Semantics Flashcards
synonymy
two expressions have the same meaning; usually subtle meaning differences
e.g. large/big
structural/syntactic ambiguity
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.
lexical ambiguity
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.
homonymy
relation between semantically unrelated words which happen to have the same pronunciation
e.g. bank, let, lap, pupil
polysemy
a polysemous word has different, but related, senses
e.g. I drank the glass. vs. I broke the glass.
metonymy
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)
metaphor
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.
simile
explixit comparison
e.g. His mind is like a computer.
antonymy
relations of opposition or contrast
binary (non-gradable) antonymy
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
gradable antonymy
antonyms at opposite ends of a scale with varying degrees possible.
e.g. young/old
meronymy
part-whole relations:
body>arm>hand>finger
hyponymy
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)
taxonymy
classification of concepts in hyponymic or co-hyponymic relations
autohyponym
a term with two meanings, one of which is the hypernym of the other
e.g. cow = hypernym for cow/bull
basic level
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
representational approach to semantics
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
referential approach to semantics
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.
sense
the meaning of an expression minus its reference
reference
(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
agent
intentional initiator of an event
patient
entitiy affected/changed by the event
FredAGENT painted the wallPATIENT
theme
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
recipient
Person receiving something:
Wayne gave his grandmotherRECIPIENT an industrial grunge cd
beneficiary
Person who benefits from the event:
I made a cup of coffee for the guestsBENEFICIARY.
experiencer
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
instrument
thing used to perform an action:
I wiped the table with a ragINSTRUMENT
source/goal
start/endpoint of a motion event:
She went from ParisSOURCE to LondonGOAL.
location
place where an entity/event is/occurs:
She worked in the officeLOCATION
entailment
The truth of one expression implies the truth of another
e.g. John was killed entails John is dead.
paraphrase
two sentences are true under the same conditions
e.g. John is Mary’s brother and Mary is John’s sister
