Semantics Flashcards
Referent
The thing in the world - The apple
(The thing you point to)
Language
the words we use to convey the idea of meaning
Compositionality
The meaning of an expression is the combination of the meanings of its parts
Sense
Symbol - the idea of it
Denotation
Something that exists in the world, and is of literal meaning.
(The king, can refer to an actual king, like Karl Gustaf)
Connotation
The part of meaning that expresses a speaker’s attitudes
(Child & Brat can be used in the same context, but have their own inherent meaning- for brat shows a negative form of child)
Gradeability
Gradeable / Non-gradeable
Gradeability between atonmys
Big & Small -> Bigger & Smaller
open & shut (non-gradeable)
wide & narrow (
Antonym
The opposit of a word
(Big -> Small)
Gradeability
Hyponymy & Hypernonomy
Hypo-nymy = A characteristic or group which words / objects has a tie to; (An Apple is a “hyponym” of Fruit)
Hypernonomy = The inverse term for “hyponymy”.
(Fruit is a Hyper-nym of “apple”)
Taxonymy
Hyponomy in more detail / the hierarchy of terminology, involving multiple levels of classification.
(Swamp white oak -> A type of White oak -> a type of Oak -> a type of Tree -> a type of Plant)
Meronomy & Holonym
Mero-nomy = Relation (approximate meaning) / “part of a whole”
(Arm is a mero-nym of body / leaf of tree)
Holo-nym = the inverse
(Body is a holo-nym of arm)
Synonymy
Synonyms = words whose meaning / senses are roughly equivalent
Monosemy
Mono-semy = Words with only one meaning. Most are technical terms, such as “appendectomy”
Polysemy
Poly-semy = When the same word can have distinct, but related senses
(I saw a deer yesterday
I had some deer for lunch)
Homonym
Homo-nym = Words with unrelated meaning; same spelling / sound, but different meaning.
(The word “Bank” can both refer to:
The Bank, where one puts their money.
The river Bank, or place where the river meets the land.)
The Semantic Triangle
Reference, sense, symbol
What is the general aim of providing a [Cognitive Definition] of a word?
aims at providing an understanding of the concept and - enabling the word to be used correctly
Definition by Ostension
by pointing to things in the world that the word stands for
Definition by Context or Typical Examplar
Tree = ‘pine, oak, ash, beech, maple, etc.’
(examples of trees)
(often words like “such as”, “example”)
Genus and Differentia
Stretch limousine = “a car that is longer than standard cars and driven by a professional driver”
What is the general aim of providing an extensional definition of a word?
Specifying the concept so that there is no ambiguity about the word’s denotation. E.g. defining salt as ‘NaCl’
defintion by Extension
defining salt as ‘NaCl’ (making it super specific)
Embodied conceptualization
“A conceptualization which originates in basic physical experience”
- Our bodily experiences, such as movement, perception, and physical interactions, influence how we form and understand concepts.
- Abstract ideas are often understood through metaphorical extensions of bodily experiences (e.g., understanding time as physical space—”looking forward to the future”).
