Semantics

Question 1

synonymy

Answer 1

two expressions have the same meaning; usually subtle meaning differences

e.g. large/big

Question 2

structural/syntactic ambiguity

Answer 2

a sentence has more than one possible syntactic
structure resulting in different meanings, even if all words have the same meaning

e.g. Linda discussed her relationship with Frank.

Question 3

lexical ambiguity

Answer 3

a word/morpheme has more than one meaning, but the different meanings are not associated with different structures. The context may or may not favour one of the meanings

e.g. He sold her flowers.

Question 4

homonymy

Answer 4

relation between semantically unrelated words which happen to have the same pronunciation

e.g. bank, let, lap, pupil

Question 5

polysemy

Answer 5

a polysemous word has different, but related, senses

e.g. I drank the glass. vs. I broke the glass.

Question 6

metonymy

Answer 6

the use of one word to describe a concept associated with the concept normally expressed by that word.

e.g. The pianist was playing Beethoven (=a work by Beethoven)

Question 7

metaphor

Answer 7

the use of the the term for one concept X to refer to another concept Y, where X and Y have properties in common.

e.g. He’s got nerves of steel.

Question 8

simile

Answer 8

explixit comparison

e.g. His mind is like a computer.

Question 9

antonymy

Answer 9

relations of opposition or contrast

Question 10

binary (non-gradable) antonymy

Answer 10

Negation of one of a pair of antonyms entails the
other antonym. These are either-or decisions with no middle ground.

e.g. dead/alive

Question 11

gradable antonymy

Answer 11

antonyms at opposite ends of a scale with varying degrees possible.

e.g. young/old

Question 12

meronymy

Answer 12

part-whole relations:

body>arm>hand>finger

Question 13

hyponymy

Answer 13

relationship of the type “x is a more specific instance of y”

e.g.
- dog is a hyponym of animal
- animal is a hyperonym/hypernym (subordinate term) of dog
- dog/cat are cohyponyms (taxonomic sisters)

Question 14

taxonymy

Answer 14

classification of concepts in hyponymic or co-hyponymic relations

Question 15

autohyponym

Answer 15

a term with two meanings, one of which is the hypernym of the other

e.g. cow = hypernym for cow/bull

Question 16

basic level

Answer 16

the most general level where all members of the category have roughly similar shapes and perhaps a common visual representation. Most frequent level used in naming entities (“Look, there’s an elephant”)

e.g. superordinate level = vehicle
basic level = car
subordinate level = racing car/Mercedes/taxi

Question 17

representational approach to semantics

Answer 17

This view claims that reference is not to objects in the real world, but to concepts or objects in a mentally projected world. Evidence: we can talk about things which do not exist in the real world:
The present king of France spoke to a unicorn

Question 18

referential approach to semantics

Answer 18

claims that reference is to things in the real world. One argument for this approach is that a representational approach, in saying e.g. that house refers to the mental representation or concept HOUSE, merely delegates the problem of meaning to psychologists and makes use of psychological constructs about which we know little.

Question 19

sense

Answer 19

the meaning of an expression minus its reference

Question 20

reference

Answer 20

(a) what an expression refers to in the real world or (b) the ability of the expression to refer to something in the real world

= denotation

Question 21

agent

Answer 21

intentional initiator of an event

Question 22

patient

Answer 22

entitiy affected/changed by the event

FredAGENT painted the wallPATIENT

Question 23

theme

Answer 23

entity whose position/directon is indicated
(also used by some linguists for patients and as a cover term for cases whose thematic role is not clearly definable)

The ballTHEME rolled down the hill; FredTHEME is in the kitchen

Question 24

recipient

Answer 24

Person receiving something:
Wayne gave his grandmotherRECIPIENT an industrial grunge cd

Question 25

beneficiary

Answer 25

Person who benefits from the event:
I made a cup of coffee for the guestsBENEFICIARY.

Question 26

experiencer

Answer 26

entity which perceives something or experiences thoughts or emotions. Often experiencers perceive/react to another entity, usually called a theme or stimulus:
BasilEXPERIENCER noticed/heard/hated/understood the musicSTIMULUS. The musicSTIMULUS appealed to BasilEXPERIENCER

Question 27

instrument

Answer 27

thing used to perform an action:
I wiped the table with a ragINSTRUMENT

Question 28

source/goal

Answer 28

start/endpoint of a motion event:
She went from ParisSOURCE to LondonGOAL.

Question 29

location

Answer 29

place where an entity/event is/occurs:
She worked in the officeLOCATION

Question 30

entailment

Answer 30

The truth of one expression implies the truth of another

e.g. John was killed entails John is dead.

Question 31

paraphrase

Answer 31

two sentences are true under the same conditions

e.g. John is Mary’s brother and Mary is John’s sister