Semantics Flashcards
semantics
the study of meaning in language
referent
the entity identified by the use of a referring expression
extension
the set of all potential referents for a referring expression
prototype
a typical member of the extension of a referring expression
stereotype
a list of characteristics describing a prototype
coreference
two linguistic expressions that refer to the same real-world entity
anaphora
a linguistic expression that refers to another linguistic expression
deixis
a deictic expression has one meaning but can refer to different entities depending on the speaker
Principle of Compositionality
the semantic meaning of any unit of language is determined by the semantic meanings of its parts along with the way they are put together
denotative meaning
the logical meaning
connotative meaning
the additional or associated meaning
social meaning
the meaning that a word possesses in particular social situations
thematic meaning
the manner in which a message is organized for emphasis
Theory of Naming
language is a communication system that works with 2 elements: the signifier and the signified
signifier
a word in a language
signified
object in the world that a signifier stands for or refers to
Conceptual Theory of Meaning
words and things are related through the mediation of concepts of the mind
Chomsky mentalistic theory
intuition and introspection must play a crucial part in our investigation of language
Behavioristic Theory of Meaning
meaning in terms of context
agent
the entity that performs the action
theme
the entity that is involved in or affected by the action
instrument
if an agent uses another entity in performing an action, that other entity takes the role of instrument
benefactive
the noun or a noun phrase that refers to the person or animal who benefits, or is the benefit, from the action of the verb
experiencer
seeing but not performing an action
synonymy
two or more forms with very closely related meanings
antonymy
two forms with opposite meanings
hyponymy
when the meaning of one form is included in the meaning of another
polysemy
one form having multiple meanings which are all related by extension
metonymy
expressions with close connection in everyday experience
collocation
words that tend to occur with other words
