Semantics Flashcards
semantics
the study of meaning in words and sentences
lexical semantics
the study of meaning in words
- synonyms
- antonyms
compositional semantics
the study of meaning in phrases and sentences
- E.g., meaning of water under the bridge is different from the
bridge under the water
- same words, but their position in the phrase changes its
meaning
- idioms, properties of adjectives + nouns, etc.
compositionality
the meaning of a multi-word expression
depends on the meanings of the words and the ways they’re connected syntactically
- If we know all of the words and the all of the syntax, we can
know the meaning of any new/novel sentence
principle of compositionality
we can predict the meaning of the
whole from the meanings of the words involved
- Principle holds in most cases but not all…
anomalous sentences
are syntactically well-formed but
semantically meaningless
sense
the abstract mental concept/representation we have of
something when we hear a specific word
- E.g., cat: a small, carnivorous mammal which purrs and has
claws, whiskers, and a tail
reference
relationship the word/expression has to the physical world
- E.g., cat references all of the cats in the world
- Referent: specific things referenced
- E.g., my cat; that cat; Tucker’s cat
general reference
set of all things in the world that fit that description
- Common nouns (tangible reference): no specific reference,
only general reference
- E.g., dog, bug, book, etc.
- Abstract nouns (intangible reference): specific common
nouns that reference sets of intangible things
- E.g., forgiveness, apathy, pain, etc
specific reference
targeting one item
- Proper names
- Deictic items
- E.g., this/that/those/these/the book(s)
synonymy
words which same the same sense
atonymy
words which have opposite senses
hyponymy
a specific subgrouping of another word
complementary antonyms
antonyms existing in binary states,
where everything in the world is either one thing or the other
- E.g., married/unmarried, dead/alive, existing/non-existing
gradable antonyms
antonyms existing on a scale and can have
in-between states
- E.g., hot/cold, wet/dry, love/hate
reverse antonyms
a type of metaphorical or literal movement
where one undoes the other
- E.g., right/left, multiply/divide, increase/decrease, tie/untie
converse antonyms
relationships from opposite points of view;
changes in perspective; one must exist for the other to exist
- E.g., parent/child, lend/borrow, employer/employee
hyponym
a more specific set of a larger category
- E.g., Sheep is a hyponym of mammal
- E.g., Poodle is a hyponym of dog
hypernym
a larger set that encompasses a specific category
- E.g., Mammal is a hypernym of sheep
- E.g., Dog is a hypernym of poodle
set theory
the way we look at words which are related to each other is by looking at words as existing within sets
- these sets can be further divided into subsets
- e.g. all of the colors in the universe make up one large set. but, within a set, there is a set of all the possible shades of pink
