Semantics:

Question 1

Semantics:

Answer 1

The study of meaning.

Question 2

Word Choice:

Answer 2

The process where language is able to create meaning through its word choice.
-Example: They were ‘murdered’ Vs They were ‘neutralised’.

Question 3

Example of Syntax:

Answer 3

‘Students’ destroyed the library Vs the library ‘was’ destroyed.

Question 4

Prosodic Features:

Answer 4

• Refers to gesture and facial expressions.

- Are non-lingustic cues.

Question 5

Example of phonology; intonation:

Answer 5

This is for eating ‘.’ Vs This is for eating?

Question 6

Meaning can be displayed through:

Answer 6

• Images and signs
• Choice of clothes
• Taste in music
• Food
• etc

Question 7

Referential / Denotational Meaning:

Answer 7

Basic, literal meaning of a word found in dictionary/ dictionary meaning.

Question 8

Associative Meaning:

Answer 8

• Refers to the particular qualities or characteristics beyond the denotative meaning that people commonly think of (correctly or incorrectly) in relation to a word or phrase.
• Aka connotative meaning.

Question 9

What are the three approaches to take when identifying language?

Answer 9

• Features
• Schemas
• Prototypes

Question 10

Semantic Features:

Answer 10

-Dictionary-based view of defining semantics by features.
-Largely based on Referential meaning.
-Example: The noun ‘girl’ refers to a human, female.
The noun ‘girl’ does not refer to an adult or male.

Question 11

Conceptual/Cognitive Semantics:

Answer 11

• View of semantics within cognitive linguistics which seeks to understand the relationship between language and the mind.
• Largely based on associative meaning.
• Allows various meanings and ‘fuzziness’.

Question 12

What are the four key elements of cognitive semantics?

Answer 12

• Prototypes
• Schemas
• Lexical Relations
• Metaphor/Metonymy.

Question 13

Prototypes:

Answer 13

• The shared or conventional meaning of words as being closer or further way from prototype.
• The proto-image of all representatives of the meaning of a word or of a category.
• Thus, a robin or a sparrow can be regarded as a prototype or a “good example” of the category bird, whereas a penguin or an ostrich is a rather “bad example” of this category.

Question 14

Schemas:

Answer 14

-The ‘bundle of knowledge’ about a word, concept, or event.
-When thinking about a prototype, draw on schema of the concept or word.
Example: Science fiction, films or books.
The process where its schemas can change is through the: the accretion, tuning, restructuring.

Question 15

Lexical Relations:

Answer 15

• Words exist in networks and trigger encyclopaedia meaning.
  -These networks can be described as:
  Synonyms: E.G Cab/Taxi, Buy/Purchase.
  Antonyms: E.G Alive/Dead, Rich/Poor
  Hyponyms: That categorises meanings of words in order of its property.

Question 16

Metaphor/Metonymy:

Answer 16

• Metaphor identifies the larger conceptual metaphor with related subordinate linguistic metaphors.
• E.G Talking metaphorically about relationships in terms of journey.
• Metonymy: Refers to the metonymy’s which are one thing standing in for another.
• E.G. Downing sheets released a statements (building for in situation).

Question 17

Hyponyms:

Answer 17

-That categorises meanings of words in order of its property.
-Almost like a food chain but for words.
+There’s the subordinate Hyponym (higher level)
+And then the co-hyponym (lower level).
-Example:
Living things - Subordinate hyponym
Plant
Flower
Daffodil - Co-hyponym.

Question 18

Polysemy:

Answer 18

-A word having multiple meanings.
-Can be found in a phrase.
Example: The word ‘bull’ can be used in different ways:
-Beware of the bull!
-I think the elephant is a bull.
-That’s bullshit.

Question 19

Homonymy:

Answer 19

• Two distinct words that share the same sound/spelling but have different meanings.
• Example: I need to go to the bank Vs Where is the food bank?

Question 20

Metaphors:

Answer 20

Have a source domain and a target domain.

Question 21

Source domain:

Answer 21

-Things we export information from (concrete)

Example: Journey. Start and end point, forwards motion and different lengths.

Question 22

Target Domain:

Answer 22

-Things being described (abstract)
Example: Love
“their relationship has gone off-track”
“Love is a journey” = a conceptual metaphor
-Strong, affection, romantic relationship interest.

Question 23

Domains and Mappings:

Answer 23

Mappings: Shows internal structure of metaphors and kinds of entrainments/connections different source and target domain have.
Example:
journey = domain source, Travellers = domain source
love= target domain, lovers = target domain.

Question 24

Metonymy:

Answer 24

A figure of speech, a thing or a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.

Question 25

Semantics and Syntax:

Answer 25

• Compulsory slots: noun and/ or verb phrases.]

- Option Slots: Relative or prepositional phrases.

Question 26

Semantics and Syntax construal:

Answer 26

• Syntax = motivated by meaning

- Construal= our ability to perceive the same thing in different ways.

Question 27

Semantic Roles:

Answer 27

• Relate to what things ‘are’ in a sentence.
• Three levels of grammatical analysis:
  1) Form - word class/phrase/clause ‘The building blocks’
  2) Function- Subject/object/adverbial ‘what things do’.
  3) Semantic Role - Agent/Patient/Location ‘What things are’

Question 28

Semantic Roles: Role:

Answer 28

Agent= the entity that performs the action.
Patient/theme = the entity that is affected by the action.
Instrument = the entity used by an other entity to perform an action.
Experiencer= the entity who feels, perceives, or states.
Location= the location at which something happens; where an entity is.
Source=the location/entitu