Semantics Flashcards
What is semantics?
The study of the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences
When understanding semantics, what sorts of meanings are sought out for?
Widely accepted objective and factual meanings, not subjective and personal
What are the basic components of meaning conveyed by certain words?
Referential meaning
How is referential meaning similar to a dictionary?
They both describe the basic, essential components of a word
What would be the opposite to referential meaning?
Associative or emotive meaning
What sort of sentence would be semantically odd, but syntactically good?
A grammatically correct sentence, but the referential meaning of certain components may not make sense
What are semantic features?
Basic elements (e.g., noun, verb,) included with a + or - used in analyzing the components of word meaning
What are truth conditions?
The ability to deduce whether sentences are true or false
What is the difference between semantics and pragmatics?
Semantics: objective meaning of words and phrases
Pragmatics: the study of how context affects meaning
What is the difference between conceptual meaning and associative meaning?
Conceptual: dictionary-like descriptions that outline the basic, essential components of a word
Associative: connotations added to a word
What is componential analysis?
The categorization of certain components in a group of words that allows analysis to be more specific, often in a table
What is a major drawback of componential analysis?
It may not be easy to differentiate different nouns if they are too similar to each other, sees words as “containers” of meaning
What is a semantic role?
The part played by a noun phrase in an event illustrated in a sentence
In semantic roles, what is an agent and a theme?
Agent: the entity that causes an action, the subject
Theme: the entity affected by an action, the direct object
If an agent uses another entity to perform an action, what is that called?
The instrument (indirect object)
What is the term for the noun phrase that has feeling or perception?
An experiencer
Why are experiencers not considered agents?
They do not engage in an action when they feel, know, hear, or enjoy something
What are the 2 location roles in semantic roles?
- Source - where an entity moves from
- Goal - where an entity moves to
What are lexical relations?
The relationships of meaning, the synonymy between words
What are two or more words with similar meanings to each other called?
Synonyms
Why would we never consider similar words to be the same?
There are many occasions where one word would work where the other wouldn’t, e.g. cup vs. mug
What are two or more words with opposite meanings to each other called?
Antonyms
What are the 3 different types of antonyms and what do they mean?
- Gradable: comparative constructions with adjectives (e.g., shorter, happier)
- Non-gradable: non-comparative complementary pairs; if one is false the other isn’t necessarily true (e.g. my friend isn’t ugly - he’s just average)
- Reversives: one is the reverse action of the other (e.g., subscribe and unsubscribe)
When the meaning of one word is included in the meaning of another, what is this called (e.g., utensil/fork)?
Hyponymy
The word ‘cat’ is a hyponym of the word ‘mammal’. What is the word ‘mammal’ considered in terms of levels?
A superordinate
Two words that share the same superordinate are considered what?
Co-hyponyms
What is the most characteristic instance, or the best example of a category called (e.g., ‘shirt’ for ‘clothing’)?
A prototype
What are two words with the same pronunciation but different meaning called?
Homophones (e.g., board and bored)
What are two words with the same spelling but different meaning called?
Homonyms (e.g., chips as in computer chip vs. chips as in a salty snack)
When a word has two or more related meanings, what is this called (e.g., ‘head’)?
Polysemy
How might we differentiate homonymy and polysemy?
Check a dictionary - polysemous words will have a single entry with a numbered list, while homonymous words will have separate entries
When a word replaces another in which it is closely connected with in everyday experiences, what is this called (e.g., bottle for liquid in a drink)?
Metonymy
