult]: stallion, mare, colt, filly?
colt
What phrase is used more often instead of “thematic roles” and what other term is used instead of “theme” in the semantic analysis of noun phrases?
semantic roles and patients
What kind of opposites can be identified via the “negative test”?
Non-degradable antonyms
How is the term “prototype” used in semantics?
characteristic example of a category
ressemblance
Identify the roles of the seven noun phrases in this sentence:
With her new golf club, Anne Marshall whacked the ball from the woods to the grassy area near the hole and she suddenly felt invincible.
Instrument (her new golf club), Agent (Anne Marshall), Theme (the ball), Source (the woods), Goal (the grassy area), Location (the hole), Experiencer (she).
What is the most common collocate of the English word sarcastic?
rude
Which of the following words are co-hyponyms?
ant, cabbage, insect, plant, turnip, vegetable.
cabbage and turnip
Gradable, nongradable, reversive
Gradable: Warm/ cold , small/big
NG: complementary boy/girl, dead/alive
Reversive: shrink/grow
