Chapter 9: Semantics Flashcards

1
Q

semantics

A

the study of the meaning of words, phrases and sentences

focuses on conventional meaning; linguistic, NOT connotation

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2
Q

referential meaning

A

basic, essential components of meaning conveyed by literal use of a word

opposite of associative/emotive meaning

needle = thin, sharp, instrument (no inherent connection to pain, illness, drugs, knitting, etc)

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3
Q

in terms of syntactics and semantics, how is the phrase “the hamburger ate the boy”?

A

syntactially good (NP V NP),
semantically poor

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4
Q

semantic features

A

way of analyzing the meaning of words

the X ate all the food (n + [animate])
the X is reading the newspaper (n + [human])

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5
Q

componential analysis

A

the analysis of the meaning of a word or other linguistic unit into discrete semantic components.

[equine]: horse, filly, stallion, mare

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6
Q

when can viewing words as “containers of meaning” be problematic?

A

if the word is abstract.

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7
Q

semantic/thematic/case roles

A

agent, theme, action, etc;
roles fulfilled within a sentence

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8
Q

agent

A

entity that performs the action

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9
Q

theme

A

entity involved in/affected by the action

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10
Q

instrument

A

if an agent uses another entity to perform an action, the entity is the instrument (often paired with “with”)

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11
Q

experiencer

A

entity that has a feeling, perception, or state (feel, know, hear, enjoy)

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12
Q

location

A

where an entity is

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13
Q

source

A

where the entity moves from

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14
Q

goal

A

where the entity moves to

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15
Q

lexical relations

A

characterizing the meaning of one word in terms of another (conceal == hide, pine -> tree)

synonomy, antonymy, hyponomy

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16
Q

synonym

A

two+ words with very closely related meanings

often (though not always) can be substituted for each other in phrases; may differ in terms of formality

17
Q

antonym

A

two forms with opposite meanings

3 main types: gradable, non-gradable/complementary, reversives

18
Q

gradable antonym

A

opposites along a scale

smaller, sadder, colder, older, richer

19
Q

non-gradable/complimentary antonym

A

direct opposites; negative of one pair implies the other (not alive -> dead)

20
Q

reversive antonyms

A

reverse action of the other

undress != not dress; undress = opposite of dress

21
Q

hyponym

A

meaning of one form is included in the meaning of another

[animal] : horse, dog, cat, shrimp, hamster

22
Q

in terms of hyponyms, how to animal, horse, and dog relate to each other?

A

horse and dog are hyponyms of animal
animal is a superordinate (higher level)
horse and dog are co-hyponyms

23
Q

prototype

A

the “characteristic instance” of a category

robin -> bird (not ostrich), chair -> furniture (not piano)

24
Q

homophone

A

different written forms, same pronunciation

flour/flower, meat/meet, pear/pair

25
homonym
when one form has 2+ unrelated meanings ## Footnote bat, mole, pen, race, sole
26
polysemy
2+ words with the same form and related meanings | word can have both homonymic and polysemous forms (ie, date) ## Footnote head (object on top of body, top of essay, foam on top of beer, top of company) foot (of a person, of a bed, of a mountain) mouth (of a person, cave, river) run (action done by a person, water, color, machines)
27
word play: mary had a little lamb, rice, and some vegetables
polysemy: lamb
28
word play: why is 6 afraid of 7?
homophones: eight and ate
29
metonymy
relationship between words based on everyday experience ## Footnote car -> wheels, king -> crown, house -> roof
30
what are some examples of everyday metonymy?
he drank the whole bottle (with the understanding that is is the liquid inside the bottle) filling up the car, boiling a kettle, giving someone a hand
31
collocation
words that frequently occur together ## Footnote salt/pepper, table/chair
32
corpus linguistics
large collection of spoken/written texts
33
concordances
listing of each occurance of a word/phrase in a corpus