Semantics Flashcards

1
Q

Parameters

A

1) Heads can be final (Japanese), initial (English), or both (German)
2) Verbs can stay in V (English), move to T (French), or move to C (German)

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2
Q

Semantics and Pragmatics

A

both concerned with linguistics meaning

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3
Q

Semantics

A

Linguistic meaning that is independent of the context in which the sentence is spoken

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4
Q

Pragmatics

A

Linguistic meaning that is dependent on context

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5
Q

Truth Conditions

A

What it would take for the sentence to be true or false, what the world would need to be like in order for the sentence to be true

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6
Q

4 types of semantic knowledge

A

Sentences can:

1) be synonymous
2) contradict each other
3) entail each other
4) imply each other

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7
Q

Principle of Compositionality

A

The meaning of a sentence is determined by the meanings of the words it contains and the way they are syntactically combined.

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8
Q

Reference

A
  • You can refer to the same entity using different linguistic expressions
  • Usually, you can substitute one expression for the other and the truth conditions of the sentence will stay the same, but not always
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9
Q

Extension

A

The object than an expression actually refers to

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10
Q

Intension

A

The recipe for getting from the expression to its extension

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11
Q

T or F: all expressions have extensions

A

False

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12
Q

Binding Theory

A

3 principles that govern the reference of pronouns and anaphors

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13
Q

Pronouns

A

Elements whose extension can only be determined in relation to some other element called the antecedent

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14
Q

Antecedent

A

The element the pronouns refers back to

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15
Q

Pronominals

A

she, her, he, it, they, we, etc.

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16
Q

Reflexive Pronouns (Anaphors)

A

herself, himself, itself, themselves, etc.

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17
Q

Co-reference is indicated with

A

subscripts

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18
Q

C-commands

A

A NP c-commands its sister and everything it dominates

19
Q

Principle A

A

A reflexive pronoun must have a c-commanding antecedent in the same minimal TP

20
Q

Principle B

A

Pronominals must not have a c-commanding antecedent in the same minimal TP

21
Q

Principle C

A

Referring expressions must be free everywhere

22
Q

Referring expressions

A

Everything that’s not a pronouns

23
Q

Logical words

A

Can be given precise definitions

24
Q

Content words

A

Meanings are more difficult to pin down - we need to distinguish between linguistics knowledge or real-world knowledge

25
Encyclopedic knowledge
Knowledge about facts about the world
26
Linguistic knowledge
Knowledge about semantic relations between content words
27
Entailment
If S1, then automatically S2
28
Hyponymy
Something belongs to a set of something else
29
T or F: Entailment survives negation
false
30
Mutual Entailment
If A is true, B is necessarily true and vice versa. Sentences are synonymous or equivalent
31
Contradiction
If A is true, B is false. If B is false, A is true
32
Presupposition
Background assumptions to be shared between the conversation participants.
33
T or F: Presupposition survives negation
true
34
Truth Value Gap
If the presupposed material is false, then the sentence is neither true nor false
35
Implicature
What the listener can infer based on what the speaker says in a given context
36
T or F: Cancelling an implicature results in a contradiction
False
37
Grice's 4 maxims
Maxim of Quality, Quantity, Relevance, Manner
38
Maxim of Quality
Try to make your contribution one that is true
39
Maxim of Quantity
Make your contribution as informative as required. Do not make your contribution more information than is required
40
Maxim of Relevance
Make your contribution relevant
41
Maxim of Manner
Be clear and and avoid ambiguity
42
H. Paul Grice
Came up with the theory of implicature. People use language cooperatively according to conversational norms
43
Distinguishing whether B is an entailment, presupposition, or implicature of A
1) Does B have to be true regardless of whether A is true or false - if so, presupposition 2) Does B have to be true if A is true - if so, entailment - if not, implicature